The Ellwood House Fall Festival Sunday will feature some of NIU’s campus organizations including the NIU Steel Band and the American Association of University Women.

“The festival commemorates the end of the growing season and the beginning of fall,” Museum Director Jerry Bauer said.

The festival, sponsored by the Ellwood House Museum, will feature various craft sales, music, food and guided tours of the museum.

The NIU Steel Band, scheduled to perform from 1 to 3 p.m., will feature a variety of calypso, reggae and popular music.

“Steel drums originated in the West Indies, and we play that type of music,” Steel Band Director Allan O’Connor said.

Six of the 24 students in the band will perform at the festival. O’Connor said the band conducts about 30 to 40 performances throughout the school year.

Steel Band’s U.S. tours include performances for elementary schools and halftime entertainment for New York soccer games.

Along with the entertainment by the Steel Band, “we will have 25 booths ranging from fall produce to arts and crafts,” Bauer said.

e said organizations sponsor fundraisers from all over the country.

uth Briles, who is a member of the American Association of University Women, said the association will hold a cookie and used book sale at the festival.

“We raise money for scholarships given at the graduate level,” Briles said.

The association has had a fund-raising booth at the festival for the past two or three years, she said.

The festival is free of charge to the community. Museum tours cost $2, but students with valid school IDs will receive a 50-cent discount.

Bauer said the Ellwood House sponsors about five community events per year including an art fair, an ice-cream social and a Christmas event.