The entrance sign of the Hodag Country Festival in 2012.
The Hodag Country Festival,[1] named after the folkloric Hodag, is an outdoor country music festival usually held the second weekend of July in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Celebrating its 45th Anniversary in 2023, the festival has grown from 500 attendees at the first event to over 25,000 per day, with a total attendance of 30,000 - 50,000 people annually. There was no festival in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival was created by Bernie and Diane Eckert, Ernie Feight, and Ted Tschannen (who would leave the group approximately two years later.) Feight would remain a part of the venture until 1994, when he sold his shares to the Eckert's children. The festival would become the sole business interest of the Eckert children after 2008.
The first festival was held on August 4th – 6th, 1978 and featured Freddy Fender and Jana Jae. The List of Country Music Hall of Fame inductees who have performed include:
Brooks and Dunn
Garth Brooks
Glen Campbell
Roy Clark
Charlie Daniels
Little Jimmy Dickens
Merle Haggard
Emmylou Harris
George Jones
Loretta Lynn
Reba McEntire
Ronnie Milsap
The Oak Ridge Boys
Charlie Pride
Kenny Rogers
Mel Tillis
Randy Travis
Don Williams
Tammy Wynette
Since 1981, country music radio stations in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan have sponsored regional contests. The first-place winners of each region can then advance to the Hodag Country Festival to compete for the title of Wisconsin State Country Band Champion.
^"Hodag History and Past Performers". Hodag.com. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
and 19 Related for: Hodag Country Festival information
The HodagCountryFestival, named after the folkloric Hodag, is an outdoor country music festival usually held the second weekend of July in Rhinelander...
folklore, the hodag is a fearsome critter resembling a large bull-horned carnivore with a row of thick curved spines down its back. The hodag was said to...
Music Festival, George Country Fest, Cadott County Line Country Fest Electric City Music Festival, Kaukauna Great River Folk FestivalHodagCountry Fest...
Bluegrass Country at the Heartland (Bonner Springs, Kansas) HodagCountryFestival Las Cruces Country Music Festival Outlaws and Legends Music Festival Route...
Country Fest, Country Jam USA, the HodagCountryFestival, Porterfield Country Music Festival, Country Thunder USA in Twin Lakes, and Country USA. Milwaukee...
Horsburgh was introduced to United States' country music audiences when he performed at the HodagFestival in Rhinelander, Wisconsin[6]. A groundswell...
sightings. Perry, New York, held Silver Lake Sea Serpent Festivals based on a local hoax. The HodagFestival in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, celebrates "discovery"...
filmed in and around Minneapolis, Minnesota, and made its festival debut at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal, Canada. Ghost from the Machine was also an...
advantage throughout this rivalry. Later, both men are invited to a harvest festival party at Van Tassel's where Ichabod's social skills far outshine Brom's...
Appleseed". The first recorded Johnny Appleseed Festival was held in 1968 in Lisbon, Ohio. The festival takes place the third weekend of September in downtown...
Charleston, South Carolina. The city of Marion, Iowa holds an annual Swamp Fox Festival. Marion County, South Carolina, and its county seat, the City of Marion...
instead of Crockett. He met Polly Finley and her mother Jean at a harvest festival. Although friendly towards him in the beginning, Jean Finley eventually...
The Hodag is a mythical beast that is said to inhabit the forests of Northern Wisconsin, particularly around the city of Rhinelander. The Hodag has a...
premiere took place on the opening night of the 2021 virtual Animation First Festival presented by French Institute Alliance Française. Robin Weigert played...
Witch of Tennessee, performed in Adams, TN during the Bell Witch Fall Festival in late October. The Danish metal band Mercyful Fate released a song titled...
State Rock Reedsburg – Butter Capital of America Rhinelander – Home of the Hodag Richland Center – From Farming to Frank Lloyd Wright Ripon – Birthplace...
Pants", Ned Fussbuster in the Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated episode "The Hodag of Horror"). February 15: Christopher McDonald, American actor (voice of...
Global Information