Strange Folk Festival in O'Fallon, Illinois

Some of my closest--and strangest--friends come from the other side of the Mississippi River in Illinois.

While I kid them about being different, Illinois has always had a strong connection for me. I met my husband at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, our daughter Julie was born there, and we lived there before Walt got shipped to Vietnam. Some of my relatives still live in the Land of Lincoln.

As much as I joke to my friends from the other side of the Mississippi about being strange--and they deny it--I now have proof. Apparently the folks from Southern Illinois have embraced their strangeness--and even have a festival to celebrate it!

The annual Strange Folk Festival will be held September 24 and 25 in the Community Park in O'Fallon. Strange Folk is co-sponsored by the City of O'Fallon Arts Commission and the O'Fallon Public Library. The event is also "the oldest Heartland Indie Arts and Craft Festival." Last year more than 15,000 people attended.

A week or so ago I received an e-mail from Jodi Caticchio, Chairman of the Arts Commission, reminding me about the festival and asking me to spread the word to local writers. In her e-mail she wrote the mid-August deadline to sign up is a "soft deadline," so there's still time to sign up if you live in the metro area and want to participate. There is no fee to participate, and it sounds like a fun event.

Here's a link if you want to sign up. A friend and I might sign up for Sunday, so if we do I hope to see you there because we writers are a bit strange ourselves.