FAIRfest features a musical lineup that includes the New Orleans Klezmer All Stars.
Smithsonian magazine just ranked Fairfield, Iowa, number seven on its 2013 list of national Top 20 “Best Small Towns to Visit,” one of the country’s “most intriguing places to enjoy arts & smarts.” Last year, Oprah Winfrey deemed Fairfield “America’s most unusual town.” And now we’ve got the perfect excuse to invite friends and family to come visit us—FAIRfest 2013!
With a New Orleans flavor, FAIRfest is a multi-day, multi-genre event will feature national, regional, and local entertainment, innovative speakers, artisan food, specialty vendors, cultural events, and art and film, with a focus on sustainable solutions, community empowerment, economic fairness, and more.
The musical lineup includes the storied New Orleans Klezmer All Stars, and two other N’awlins acts, Alex McMurray and Bonerama, as well as keyboard maestro Marco Benevento of New York, Charanga Tropical, a nine-piece Cuban-flavored salsa band out of Minneapolis, Jim Kerwin, bassist for David Grisman, vibraphonist Mike Dillon of San Antonio, Chicago’s Gin Palace Jesters, Iowa City gospel and blues queen Gloria Hardiman, Mike Mangione & the Union, Todd Clouser, and many more.
Marco Benevento
Spearheaded by solar-powered KRUU 100.1 FM, Fairfield’s nonprofit, volunteer radio station, FAIRfest will also highlight writers and poets, dancers, filmmakers, educators, and sustainability experts, including a keynote address by Jeffrey Hollender, adjunct Professor for sustainability at NYU, co-chair of Greenpeace US, and co-founder of the American Sustainable Business Council, a coalition of 200,000 business leaders committed to changing the rules of business. The co-founder of Seventh Generation will be on hand to help launch the Iowa Sustainable Business Alliance, an organization based in Fairfield.
And good news for food lovers, too. Thanks to Steve Boss, Jan Swinton, and others, there will be as much attention on the food as there is on the entertainment, showcasing some of the finest local, homemade, artisan food from across Iowa complete with outdoor food vendors, indoor specialty vendors and much more.
If you’d like to volunteer, help sponsor the event, showcase merchandise, crafts, or food items, or have your group represented in a booth, call 209-1083, email Savannah Rezarch-Bird at savannah@ kruufm.com, email Rosanne Wagger at rosanne@kruufm.com, or drop by the station at 405 N. 2nd Street.
Visit fairfestiowa.com or Facebook page to keep up with latest FAIRfest developments.