MARQUETTE, Mich.—Dean and Bette Premo of Amasa will receive the 2014 Upper Peninsula Folklife Award from the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University. The presentation will be made at the center’s “Michigan Folksong Legacy” event, which features a performance by Lumber Jakki and presentations on folklorist Alan Lomax’s visit to Michigan in 1938. It begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, in Forest Roberts Theatre.  

For nearly three decades, Dean and Bette Premo have hosted the Second Sunday Folk Dance series at Fortune Lake Camp. It is one of the Midwest's most popular venues for folk music and dance and is the largest, longest-running event of its kind. They have also performed regularly with their folk groups, White Water and The Front Parlor Dance Band.

The U.P. Folklife Award was first presented by the Beaumier Center in 2009. It annually recognizes individuals or groups who create and preserve the traditional arts of the Upper Peninsula. Past recipients include John Perona, Les Ross Sr., Oren Tikkanen and the late Fred Rydholm.