MARQUETTE, Mich.—The Upper Peninsula Folklife Festival will present a Finnish folk dance with Wil Kilpela and Friends on Saturday, Nov. 12. The event starts at 7 p.m. at the Dance Zone, 1113 Lincoln Ave. in Marquette. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students.

Wil Kilpela and Friends is a popular U.P. band of seasoned traditional Finnish musicians. At the age of 15, Kilpela began playing the accordion and developed his own musical style. He learned many tunes by playing with local musicians and listening closely to musicians who traveled through the area. He has played the accordion throughout his life and his band has played at dances for more than a decade. The group’s musical style ranges from lively polkas and minor key waltzes to swing, humppa, tango and jenkka. In 2002, Kilpela was named a master folk musician by the Michigan Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program through Michigan State University Museum in East Lansing.

For more information, contact the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University at 227-1219.