Swayed Pines 1975-1984
The 2nd festival occurred from April 26-27, 1975. The trophies for the fiddle contest were made by a Collegeville resident, Steve Meyer using red oak from St. John’s forest. Saturday afternoon’s fiddle contest featured 30 fiddlers with Tom Ambrose ’68 of WCCO-FM and Garrison Keillor of Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) serving as masters of ceremonies. There were a variety of crafts sold, including handmade fiddles. There were also booths featuring food from all over the world and a square-dancing group from St. Cloud.
The 3rd annual Swayed Pines Folk Festival was only one day long, due to scheduling conflicts. On April 25, 1976, Tom Kay (Karnowski ’68), a radio personality, was the emcee. The 4th festival was also one day on April 30, 1977. The festival ran from 11:00 am to midnight. The featured performer was the Appalachian folk singer, Guy Carawan and Johnnie John McCutcheon (’74). This year, the festival occurred simultaneously with Parents’ Day. MPR’s “Prairie Home Companion” was broadcasted from the Main Auditorium and the winners of the fiddle contest were featured on the show, as Keillor was one of the judges with Mary DuShane. There were new divisions in the fiddle contest created, including “fiddlin’ fiddlers,” master fiddlers performing in a Northern and a Southern style, and gold age fiddlers. Northern-style music is associated with Upper Midwest, including Irish, French, Scandinavian, German, Polish, Czech, and other European-American styles and some Canadian and New England Styles. Southern-style music includes Appalachian, Texas, Bluegrass, and country-rock.
The 1978 Swayed Pines Folk Festival aligned with Parents’ Weekend. The day’s event consisted of a discussion on the ethnic heritage of Stearns County, a fiddle contest, a square dance, and an evening concert. Anyone could participate in the fiddle contest with cash prizes for the first- and second- place winners from each category. John McCutcheon '74 served as the Master of Ceremonies at this contest and filled in the lulls of the contest with impromptu folk music. He also played the evening concert with Wry Straw (other members were Tom Bledsoe and Rich Kirby). Swayed Pines Folk Fest was sponsored by SJU and Viking Coca-Cola of St. Cloud.
On April 21, 1979, the 6th annual Swayed Pines Folk Festival was held. At this festival, the panel discussion was on “The Creative Roots of Central Minnesota.” The participants of the panel were Professor John Bovee of St. Cloud State University (SCSU), Reeve Lindbergh Brown, daughter of Charles Lindbergh, Eugene McCarthy (SJU ’35), Abbot Baldwin Dworschak, Jon Hassler (SJU ’55), and Fr. Vincent Tegeder.
The schedule for the 7th Swayed Pines Folk Festival on April 26, 1980, was 10:00 am: Panel discussion “Stearns County Syndrome: Myth or Reality,” noon: Fiddle Contest and Crafts Fair, 5:30 pm: Hometown Revival (regional talent variety show), and 7:30 pm: a concert featuring John McCutcheon with Reel World String Band. Richard Bresnahan (SJU ’76) displayed art at the 7th Swayed Pines. There was also a tour of the new wood-burning kiln at SJU.
At the 8th Swayed Pines Folk Festival, on April 25, 1981, McCutcheon played a concert with Mad Jack and Black Label Boys. The symposium was “Minnesota Rural Life-Past and Present.” Stearns County and the Minnesota Historical Society presented a traveling display on rural schoolhouses at this festival.
On January 10, 1982, Appalachian singer Guy Carawan returned for a concert at SJU, the proceeds of which would go to support the upcoming Swayed Pines Folk Festival. Carawan drew McCutcheon to Appalachia and Carawan wrote the Civil Rights theme song, “We Shall Overcome.” He fights for social justice and plays the guitar, banjo, hammer dulcimer, and tin whistle.
The 9th Annual Swayed Pines Folk Fest on April 24, 1982, simultaneously occurred with Parents’ Weekend. McCutcheon performed along with The New Prairie Ramblers, Elizabeth “Libba” Cotton, and Mike Seeger. Cotton was the composer of “Freight Train” and was 89 years old at the time. The New Prairie Ramblers were regular performers on the “Prairie Home Companion” program on National Public Radio. They play a mixture of gospel, Irish, classical, and country music. The Ramblers are made of Bob Douglas, Barb Montoro, Tim Hennessey, and Peter Ostroushko.
The programming in 1982 had a greater focus on Southeast Asian culture in the crafts as well as in the symposium. This was intentional, as with the increase of Asian immigrants, Southeast Asian culture made up a larger portion of Stearns County.
On April 30, 1983, the 10th annual Swayed Pines Folk Festival occurred. McCutcheon played and joined Bryan Bowers on stage. Bowers is an autoharpist, who weaves storytelling into his performance. He had two recorded albums out at this time. For the 10th festival, 60 fiddlers competed in six categories and 90 crafts were on display. McCutcheon was the master of ceremonies for the fiddle contest, again
The 11th Swayed Pines Folk Festival was on April 28, 1984. John McCutcheon performed a concert playing traditional mountain music, along with Neale Lundgren, a folk singer.