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East Troy Bluegrass Festival returns to historic village square Sept. 11-12
The sounds of Bluegrass music and the fans who love it will fill East Troy’s historic village square for the 17th Annual East Troy Bluegrass Festival on Sept. 11-12. A full line-up of Bluegrass bands and contests, plus lots of great food and craft vendors, will take place from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. each day.
The event begins on Saturday with an open stage at 10 a.m., followed by the fiddle contest at 11:30 a.m. The bands start in the afternoon, with The Seth Foerster Unit at 1 p.m., Squirrel Hunters at 2 p.m., Band Scramble at 3 p.m., Big Cedar at 4 p.m. and the headliner Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice at 5 p.m.
“Listen to Junior Sisk, on CD or in person, and you hear pure bluegrass from the first word,” said Country Standard Time music reviewer Larry Stephans. “A veteran of several nationally-known bands and an experienced songwriter, Sisk’s 2010 release “Heartaches and Dreams” is the second CD for the rejuvenated Ramblers Choice band.”
The music returns on Sunday with a gospel service featuring On Eagle’s Wings at 10 a.m. followed by the banjo, mandolin and guitar contests at 11:30 a.m. The bands return in the afternoon with Sawdust Symphony at 1 p.m., Hand Picked Bluegrass Band at 2 p.m., Groundspeed at 3 p.m., Above the Town at 4 p.m. and headliner Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike at 5 p.m.
“Valerie Smith and her amazing band are a breath of fresh air,” said Gabrielle Gray, executive director of the International Bluegrass Music Museum. “Onstage, they present visually beautiful and exciting performances with exceptional musicality. Offstage, they are like a family and best friends to everyone.”
For more information, contact the East Troy Area Chamber of Commerce at (262) 642-3770 or visit www.easttroywi.org.
Community History
The East Troy area was settled in 1836, when a man known as H. Roberts began construction of a saw mill on the shores
of Honey Creek. The area quickly grew and
in the span of only four years, there was
also a hotel, general store, blacksmith, chapel, school (held in the chapel), post office, doctor, lawyer and justice of the
peace.
Originally the entire territory was known as Troy, named after Troy, New York, an area from which many of the settlers originated. In 1843, it was determined that Troy was too large an area for one township and the state legislature split the territory. The western part was named Meacham, after an early settler, Jesse Meacham, and the eastern part retained the name of Troy.
The arrangement was not suitable with the "westerners," including Meacham, who set out for the state capitol to reclaim the name of Troy. As legend has it, Jacob Burgit, another early settler and representative of the eastern territory, heard of Meacham's trip and he too set out in his wagon to the capitol to argue his case for keeping the name of Troy for the east. However, he was too late as Meacham was successful in keeping the name of Troy for the western part of the territory and the eastern part was named East Troy.
In 1847 when the village was officially platted, all the land south of the main street belonged to Burgit, who had purchased Roberts' claim in 1837, built the saw mill and later a grist mill, developing a flourishing business as the surrounding countryside began to settle and build. Austin McCracken owned all the land north of the Main Street, as he came to East Troy in 1836 and built the first public inn in Walworth County. It was a log building on the site where the East Troy House now stands.
In order to encourage growth of the community, Burgit and McCracken offered a lot free to anyone who would build upon it. They also set aside land for the churches. The public square was deeded in perpetuity to the village and the park was divided into quarters on the straight and on the diagonals with Main Street encircling it so that no one would benefit more than any other.
Later a wooden bandstand was built on the square and served East Troy until the 1930s when a new brick bandstand was constructed as a WPA project during the Great Depression. Today, the village square continues to serve as the centerpiece for the community and hosts festivals and band concerts, as well as the residents and visitors who stop to enjoy
its historic charm.
