Name: Wheelchair Sports Camp & Gaelynn Lea
Start: 2026-10-18
End: 2026-10-18

Each January, for more than 40 years, folk music fans have warmed their spirits at this lively gathering. National and international acoustic performers, jazz, folk, bluegrass, and singer/songwriters take the stage.

The first Ann Arbor Folk Festival took place in 1976, and since then it’s grown in scope and depth. The range of genres and styles is large, the sense of tradition when all the evening’s performers join together in song at the end of the Saturday show even stronger.

All funds raised through the Festival benefit The Ark, Ann Arbor’s non-profit home for folk, roots, and ethnic music.

Many impressive entertainers have performed at the festival, including John Prine, Leon Redbone, Arlo Guthrie, Bonnie Raitt, Indigo Girls, Taj Mahal, Chet Atkins, Lyle Lovett, Brandi Carlile, Emmylou Harris, Keb Mo’, Joan Baez and so many more. [View all of the performers that have taken the stage at the Ann Arbor Folk festival since 1976!](https://theark.org/folk-festival/folk-festival-history/)

Ann Arbor Folk Festival

C.W.Petersen jewelers are on an endless pursuit of design excellence. Designing custom pieces that are unique and stand-alone is their trademark.

C. W. Petersen Jewelry

Le Dog, originally located on East Liberty, now inhabits space on Main Street. Le Dog's menu focuses on rotating homemade soups prepared with fresh ingredients, along with hot dogs and fresh lemonade. Le Dog serves more than 428 different soups every year but customers have two favorites: lobster bisque and chicken tortilla. Chicken white chili, beef chili and pozole follow close behind.

Le Dog/Le Soup

A luxury cosmetics boutique in downtown Ann Arbor that is stocked with the best premium brands and staffed with perceptive, knowledgeable salespeople. Lily Grace Cosmetics is here to serve the local community that longs for a high-end, personal experience in a one-of-a-kind setting.

Lily Grace Cosmetics

In business for over forty years, Renaissance was established in 1971 and carries the finest gentlemen and ladies' apparel. They also provide "Made to Measure" service for suits, sport jackets, trousers, shirts, overcoats and more.

Renaissance Ann Arbor

The Ark is Michigan’s nonprofit home for folk and roots music. Considered one of the top music clubs in the world, The Ark is renowned for the quality and breadth of its programming. The Ark is an intimate 400-seat club presenting performers ranging from young up-and-comers to classic figures of the folk genre.

With live music over 300 nights each year in one of the best listening rooms anywhere, The Ark is a sure bet for a memorable evening of enriching entertainment, musical artistry, and personal warmth.

The Ark is now available to rent for meetings space!

The Ark

Sleek seafood venue that adopts a lounge aura with cocktails and music after 9:00 p.m. Come for dinner and stay for live entertainment. Much more than a seafood and martini bar, The Black Pearl evokes the appeal of a classy yet unpretentious boutique venue, perfect for socializing and entertaining.

The Black Pearl is a rare gem, the kind of place discovered and adopted for its charm and welcoming ambiance. From inception, the idea behind The Black Pearl was to reinvent the experience of "comfortable and cool" dining and lounging in the perfect setting of the vibrant heart of downtown Ann Arbor.

Black Pearl Ann Arbor

The Blue LLama Jazz Club® connects the “Love of Food” and the “Love of Music” to oﬀer one of the most unique and exciting dining and listening experiences in the Midwest.

Blue LLama presents live jazz and world music paired with seasonally inspired New American cuisine, designed by chef Scot Livingston, creating a destination music venue and restaurant on Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor.

The Blue LLama Jazz Club

Shalimar Restaurant is located in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor on Main Street between Liberty and William. Specializing in North Indian, Tandoori and Mughlai dishes, vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, Biryanis and more.

Shalimar Restaurant

Located in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor for over 25 years, The Chop House is a premier destination for refined dining. Known for its impeccable service, USDA Prime steaks, and extensive wine selection, it embodies timeless steakhouse tradition. No visit is complete without dessert or an after-dinner cigar at La Dolce Vita, completing a truly sophisticated experience.

Chop House

The [Ann Arbor Sports Commission](https://www.annarbor.org/sports-commission/ "Ann Arbor Sports Commission") works diligently to improve the quality of life through sports for all of Washtenaw County. The [Ann Arbor area](https://www.annarbor.org/ "Ann Arbor area") attracts both sports enthusiasts and participants alike. Thanks to its [easy accessibility](https://www.annarbor.org/plan/getting-here-getting-around/ "easy accessibility"), [wide range of facilities](https://www.annarbor.org/sports-commission/facilities-venues/ "wide range of facilities") available and variety of [dining](https://www.annarbor.org/foodanddrink/ "dining") & [entertainment](https://www.annarbor.org/things-to-do/ "entertainment") options, the Ann Arbor area is a favorite of sporting event organizations. The area has a rich sporting culture seeding in the history of two Division 1 athletic programs ([University of Michigan](https://www.annarbor.org/university-of-michigan/ "University of Michigan") and Eastern Michigan University) and several other small institutions. The Ann Arbor Sports was formed to attract amateur sporting events to the Ann Arbor region by assisting organizers every step of the way.

Ann Arbor is a dynamic mix of energy and charm—a bustling university town, a [foodie’s paradise](https://www.annarbor.org/foodanddrink/ "foodie's paradise"), and a cutting-edge tech hub, all wrapped in a [walkable downtown](https://www.annarbor.org/things-to-do/downtown/ "walkable downtown") bursting with [world-class arts and culture](https://www.annarbor.org/things-to-do/arts-culture/ "world-class arts and culture"). Located in Michigan’s southeast Lower Peninsula, Ann Arbor is the heartbeat of a vibrant network of [communities across Washtenaw County](https://www.annarbor.org/surrounding-destinations/ "communities across Washtenaw County"). With its creative spirit, diverse flavors, and unique neighborhoods, Ann Arbor shines as a exciting oasis.

Ann Arbor Sports Commission

As part of the 2nd annual Michigan Arts Festival, the U-M Arts Initiative, with partners The Ark, Booksweet, and the Disability Network Washtenaw Monroe Livingston, will offer a free concert and discussion by artists Wheelchair Sports Camp & Gaelynn Lea.

After the concert, Booksweet will offer sales of Gaelynn Lea’s 2026 memoir, IT WASN’T MEANT TO BE PERFECT. The artists will be present for a signing.

Wheelchair Sports Camp is certainly not your average act. Hailing from Denver, CO, fronted by Kalyn Rose Heffernan – a wheelchair-using, profanely queer and tiny rapper, with a very distinctly high-pitched sense of humor. Backed by her gimp Greggy on drums, the band combines fantastic beats with an absolutely face-shredding live show. After playing shows everywhere they could, the band expanded into performance art, museum takeovers, politics, prison tours, permanent installations, theatre, film, and now the release of their newest album, “oh imperfecta” on Alternative Tentacles Records.

Wheelchair Sports Camp & Gaelynn Lea

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