Close to 3,000 people attended each day of the festival, July 11-13, 2014, at Natural Chimneys Park in Mt. Solon, Virginia. First held in the summer of 2013, the Red Wing festival is hosted by The Steel Wheels, a nationally known roots music band that features three alumni: Trent Wagler ’02, Eric Brubaker ’01 and Brian Dickel, class of ’98. (The fourth band member, Jay Lapp, attended EMU’s sister Mennonite school in Indiana, Goshen College, for a time.)

After enjoying performing at other festivals across the country since they started touring seriously around 2010, members of The Steel Wheels began thinking about ways to create a new festival in the Shenandoah Valley.

“We wanted it to be rooted in community and informed by our upbringing,” said Brubaker after Red Wing ended this year. “We wanted a family-friendly event where we would be proud to bring our own children and expose them to many different kinds of authentic musical expression.”

The band partnered with Black Bear Productions, a local event production company, and began planning well over a year in advance for the first event. Their vision was realized in a multi-generational, community-focused festival that has brought dozens of performers and thousands of visitors for a long weekend of music on four stages at Natural Chimneys, about 20 miles south of EMU’s campus.

“The exciting thing is that all [our] dreams and more are already being fulfilled,” Brubaker added. “It’s amazing that so many people from our community are investing time, creativity and resources to make the festival a true success.”

Jeremiah Jenkins, a managing partner of Black Bear Productions, said the welcoming, friendly atmosphere at the festival is one of its special characteristics.

“Red Wing has fans of all ages. This sets a certain tone of respect and appreciation among the crowd, and that collective enjoyment really fuels us all weekend,” he said. “Red Wing brings out both the seasoned festivarian and the first-timers, and together we create our own festival culture. We’re proud of the Red Wing fans, volunteers and staff that treat the park and each other with such conscientiousness.”

After noticing how many EMU alums attended the first festival, the university signed on as an official sponsor in 2014. Throughout the weekend, advancement staff passed out tea and connected with hundreds of alumni, prospective students and other festival-goers.

EMU and Red Wing organizers also collaborated to minimize the amount of trash generated at the festival. The festival banned the sale of plastic water bottles and required visitors to bring or purchase a reusable steel cup to use at the free water station and in the beer garden, Jenkins said. Food vendors were also required to use renewable, recycled or compostable materials for all service items.

Aware of EMU’s commitment to sustainability, Black Bear Productions hired EMU sustainability coordinator Jonathan Lantz-Trissel ’00 to oversee trash and recycling collection during the weekend. He and his team of volunteers collected well over 1,000 pounds of recyclable materials and 500 pounds of food waste to add to EMU’s compost piles.

“When people congratulate me on the festival, I always say that it takes a village,” Jenkins said. “We’re so glad that EMU is part of ours, from the alumni office and sustainability team to the many EMU alumni that bring their families each year.”

In addition to The Steel Wheels, about 40 other bands performed this year at Red Wing, including The Walking Roots Band, first formed under another name at EMU. Six of the eight members are EMU graduates: Lauren ’09 and Mitch Yoder ’09, Jackson Maust ’09, Kristina Yoder ’09, Adam Schmid ’09 and Seth Crissman ’09, MDiv ’15. Crissman also said the welcoming feel to the festival was important to the group.

“Something we care about a lot is being able to create and share music that is fun for everyone. There was a broad range of ages at Red Wing, and music brings all these people together,” he said. “In making music in this roots-folk tradition, we draw nourishment from those who have come before and, hopefully, pass it on to those who will come after us. It was a lot fun to be able to listen to and enjoy other musicians doing the same thing at Red Wing. It was exciting to see so many people excited about roots and folk music, especially local music.”

Another band performing at Red Wing, Ragged Mountain String Band, featured Reuben Miller ’00 on fiddle.

The third Red Wing Roots Music Festival will likely be held on the second weekend in July 2015, with exact dates to be announced soon on the festival’s website and Facebook page. In the meantime, Brubaker said, The Steel Wheels will be recording a new album that will be ready in time for next year’s event.

