Everybody mark your calendars and oil up your dancing shoes because it is almost time for the 21st Annual Gays Mills Folk Festival of Music and Dance, scheduled Mothers Day weekend.

The festival kicks off on the evening of Friday, May 10 with an old time square dance in the old Gays Mills Community Building on Main Street. The fun starts at 7 p.m. All the dances are taught by the caller and no experience is necessary. It’s fun for all ages.

Saturday activities start at noon in the park next to the river. Activities include an open stage, music workshops, dancing (complete with a Maypole), and a fiddle bee. Also there will be a special concert at 1 p.m. by Low Bridge, all the Way from Port Wing, Wisconsin on Lake Superior's chilly south shore.

The Saturday evening concert takes place in the Old Town Community Building at 7:30 p.m. The festival has an extra special line up this year with three exciting bands.

First off will be the Cactus Blossoms featuring a brother-duet singing and honky-tonk styling on both original and traditional numbers.

Next, from St. Paul, Minnesota will be the Hula Peppers, who will regale you with jazz standards, novelty numbers, and smooth Hawaiian melodies from the 1920s and 30s.

And last, but not least, the festival wil feature an exciting, multi-talented group of gals, the Petticoat Rustlers. They play. They sing. They dance. And, they look darn good all the while.

Festival organizers are confident that the Rustlers will have you kicking up your heels by the end.

Sarah and Clancy, from the Low Bridge, the 2013 Folk Festival Masters of Ceremony.

Don't forget, as always, the festival winds down with a good old-fashioned Gospel Sing at 11 a.m. Sunday in the park. Shall we gather at the river? Yes, we shall. Also be sure to check out the other fun events happening in Gays Mills this weekend including an antique tractor pull, the Little Britches Rodeo, Saturday Chili supper, and Sunday morning Pancake Breakfast.

Ticket prices for the Gays Mills Folk Festival are $20 for a weekend pass, or $45/family. More information may be obtained by visiting our website at www.gaysmillsfolkfest.org or by calling 608-606-4809 or 608-735-4031. The Gays Mills Folk Festival is a project of the Kickapoo Cultural Exchange.