Submitted
RUSSELL COUNTY - The Lovegrass Music Festival Association (LMFA) is thrilled to announce that it has received a generous grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation. Such funding is critical in enabling the LMFA to continue to hold its annual free Lovegrass Music Festival. This will be the sixth year of the festival, which takes place at beautiful Wilson State Park from August 10th-12th, 2023.
The LMFA began as a simple idea between friends who frequent Wilson State Park. Each year the festival has grown in stature and reputation, boasting a lineup including some of the nation's most sought-after bluegrass musical acts.
Thanks to support from generous donors, such as the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, music lovers flock to rural Kansas each August to enjoy an entirely free music festival that would cost them hundreds of dollars to attend elsewhere. As the festival has grown and flourished, attendees and bluegrass musicians from widening geographic areas have made the pilgrimage to scenic Russell County, Kansas, to enjoy music, community, and a reprieve from urban life.
"Each year it is a struggle to raise funds necessary to host such an event," says Aimee Riegel, LMFA executive director. "However, due to the tremendous support of local agencies, such as the Russell County Economic Development & CVB, the Midland Railroad Hotel, local businesses, and individuals, coupled with the diligent efforts of our volunteer board of directors and committees, the event always becomes a memorable reality and a pure grassroots extravaganza.
"We are so thankful for the generous grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, as it allows our festival to remain free to the public while simultaneously providing exceptional roots musical programming," said Riegel. "We are so pleased that the Lovegrass Music Festival has provided rural Kansas communities with entertainment and arts exposure and significantly increased tourism in these counties. In addition, the festival creates a substantial economic impact in the neighboring Northwest Kansas communities each year."
Established through a generous estate donation from Dane G. Hansen, the Foundation awards grants and scholarships yearly to qualified recipients in Northwest Kansas who demonstrate a strong desire for community improvement. We are honored to be among such recipients.
You can find more information about the festival at www.lovegrassmusicfestival.com and on Facebook.