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• Nashville TN

The National Folk Festival

Nashville, TN September 2-4, 2011 | FREE ADMISSION

The Event

A Great American Festival Comes to America’s “Music City”

One of the most prestigious and longest-running celebrations of the arts, the National Folk Festival, is coming to Nashville for a three-year tenure beginning in September of 2011. The National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), the organization that created and has produced the National Folk Festival since 1934, recognized Nashville’s unique cultural assets and strong community spirit in choosing Nashville as the National Folk Festival Host City for 2011, 2012 and 2013, the festival’s 75th anniversary year.

A large-scale three-day outdoor event presented free to the public, the National Folk Festival celebrates the roots, richness and variety of American culture. It features a broad array of music and dance performances, participatory dancing, workshops, children’s activities, regional and ethnic foods, storytelling, parades, craft exhibits and demonstrations, and more. A “movable feast of the deeply traditional folk arts,” the National Folk Festival brings a jubilant and dizzying array of offerings that appeal to audiences of all ages.

Music and Dance From Across America

Music and dance traditions from every part of the nation are represented, performed by the country’s very finest traditional artists.  Audiences are treated to authentic blues, gospel, jazz, polka, cowboy, bluegrass, klezmer, old-time, Cajun, rhythm and blues, mariachi, Western swing, zydeco and more.  Continuous performances on six stages celebrate Native American, Celtic, Acadian, Middle Eastern, Caribbean, East Asian, Appalachian, Hispanic, Eastern European, African and Pacific Island cultures.

A Celebration of America’s Cultural Roots   

Folk arts are those deeply held grassroots cultural expressions – music, dance, crafts, stories and foodways – passed down through time by families, communities, tribal, ethnic and occupational groups. The festival’s programming embraces the heritage and traditions of all Americans – from those whose families have been here for centuries to those of our country’s most recent immigrants. Legendary masters as well as the next generation of dynamic young artists celebrate the musical soul and cultural roots of America.

Tennessee Traditions

Each National Folk Festival host city celebrates its own regional traditions and heritage.  Folklife stage presentations, demonstrations and exhibits focus on close-to-home culture, and feature Tennessee’s living treasures – its finest craftspeople and other tradition-bearers – and explore a broad range of subjects. 

Something for Everyone 

Chinese dragon and lion dancers, Mardi Gras Indians, New Orleans brass bands, and a host of other traditional street and celebratory activities are also part of the National Folk Festival’s mix. Special attention is given to providing engaging and educational performances and hands-on activities for children and youth, sharing the richness and diversity of many cultures with them.  

The festival’s artistic diversity is complemented by a delicious variety of ethnic and regional food specialties available for sale throughout the festival site.

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