Longtime Hiawatha Festival organizer and Wheatland volunteer Pearl Taylor died on March 10, 2020. Pearl worked in the Info Booth at Traditional Arts Weekend and the fall festival for over 20 years. Longtime Wheatland volunteer Chris Cotton described Pearl as “a force in the traditional music and dance world for as long as I can remember.” Rick Good and his wife Sharon Leahy (another one from the Wheatland Legends category) wrote that Pearl “was like a character from some beloved nursery rhyme; a splash of vinegar and a spoonful of honey; an envoy of Mother Earth sent to help whomever, however she could.” Yet another Wheatland Founder, Marcia Leclear wrote, “Our annual reaffirming family ritual Sunday night potluck, was Pearl ‘s gift of love to us. Her singular offerings of pots, pans, tablecloths, spices, her fresh ground coffee, baskets of veggies, fresh whitefish, her little folding table we could never open without her help, will be lingering talismans to us who were blessed to be her friends. She’ll be on the bench with us Saturday night at the fest, leaning in.”