Northwest Folklife
Encyclopedia
The Northwest Folklife Festival is an annual festival
of ethnic, folk, and traditional art
, crafts
, and music
that takes place over the Memorial Day
weekend in Seattle, Washington at Seattle Center
. It brings together an estimated 250,000 visitors, 1,800 volunteers, and more than 6,000 musicians, dance
rs, and other performers. Admission is free, but greeters at the entrances encourage visitors to put cash in the donation boxes.
Northwest Folklife was founded in 1971 by the Seattle Folklore Society, the National Park Service
, the National Folk Festival Association (now the National Council for the Traditional Arts
), and the City of Seattle, as part of the Park Service's urban outreach program to allow the people of its Northwest Region
(including Alaska
) to publicly present what they "make for their own use and do for their own entertainment." The first festival was first held in 1972 and has since grown to become the largest free festival of its kind in North America.
The festival grounds also include extensive space for music jams and drum circles. Many attendees from across Washington state, Oregon
and British Columbia
, come to Northwest Folklife annually to play music with friends.
The festival also has buskers
(or street performers) who come to the festival from all over and perform along the Seattle Center walkways. The buskers include musicians, jugglers, circus performers, and magicians, and vary in age, style, and professionalism, all playing for donations from the crowds. Festival organizers recently began asking that buskers donate 15% of their earnings (from any album sales) to the festival, which is the same asked of vendors.
The performances featured both on and off stage expand on what the term "folk" means. Traditional folk music from all over the world is performed, along with rockabilly
, Balkan brass, folk punk
, jug band
, and other music that defies categorization. Dance performances include international folk dancing (including Morris dancing) as well as swing and blues.
The festival is also a place where people can simply hang out and enjoy the (usually sunny) Memorial Day Weather. The giant fountain in the center of Seattle Center
serves as a water park. Since the festival is free, people often come to picnic, sunbathe, or just enjoy the grounds.
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
of ethnic, folk, and traditional art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
, crafts
Arts and crafts
Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into handicrafts or "traditional crafts" and "the rest"...
, and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
that takes place over the Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
weekend in Seattle, Washington at Seattle Center
Seattle Center
Seattle Center is a park and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington. The campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition. It is located just north of Belltown in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood.-Attractions:...
. It brings together an estimated 250,000 visitors, 1,800 volunteers, and more than 6,000 musicians, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
rs, and other performers. Admission is free, but greeters at the entrances encourage visitors to put cash in the donation boxes.
Northwest Folklife was founded in 1971 by the Seattle Folklore Society, the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
, the National Folk Festival Association (now the National Council for the Traditional Arts
National Council for the Traditional Arts
The National Council for the Traditional Arts is a private, non-profit arts organization based in the United States that promotes the traditional arts. It organizes the National Folk Festival.It is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland....
), and the City of Seattle, as part of the Park Service's urban outreach program to allow the people of its Northwest Region
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
(including Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
) to publicly present what they "make for their own use and do for their own entertainment." The first festival was first held in 1972 and has since grown to become the largest free festival of its kind in North America.
Events, Performances, and Participation
Each year, the festival spotlights a particular ethnic community or folk tradition. In recent years, these cultural focuses have included maritime culture, Arab-American life, the Urban Indian, and the passing of cultural traditions from generation to generation. The most recent focus was centered around Bulgarian culture. The festival has several stages, large and small, set up throughout the Seattle Center grounds, which feature mostly local acts organized by the festival. Like the volunteers who run the festival, they perform for free. Many of the venues, notably the Center House and the nearby Roadhouse, are set up for participative dancing.The festival grounds also include extensive space for music jams and drum circles. Many attendees from across Washington state, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, come to Northwest Folklife annually to play music with friends.
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
(or street performers) who come to the festival from all over and perform along the Seattle Center walkways. The buskers include musicians, jugglers, circus performers, and magicians, and vary in age, style, and professionalism, all playing for donations from the crowds. Festival organizers recently began asking that buskers donate 15% of their earnings (from any album sales) to the festival, which is the same asked of vendors.
The performances featured both on and off stage expand on what the term "folk" means. Traditional folk music from all over the world is performed, along with rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
, Balkan brass, folk punk
Folk punk
Folk punk , is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was pioneered in the late 1970s and early 1980s by The Pogues in Britain and Violent Femmes in America. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in that decade...
, jug band
Jug band
A Jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of traditional and home-made instruments. These home-made instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making of sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, stovepipe and comb & tissue paper...
, and other music that defies categorization. Dance performances include international folk dancing (including Morris dancing) as well as swing and blues.
The festival is also a place where people can simply hang out and enjoy the (usually sunny) Memorial Day Weather. The giant fountain in the center of Seattle Center
Seattle Center
Seattle Center is a park and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington. The campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition. It is located just north of Belltown in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood.-Attractions:...
serves as a water park. Since the festival is free, people often come to picnic, sunbathe, or just enjoy the grounds.