Kirkwood site of annual fest

As inevitable as the changing of the seasons and the return of students to campus, a Bloomington tradition will enter its 15th year this weekend.\nHoosierFest, Bloomington's long-running outdoor music festival, is coming back to Kirkwood Avenue this Saturday for a full day of music, food and dancing in the streets. \nBeginning at 2 p.m., admission is $5, with children 12 and under admitted free.\nTalisha Coppock has been co-director of HoosierFest since its inception 15 years ago. Over the years, she's watched the event develop into its modern incarnation.\n"I think we've really focused on what the event is about," she said. "It's a welcome back, it's a kickoff for the fall season."\nCoppock said she thinks moving HoosierFest closer to campus has made it a more student-friendly event. \nThe first HoosierFests were held at the Showers Plaza downtown before being moved to its current home on Kirkwood Avenue in the late 1990s.\nSuzanne Phillips has been HoosierFest's other co-director since it began. She said she is looking forward to a construction-free festival this year.\n"Last year, the renovation was almost done," she said. "But People's Park was pretty much a construction zone. (This year) it looks so much nicer."\n"The area is beautiful. It's very comfortable and the landscaping is beautiful," Coppock said.\nThe festival will take advantage of the recently re-opened People's Park with booths from local merchants, food and a henna tattoo artist.\nBut the centerpiece of HoosierFest is always the music.\n"Over the years, it has changed, but we still try and provide a venue for local bands to perform," Phillips said.\nLive music will be featured all day -- the lineup focuses on local acts in the afternoon.\n"You try to book stuff that caters to all ages during the day," said Dave Kubiak, manager of the Bluebird Nightclub, 216 N. Walnut St. \nKubiak was in charge of booking the musical acts for HoosierFest.\n"You try to find out who's available -- you're working within a budget, so you try to get the best available band," Kubiak said.\nThe afternoon lineup includes Crooked County, Bloomington's own bluegrass turned country-rock band. Signed with Arizona-based Rustic Records, the band released their newest album Drunkard's Lament in May, and have made frequent stops in Bloomington all year, including a performance as part of Live From Bloomington. \nThe Dynamics and Bahama Llama will round out the afternoon's musical entertainment.\nThe evening features acts from further afield, including King Konga, Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise and DJ Logic & Project Logic. Born in Alabama in 1950, Bradley was singing on the streets of Detroit in 1994 when he was discovered by a trio of young musicians looking for a singer. The group have since released two records, most recently 2000's Time to Discover, scoring opening slots with the Dave Matthews Band and Widespread Panic. DJ Logic and his rotating ensemble Project Logic are coming off a stint on former Grateful Dead member Bob Weir's So Many Roads Tour.