Why Rondy?

In a few days we will be holding the 9th Annual Haybarn Rendezvous. When Brian and I first started the “Rondy” we wanted to create a festival that would draw Switchback fans from all over. Our first attempt was at The Natural Gait grounds. It was early fall and though it was warm enough during the day, it really got pretty cold at night. Still we had a great time with fans coming from as far away as Tennessee.

The next year we moved the Rondy closer to Chicago to the farm of our friends and Switchback Team members Mary Anne and Jerry Duve. There it started to grow, gathering in more fans and also serving as a chance for Switchback STeamers (our volunteers) to meet and greet. Many of them only knew each other through email, so it was a real pleasure to get to see them meet in person for the first time. STeamers like the legendary Soupbone and Monica, who are both blind, rode the Greyhound all the way from Cincinnati so they could be part of the fun.

We started inviting musicians like singer-songwriter Karen Reynolds of Tennessee and Prairie Home Companion veteran Dave Moore to play for the audience. Who could forget Dave’s famous harmonica solo done with the harmonica completely in his mouth and resonating on his abscessed tooth? Probably one of the best solos ever.

Pretty soon a sound man was needed and Mike Sharp from FitzGerald’s nightclub ventured out in his 1964 station wagon, crammed with the necessary gear to turn a home-grown event into a real festival. One day wasn’t enough, and so it became two days and threatened to turn into three.

Sure, there were some mishaps, like the time I stayed up past 3 a.m. with the Chardonnay gals the night before the Rondy and found out the hard way why they are called that. I didn’t know tents could spin. Or the time my buddy Norm got lost and had to ask for directions at a rural cross-roads gentlemen’s club called Heartbreakers. He said they were the worst directions he ever had. It took him four hours to cover a mere five miles! But it never rained and we always had a great bonfire to celebrate the end of summer.

By 2009, it became pretty obvious that we were outgrowing the space at the Duves’ farm. So with heavy hearts we pulled up stakes and set out west again to start anew at The Natural Gait grounds. By this time, the Gait had more rental cabins and a path was cleared to the cave. With over 500 acres and the Yellow River meandering gently through the middle, it offered amazing campsites and a chance to kayak the river. Even a small band of wild elk is rumored to have returned to the land. It just felt right. The Rondy had found its home.

This year, we’ve taken on some wonderful sponsors who believe in the Rondy. We especially wish to thank Weis Buick and GMC of Decorah as well Dale Vagts and his insurance company of Cresco. They’re local businesses in Iowa that backed our pleas for support with cold cash. For that we’re deeply grateful.

Why should you come out to the Rondy? I think it is a chance for you to attend an event with your family at a place that is still natural, beautiful, and just far enough to make it feel like a vacation and not just a long weekend. Over the years we have brought in musicians from Canada to Hawaii to provide a diversity of music. This year will also please everyone with music ranging from Czech polkas by the Jim Busta Band to the musical storytelling of James McCandless. And you’ll be thrilled when you experience the precision of the Kosier Studio, performing everything from clogging to modern dance.

Unlike other festivals that have the same acts and are basically carbon copies of each other, just in another town, our festival prides itself on being small and unique. We aren’t looking for a huge mass of people but folks who enjoy being in nature and listening to great music. We offer unusual settings, such as the Cave Concert that takes place in a Paleolithic overhang that is a natural acoustic wonder. After the concert, you can relax under the stars as we treat you to an amazing pyrotechnic display!

You can wade, fish, or kayak the Yellow River. We even have kayaks for rent. For those wishing to get in the right vibe, we have a Yoga session led by the well-known yogi Shiva Singh Kalsa of Spirit Rising Yoga of Chicago. He along with Kundalini Yoga Instructor Surinder Jeet Kaur will be leading us in what is called a “gong-bath” which is a sonic meditation that actually helps tune the body. Chinese and Western herbal expert Anne de Courtenay of Imagine Health, Chicago and native flower expert Howard Bright of the Ion Exchange will lead people on a prairie walk to identify medicinal plants, prairie flowers, and the rare ones that are both.

Another great reason to attend the Rondy is that, unlike Lollapaloozing, we encourage kids and adults to mix and mingle. Take your children over to the puppet show or give them a chance to watch a horse demonstration called “I Love Horses!” (The only horse at Lollapalooza and other such hot and crowded events has a baton waving cop on its back.) This is the environment that will fire your kids’ imaginations and create wonderful memories. You will have a chance to let your child be a child with face painting and pinata whacking to collect some candy.

We have some of the best food available, including the well-known and highly anticipated “Aunt Linda’s Breakfast” featuring heavenly flapjacks and sausage served in an honest to goodness cowboy dining hall. And our campsites offer wonderful views as well as a short walk to a lodge that has real showers and real toilets. That alone should make you want to attend the Rondy.

There’s the great fire ring and the Chinese lantern launch with music and professional fire dancers. It will be the culmination of a day’s worth of entertainment. Sunday morning will bring more music with the Rondy jam, in which all the musicians get on stage together and perform.

The final reason is that Brian and I realize that you have had a busy summer and that gas prices are high, and in order for you to attend an event, it better be an event. We, together with the Natural Gait and our fine STeamers, have put together one of the best Rondys yet. We want you to come out and be part of the family gathering. We hope you will call 877-776-2208 and join us from Friday, August 19 until Sunday, August 21.