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HOUGHTON - Plans for the eighth annual summer Arts & Music Festival are coming together.

The day-long festival will be held on June 13. In a change from previous years, this year's event will be held on Shelden Avenue.

Six musical groups will perform at this year's festival, planner Todd Brassard said at Wednesday's Downtown Merchants Association meeting at the Lunch Bag in Houghton.

PJ Olsson will lead the final musical performance. He won't be alone; the performance will be the culmination of a local "Rock Camp," including 12 15-and-under youth musicians and eight dancers.

The children will go through three hours of practice per day for the three weeks leading up to the festival.

A number of local music luminaries, including Mike Irish and Milt Olsson, will help with their training.

Olsson and company will take the stage about 6:50 p.m., Brassard said.

"We're trying to take the day, make it fun during the day, but drive up the energy at night," he said.

The bandshell might be set up by the Keweenaw Community Foundation building. One plan calls for space for a crowd up front, but tents set up on either side for people who want to listen to the music in a shaded area.

Brassard said it would make the music audible, but not intrusive, over a wider space.

"You had to make a choice," Brassard said of the previous setup, which had musicians performing in a tent. "You could either be walking around, or listening to the music."

There will be between 30 to 40 10-by-10 booths set up on the street, Brassard said.

Brassard said there would be a "Frog Hop," where attendees receive a card that has to be stamped by a number of local businesses. When they get all stamps, they come back to the festival and turn the card in. They would then be eligible for door prizes given out during the final musical performance.

DMA President Steve Krug gave an overview of other events going on in the downtown this summer. They include a Thursday night concert series, (which will take place every Thursday from June 18 to Sept. 10, with the exception of June 25 and Sept. 3), and two scavenger hunts, the first of which is scheduled for July 18.

Garrett Neese can be reached at gneese@mininggazette.com.