We're posting this on behalf of the MCHS Music Boosters. They are having their Second Annual Expo On Saturday, November 16th, from 9-3 at Mifflin County High School. The Event Benefits the Student Music Programs at the Jr/Sr High. The vendor application is below. For more information, visit their Facebook page, 2014 MC Music Booster's Second Annual Holiday Expo.

Be sure to check out the website at least once a month, because we are always adding new workshops and events! We tend to create an event for one workshop on Facebook after the previous one is over, but you can still check out upcoming offerings on the Events page at www.mifflinjuniataartscouncil.org, and then contact us on the Contact Us page or pm us on FB to let us know which workshops you'd like to attend!

And don't forget, our meeting times have changed. We now meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7:00 at Gallery 3West. Why not come join us and help us to promote the arts in Mifflin and Juniata Counties? 

Because of members' scheduling conflicts, the MJAC meeting time has changed. Beginning in September 2014, we will meet on the 2nd TUESDAY of each month at 7:00 pm. We will still meet at Gallery 3West, in the Montgomery Ward Building on Monument Square. If you are interested in joining us and helping with workshops and other events, or if you have new ideas to bring to the table, please join us.

MJAC is participating in the Goose Day festivities this year! Check out our Goose Day Events page, as well as our regular Events page to see what is happening! 

Everyone in Mifflin County knows about Goose Day, but do you know why we celebrate it? Here's a short history lesson:

The Medieval Period is also known as The Middle Ages. It lasted for 1,000 years, from the 5th century until the 15th century (the 400s until the 1400s). During this time, people celebrated Michaelmas, or the Feast of St. Michael, as a religious festival.

Michaelmas also happened to be the time of year when peasants paid their rent to the landowners. A peasant would come to the landlord's castle or manor house with rent, which could be paid in currency or, more often, a portion of the crops from the fall harvest. The peasant would also bring a stubble goose for the landlord's table, to ensure that the lease would be renewed for the coming year.

When the British began to colonize the United States in the 1600s, they brought the tradition with them. The only place in the US where it is still celebrated is in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, where there is a large population of people with British and Scots-Irish heritage. A local tenant farmer is credited with bringing the custom here. Read more about him at http://www.juniatarivervalley.org/ . 

In modern times, Michaelmas is called Goose Day, for the traditional goose dinner Mifflin Countians have on this day. Many restaurants in the area have a "goose day special." Eating goose on September 29 is said to bring good luck in the coming year. Other festivities include a 5K run and a "Wild Goose Chase," which is a county-wide scavenger hunt in which teams of people pile into cars and head out in search of clues. Another tradition is that a police officer will pull over a random car with out-of-state license plates, tell the occupants of the car that they will need to be "taken in," and then treat them to a surprise goose dinner at a local restaurant.