The Western North Dakota Bluegrass and Oldtime Music Association Of North Dakota are presenting the festival April 4-5 at the Sleep Inn, Minot.

Each year a talented group of individuals works together to put on these nights full of music, dancing, food and lots of laughs. There are some familiar faces this year and some new faces that will be taking the stage for the first time.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will be used to help send kids to the music camp through the organization’s scholarship program. Students are able to submit their applications for the scholarship online before April 1.

Doors will open at 5 p.m. on Friday. Kicking off the evening at 5:30 p.m. will be Jerry Schlag playing the evening’s dinner music. Doors will open at 11 a.m. on Saturday, with the Dakota Drifters kicking off the event at noon.

Submitted Photo Mooncats, a North Dakota band, will perform at the 36th annual Frozen Fingers Festival in April.

“We encourage anyone to get up and dance at any time throughout the night,” said Lois Zahn, president of Frozen Fingers Music Association of Minot. “Our mission is to keep country western and bluegrass music alive.”

The event will include door prizes and a silent auction both nights of the show.

This year the event is blessed with an autographed guitar from Dan Wagner, better known as the Johnny Cash and Elvis impersonator of Branson, Missouri. The guitar will be available for bid at the event’s silent auction. The singer said he started entertaining with both of his daughters at his side, assisting with production and anything they could. Unfortunately, in 2018, Wagner lost his daughter, Cora, in a car accident.

“I do this show for my daughter and continue to sing for her. Each show I give away a guitar in her honor as I know how much she loved the show,” Wagner said.

Mooncats, a band with members who are natives of North Dakota, will be joining the event with its Americonscious campfire music, as lead singer Danny Savage described the band. The band takes inspiration from bands such as The Lumineers and The Old Crow Medicine Show.

“One day I grabbed an old washboard and we just started jamming. That was really the start of Mooncats,” Savage said. “We like to put on a fun, multigenerational show to be able to include all ages. Our music involves a lot of crowd involvement and dancing.”

A festival schedule will be posted on the festival website in March.