Newsroom

80th National Folk Festival and Salisbury are Together Again!

Salisbury, MD – Today the National Folk Festival confirmed it will return to downtown Salisbury September 10-12, 2021, with performances, special family and Maryland folklife programming, diverse food and beverage offerings, and more—all presented free to the public on three outdoor stages. This year’s event will mark the celebration of the 80th National Folk Festival as well as the third …

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2021 Festival Season Update from NCTA

A Statement from NCTA Executive Director Lora Bottinelli It has been nearly one year since our worlds changed so dramatically. After cancelling our in-person festival season in 2020, we were optimistic we would be able to return to a full festival schedule in 2021. But to our deep disappointment, all signs suggest that the threat of this pandemic will continue …

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Virtual Event on March 4, 2021, Showcases 2020 National Heritage Fellows

Washington, DC— The National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with the National Council for the Traditional Arts, will present “The Culture of America: A Cross-Country Visit with the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellows,” on March 4, 2021 at 8:00 pm ET. Join storyteller Queen Nur as she hosts a virtual trip across the country, taking viewers …

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2020 Year in Review

December 4, 2020 Dear Friend of the NCTA, We know that 2020 has brought unprecedented challenges, opportunities, and needs within the communities the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) serves. For NCTA, we are proud of our ability to respond and regroup, which resulted in a first in our history—an entirely virtual year of programming that celebrated, honored, and amplified …

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NCTA & National Park Service Premiere Bayous & Backroads

November 16, 2020 New Orleans, La. – Today the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), the National Park Service, and Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve announced a new collaborative documentary project, Bayous & Backroads: A Look Inside Louisiana’s Lifeways. This new series of short documentary films follows Cajun musicians and cultural advocates Joel Savoy and Jo Vidrine …

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The Richmond Folk Festival – a Virtual Celebration is This Weekend!

The Richmond Folk Festival will celebrate its 16th anniversary the weekend of October 9-11 with a “virtual” event that will bring together the community through a special television program on VPM PBS Plus Channel 57.1, radio broadcasts on VPM Music (107.3 FM & 93.1 FM), and online streaming on the festival website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel. The virtual celebration …

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National Folk Festival Announces Plans for a Virtual Celebration

Today, the National Folk Festival announced plans for a virtual celebration on the weekend of September 12-13. The longest-running multicultural celebration of the finest folk and traditional artists in the United States, each year the National features over 350 artists—musicians, dancers, storytellers, and craftspeople—with more than 35 different groups performing on the festival’s seven outdoor stages. Last year, the 79th …

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Keeping the Tradition: A Virtual Celebration of the Lowell Folk Festival

Special Video Celebration of the Lowell Folk Festival: Saturday, July 25 Held in the streets of Lowell, MA for 33 years, the Lowell Folk Festival brings together tens of thousands of people in celebration of the richness of American culture and the unique spirit of the Lowell community. The festival was cancelled earlier this year due to state and local …

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2020 National Heritage Fellowships

The National Endowment for the Arts announced the 2020 NEA National Heritage Fellows, recipients of the nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. These lifetime honor awards of $25,000 are given in recognition of both artistic excellence and efforts to sustain cultural traditions for future generations. The annual celebration of the new class of National Heritage Fellows will …

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