While the collective local focus is no doubt on the coming Monroe County Fair, one big summer music event is looking to make its debut just before fair week begins.

The Monroe County Music Festival takes place this Saturday, offering the opportunity for folks to spend the day listening to an assortment of local bands.

Those scheduled for this inaugural event are South Main Band, Tim Berg & The Kurtz Family Band, Deer Hill Band, Days of Noah, Kickback, 3rd Phase, Josh Boyer & Friends, and Cluless.

Co-chairs for the event are Kevin Kujawa and Zoar United Church of Christ Pastor R.J. Morgan, who both have their own history with and passion for music in Monroe County.

Kujawa expressed his excitement for the hometown nature of the festival.

“It’s truly a local event,” Kujawa said. “All the bands are Monroe County bands. The thought was to celebrate our county and celebrate the Monroe County music scene.”

The idea for the festival, as Kujawa described, came from a conversation he had with Morgan some months ago as they were considering how they might be able to offer bands the chance to showcase their talent.

Jim Briedecker, another individual closely involved in organizing the festival, offered his perspective regarding Monroe County music given his experience in the community.

Briedecker explained that there seemed to be far more opportunities for bands to perform in the past, with the number of venues offering them a stage – and decent pay – waning over the years, though this issue has improved recently.

It’s with this history and the currently flourishing local music scene that Kujawa and Morgan thought to put the event together.

“It’s just with a lot of appreciation and pride that we’ve become aware of the excessive amount of musical talent in this area,” Morgan said. “We just thought it would be great to highlight that.”

Work toward the festival really got underway in April, with the original hope being a two-day event, though scheduling and other difficulties ultimately landed the festival on the Saturday just before fair week.

Kujawa said that the event has received a great deal of community support over the past few months, with sponsorships from local businesses now being sold out.

“We worked hard and worked fast, had a lot of volunteers and a lot of community support, including First National Bank of Waterloo, the Vintage Wine Bar, I can go on and on,” Kujawa said. “It was just great how well the business community stepped up and supported this event.”

The festival, naturally, also saw plenty of musicians reaching out in order to participate – so many bands, in fact, that the organizers unfortunately had to turn several away due to time constraints.

Similarly, ticket sales have been rather impressive, with roughly 50 percent of general admission tickets being sold prior to the actual festival.

Though Kujawa and Morgan credit much of the interest in the event with the county’s passion for music, the fact that proceeds are planned to go to Monroe County House of Neighborly Service could also play a role.

“Choosing House of Neighborly Service was something that we knew resonated with a lot of people in the area,” Morgan said.

Kujawa and Morgan both expressed a hope to see the event return next year, with the original plan of a weekend-long festival possibly being realized “assuming we survive this year,” as Kujawa said.

The music festival would join the numerous other Monroe County summertime staples. Though Morgan said they’re not looking to compete with other such events, they do feel they stand out given where the focus lies.

“Perhaps the way we’re putting this together, doing it primarily just to highlight the bands and support the community – nobody’s trying to make money off this – and so I think that’s one of the things that makes it somewhat particular,” Morgan said.

The Monroe County Music Festival takes place Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. at Hank and Lilly’s Fountain Inn, 1912 Fountain Road.

General admission tickets are available for $10 at Hank & Lilly’s or First National Bank in Waterloo, and attendees are advised to bring their own lawn chair.

Tickets and more information can also be found online at monroecountymusic.com.