Keeping local folks in the festival

Mi casa es tu casa.” My home is your home. I was born in Puerto Rico, where this expression of welcome was heard often. It tells the guest, do not see yourself as a visitor in my house; rather, treat my house as your home.

This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the American Folk Festival, becomes our “home,” extending a similar welcome to traditional artists from all over the world. Our “house,” with its 800 volunteers, the city of Bangor and Brewer and other municipalities, corporate, business and individual sponsors and donors, will be open in welcome to a diverse group of storytellers from here in Maine and all over the world.

While in our home, these artists will share their unique life experiences through music, dance, songs, foods and crafts. We will hear stories and songs from Appalachia, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, Texas, Finland, New Orleans, Ireland, Lebanon, Poland, Quebec and Tibet. These performers, representing homes from afar, will share their heritage with music that will make our feet dance and our hearts sing. Strangers will gather on the waterfront and by the end of the three days will no longer be strangers. That is what happens when you open your home to others! Mi casa es veramente tu casa. My home is truly your home.

Here in our “casa,” there were some who dared to dream. They dreamed that we could host a National Folk Festival and indeed, Bangor was awarded a three-year run with the National Folk Festival. Attendance at that event increased from 80,000 in its first year to 135,000 in 2004, the last year of the National. The dreamers continued dreaming and the American Folk Festival on the Bangor Waterfront began in 2005, committed to presenting the highest caliber of traditional music, dance and storytelling as the National Folk Festival did. We have seen an increase in attendance in the last three years of the American Folk Festival and the legacy of extending a warm welcome to performers of the world has continued.

The American Folk Festival has become more than a celebration of traditional arts. Yes, we gather to see and hear the music, dance and stories of more than 20 cultures. This year we will welcome six National Endowment fellows! Yes, we plan with anticipation what wonderful foods we will try. The festival has become much more than the individual experience of a magnificent cultural event.

We come together in a spirit of community because we all take ownership of this festival. The American Folk Festival provides a magical opportunity for us to lift our heads in communal pride. We walk a little taller, we have a skip in our step. We invite friends and family from away to join us for this special weekend. It is produced, financed and attended by Maine residents. It is homegrown and yes, it’s made in Maine! As opening night draws nearer, we feel the hum of anticipation. What traditions will touch our soul? Who will “wow” us this year? What performance will give us goose bumps and take our breath away? What group will make the dance tent pulsate with intoxicating rhythms? Everyone is gearing up with excitement and anticipation. The festival has become central to Bangor’s identity and sense of community. A friend recently described the festival as “the jewel in Bangor’s crown.”

Just as we do in our own homes with visitors around the kitchen table, we too will share stories at the festival, partake in good food and – by the end of the visit – feel replenished to meet the long winter. But winter turns to spring, and spring to summer and then – the festival returns! The festival has intertwined itself in the rhythms of our lives. It has brought the world to Bangor and Bangor to the world. It provides myriad opportunities for people to gather around the home table where visions are shared and dreams are realized.

Today, we bring you another dream – to continue the American Folk Festival as it has been – admission-free, six performance stages presenting the highest caliber of traditional performers over a three-day period. Please help us keep Our Festival in Our Community. When you see the bucket brigade volunteers, please be generous and in so doing, ensure the realization of this dream. Let us join together in our commitment to continue hosting the largest cultural event in the state. Let us continue to come together as a community and proudly welcome the world to the Bangor Waterfront and for years to come hear, mi casa es tu casa.

Maria Baeza is the chair of the American Folk Festival.