Celebrate Music At Greenfield Village's Ragtime Street Fair
DEARBORN (WWJ) - Show off your dance moves, listen to America's unique ragtime music and dine on traditional street fair food only at Greenfield Village's fifth annual Ragtime Street Fair, July 16-17, with special evening hours Saturday until 9 pm.
This one-of-a-kind weekend takes guests back in time to experience a 1900s festival featuring dance lessons, piano performances and a traditional cakewalk.
One of the originators of ragtime music in America, Scott Joplin, created a culture with his hits "Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer." Since its beginnings in St. Louis and New Orleans more than 100 years ago, Ragtime music has kept Americans tapping their toes to the unique "ragged" piano and banjo rhythms and syncopated beats that characterize the genre.
Throughout the weekend visitors will see performances from the River Raisin Ragtime Revue, Tartarsauce Traditional Jazz Band and ragtime pianists.
Show off your piano talents in our piano cutting contest, or leave the playing to the professionals and listen to Taslimah Bey, "Perfessor" Bill Edwards, Nan Bostick, John Remmers, Brent Beggs and Jerry Perrine perform traditional ragtime music.
Get on your feet and join demonstrators performing traditional ragtime dances or participate in the Cakewalk, a traditional dance competition where the winner "takes the cake."
Stay late on Saturday night and join the Dixieland Jazz Parade, led by the Tartarsauce Traditional Jazz Band, through Greenfield Village to commemorate the end of ragtime and celebrate the beginning of the jazz era.
Sip on a mint iced tea while walking through the streets of the village, or enjoy treats from the fresh fruit cart featuring cherries and watermelon. Or try some of Greenfield Village's own hunter sausage or grab a brat hot off the grill. Be sure to leave room for delicious dessert such as cherry crisp, hot fried dough and a creamy scoop of Guernsey ice cream.
Admission to Greenfield Village is $22 adults, $21 senior (62 and up) and $16 youth (5-12). Children four and under are free. For more information, call 313-982-6001 or visit thehenryford.org.
