An Iowa State professor will be one of the many participants displaying their talents at Living History Farms in Urbandale this weekend.

For the third consecutive year, Living History Farms will host the Iowa Folk Heritage Weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

Demonstrators from around the state and the Midwest will show audiences their skills in various traditional trades, folk dancing, historic music and the preparation of ethnic food.

Nancy Blyer, professor of English at ISU, is one of the many performers who will participate in the weekend events.

“I play the hammerdulcimer, an instrument with 64 strings that you hit with a hammer. I love playing it,” Blyer said. She said the instrument originated in Persia.

Blyer plays with the Onion Creek Band, which is based in Ames.

“I joined the band in 1985, 13 years ago, and really enjoy it,” she said. The group has been performing for 21 years in the Ames area.

“A graduate couple from the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia brought the idea for the band and the music to Ames in 1977,” Blyer said.

Group members played for Old Time Music Weekend held at Living History Farms and then were asked to perform at the Iowa Folk Heritage Weekend.

The band has approximately 15 members. The music is played on fiddles and other string instruments, and clog dancers keep time to the music. Band members say their songs have an Irish background and are easy to dance to.

The Onion Creek Band also features an 11-year-old fiddler. Blyer said the group is very excited to have him performing with them and feels that he is a great addition to the group. This young fiddler will also be competing at the Iowa State Fair later this summer.

The Onion Creek Band can be seen at many events this summer aside from this weekend’s show. Upcoming performances include a concert at Brookside Park in Ames on Saturday for the Habitat for Humanity’s Habitour, and a concert in Colo at the Hickory Grove park for Summerfest.