Festivals

Festivals are a way to celebrate folklife and traditional arts and learn from tradition bearers directly.

Most folklife festivals are designed to be both educational and fun. The themes and artists featured at many folklife festivals are identified through field research carried out in local communities. The goal of the research is to identify the background and history of various traditions and authentic tradition bearers who enjoy working with the public.

Many folklife festivals have interpretive materials such as photographs, panels with written information you can read and built structures that help set a context or natural environment for the presentations.

In 1999 and 2000, New Hampshire sponsored two very large folklife festival presentations, both developed by the Traditional Arts Program of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and supported through private donations of many generous sponsors.

There are many community festivals throughout the year in New Hampshire.

Plan a trip to visit a regional or national folklife festival!

• Working Water Front Festival, held every fall in New Bedford, Massachusetts
• Lowell Folk Festival, held every summer in Lowell, Massachusetts
• American Folklife Festival, held every summer in Bangor, Maine
• Common Ground Country Fair, held every fall in Unity, Maine
• National Folklife Festival, held at a different State Park every three years
• Smithsonian Folklife Festival, held every summer in Washington, DC

Cooper Ron Raiselis demonstrating
at the 2003
New Hampshire Preservation
Alliance Old
House & Barn Expo.

The late Lydia Mann singing
gospel music at the
2000 Celebrate NH Festival.