Prairie Pothole Music Festival is a grassroots music and arts festival in the heart of the midwest at Aurora Knolls Lodge and Event Center. We are dedicated to offering an eclectic and fresh line-up consisting of international, national, and regional artists as well as a handful of world class painters and visual artists.
Our event organizers have a long history of hosting events in the area and have teamed up with some of the best talent buyers, production personnel, and festival veterans in the midwest to deliver a second to none, midwest festival experience. PPMF began in 2016 with one stage and 6 acts. 5 years later, PPMF will be hosting 4 stages, 40+ musical acts, world-class painters, visual artists, diverse vendors, workshops, a kayak race and so much more!
We offer camping (RV passes available for an additional fee) and have a small lake that is great for swimming and non-motorized boating. Bring your kayak, canoe, or inflatable water toys and cool off in the pothole while watching music on The Lodge Stage!
We host a wide variety of workshops ranging from Yoga & Meditation to traditional trades such as Blacksmithing & Cooking over an open fire!
Our festival experience started with smaller events our organizers threw for friends and family, and naturally grew as they combined elements they experienced at varied festivals they and their friends all liked to attend: the former 10,000 Lakes Festival, Summer Camp Music Festival, Shangri-La, and more. We love music, and the festival atmosphere. As more and more musical acts started to appear throughout the region in the last few years, Prairie Pothole was a good way to showcase them all in one spot.
Prairie Pothole Music Festival began in 2016, but organizers have been planning smaller events throughout the central region since about 2009. From our first year with just about 100 people camping and checking out four acts, we’ve been fortunate enough to see massive growth – both in the number of acts and in the number of friends (old and new) who are planning on coming this year. With a multitude of musical acts planned and plenty of spots to camp, the sky is the limit for our concert goers and campers!
We love big festivals, but sometimes those large events can feel too corporate. At PPMF we aim to deliver the big festival experience, in an intimate, small festival setting.
Don’t be afraid to come out and make some new friends, we guarantee you will find beautiful individuals from all walks of life and find yourself right at home. It helps us keep a kind of “Everyone’s part of the family” feel to the event, which keeps things really inclusive. We want everyone to be safe, we want everyone to have fun, and we want everyone who comes out to create the kind of memory that makes them want to come back and make more.