The National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) The NCTA is the nation’s oldest multicultural arts presenting organization. For over eight decades, through festivals, tours, symposia, exhibits, and media productions, the NCTA has showcased the very best of the myriad grassroots folk, tribal and ethnic cultures that comprise our diverse nation.
The “National” will celebrate its 75th anniversary in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, September 11 – 13, 2015
August 25, 2014 —The National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) and ArtsGreensboro announced today that the 75th National Folk Festival will take place September 11 – 13, 2015, in the heart of downtown Greensboro, marking the first of the festival’s three-year residency in Greensboro, 2015-2017.
The “National” is a FREE, three-day outdoor event celebrating the diversity and vibrancy of American culture through music, dance, storytelling, traditional crafts, food, and more. It will feature more than 30 performing groups on seven stages with continuous music and dance performances, along with children’s activities, a North Carolina folklife area, a festival marketplace, and regional and ethnic foods. The festival is expected to draw up to 175,000 visitors—many from across the United States—to Greensboro by its third year in 2017.
ArtsGreensboro and the NCTA will co-produce the festival in cooperation with the City of Greensboro, the Greensboro Convention & Visitors Bureau, Action Greensboro, DGI, and other local groups.
“Early September is a wonderful time to be outdoors in North Carolina,” said ArtsGreensboro President and CEO Tom Philion. “Not only is school back in session, but also the weather is usually lovely. In fact, before making this decision, we checked weather statistics for the past 30 years.”
“Downtown Greensboro is in the midst of a renaissance, and presenting the National Folk Festival in this location adds to the momentum,” said NCTA Executive Director Julia Olin. “We like to be where the action is.”
Looking ahead, the dates for the 76th and 77th National Folk Festivals in Greensboro will be September 9-11, 2016, and September 8 – 10, 2017, respectively.
