Folklife

The Mississippi Folklife Area & Stage celebrates and showcases the traditions held deeply in the state's diverse communities. With a different theme each year, the Folklife Area will shine a spotlight on the distinctive music, rituals, crafts, occupations, foodways, and other traditions at the heart of Mississippi's cultural heritage, expressing both the state’s deep history and its evolving character.
 

From the Gulf Coast to the Delta and the Prairie to the hill country, this area will present the best traditional musicians, artisans, and foods in Mississippi, in curated programs that celebrate the state’s rich, diverse, and distinctive culture. Performances, demonstrations, displays, exhibits, and narrative presentations will explore a wide range of topics, including the traditions of its First Peoples, the cultural legacies of families who have called the state home for generations, and the expressions of the newest Mississippi residents whose cultural roots are in far-flung places around the globe.

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Legacies of Empowerment

Mississippi folklife is celebrated in Legacies of Empowerment, a special program curated by the Mississippi Arts Commission. Paying tribute to the artistic, cultural, and social contributions of blues legend, B.B. King, and civil rights champion, Medgar Evers, on the 100th anniversaries of their births, hear today's blues, influenced by King, and gospel, the soundtrack to the civil rights movement. Listen to percussive sounds, from marching bands to fife and drum music, and take in expressions of deep community like hip hop, punk, Mexican huapango music, and Choctaw social dancing. Visit quilters, skateboard designers, sign painters, and local farmers. From the Delta to the Gulf Coast, each honors King and Evers's commitment to empowerment and sustainability through artistic expression.