The EMU Lacrosse Club started with the enthusiasm of Maplewood Resident Director Adam Houser.

First year EMU Lacrosse members Philip Tiezen and Mitch Yoder learn new skills and teamwork during daily practices. The EMU-Bridgewater team has two games remaining this season. (Photo: Andrew Gascho)

"I have played lacrosse since junior high. I actually played four years at Gordon College in Massachusetts," Houser said. "I missed playing a lot after college and am happy to be around it again."

Houser said he contacted EMU athletic director Dave King in the fall of 2007 to see if starting a lacrosse club would be possible.

"I’m sure that others wanted a lacrosse club before I got here, but I guess I had a lot to do with getting it started. [Club members] started just throwing around some. Then we got some equipment through the help of Rec. sports and also were able to have an intramural season last winter, which brought out quite a few people," he said. Learn more about intramurals at EMU

The club has grown from its humble beginnings with just a few members throwing around in the afternoon and now holds actual EMU club status.

Generous Donor Funds New Equipment

"At the end of last year we applied for and received club status through Student Programs and SGA. This past fall we played a little bit and actually got a large donation from a very generous person who wanted to see lacrosse grow at EMU. That donation allowed us to buy more equipment for the program," Houser said.

With new equipment in hand, the club practices everyday from five to seven on the turf. Many of the members of the club are new to the game and are learning the basics.

"The hardest thing [is] cradling the ball, I still am not real good at it," said first year Jesse Weaver, who is playing the sport of the first time.

According to e-lacrosse.com, cradling the ball is "the fluid side to side motion of the stick in order to maintain possession of the ball using its own gravity and inertia while running at full speed." Many of the other members agreed that this skill is the most difficult to learn.

Teaming with Rivals

Another challenge the Lacrosse Club faces is their small membership. EMU teams up with Bridgewater College to play games since they do not have enough members to field a full team.

"The hardest thing for me is that it seems like we aren’t on the same page with offensive and defensive strategy. I hope to sit down with their captains and set-up a better strategy for how to practice and play together," said Houser. In the future, the club hopes to have enough players to form its own team.

This past weekend, the combined EMU-Bridgewater team traveled to Farmville, Va., to play Longwood College. While the game was not close score-wise, it was good experience for the team.

"The score doesn’t really matter because it was the first game for a lot of the guys playing. But we learned a lot, and are definitely all better players because of the game," said Jesse Weaver.

First year Nate Weaver, also a first-time player, said he appreciates the mentoring Bridgewater players have offered him.

"Playing with Bridgewater has been great. They’re all so nice, and they bring tons of experience. Several have taken me under their wing and helped me out a lot," Nate Weaver said. Houser said he has already seen a lot of improvement in the team after just a week of practice.

"We have some good athletes that are really picking things up quick. I think as we continue to play we will be able to trust each other more to develop the plays together and not try to take things on our own," he said.

Houser said it is possible to have a superstar lacrosse player, but teamwork is still necessary for success.

"It really is a sport in which individuals can stand out, but at the same time for a team to be successful it needs to utilize everyone on the field. I am excited to see how each of the players begins to establish their roles on the team," said Houser.

In order to bring more awareness to the club and raise money, the club plans to sell t-shirts. The t-shirts will be available for purchase soon and can be purchased from any of the club members.

Houser also pointed out that Lacrosse Club is co-ed. "We are playing separately, since the men’s and women’s games are so different. We haven’t gotten a large amount of interest from women on campus, but if any women are interested in playing they can contact Valerie Helbert or Erin Reichart. We would love to see a women’s program develop alongside the men’s program," concluded Houser.

The Lacrosse Club has two more games scheduled, April 11 at Roanoke and April 14 at Bridgewater versus Christendom College.

Reprinted with permission from The WeatherVane, EMU’s student newspaper