Beautiful light I have always liked sleeping in, but since it was “dark under the table” early with no electricity, it was early to bed and early to rise. I would get up in the wee hours of the morning and wander around my parents’… Read More
    “In coffee shops and shelters, in kitchens and neighbors’ spare rooms, on the radio and in church … we rediscovered who we are – or most want to be – as a people. Ingenious, self-reliant, neighborly, creative, tough, funny, spontaneous, caring.” – Gov. Angus King,… Read More
    AUGUSTA (77 miles from Bangor) Maine State Housing Authority 56 googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    Consider the river. We mean the Penobscot River. Remember dancing on the banks of the river last summer during the National Folk Festival? We do. We think of Dale Watson and His LoneStars and instinctively our toes start tapping. Did you shake your hips to the Congolese beat… Read More
    In May, Jerry Douglas, who has been called the Jimi Hendrix of the dobro guitar, was traveling with Alison Krauss and her band, Union Station. They were on the Great High Mountain Tour, an amalgam of roots and old-time music concerts produced by the legendary T-Bone Burnett. Near… Read More
    Smoothies, homemade lemonade Aucoin Concessions googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
    When folk artists take to the stage, they often perform or demonstrate for an audience not well versed in the particular culture and traditions. Folklorists serve as interpreters, making communication between the artist and audience easier. At the 66th National Folk Festival, the following folklorists will be on… Read More
    We marched backward. That was the only way to see our neighbors, our friends, the kid next door, the guy from work, all in a parade. A parade. In Bangor. And it wasn’t Memorial Day. It was opening night of the National Folk Festival last… Read More
    . Through Sept. 7 “Fairfield Porter: A Life in Art, 1907-1975,” Portland Museum of Art, Seven Congress Square, Portland. 775-6148. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i… Read More
    Parlez-vous musique? For many of French descent, the answer is a resounding “Oui!” Two prime examples from both ends of the experience scale will perform at the 2003 National Folk Festival in Bangor. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
    The National Folk Festival is all about tradition. So is Dale Watson, particularly when it comes to country music. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length;… Read More
    It’s 2 in the afternoon, but when Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown answers the phone at his Louisiana home, he sounds sleepy, interrupted, cranky. Was he expecting the call? Yes. Can he talk now? Yes. OK then: What’s it like playing for the National Folk Festival? For… Read More
    Having grown up in Bangor, there are many aspects of the city I have come to love. The Kenduskeag Stream Race, Fourth of July celebration and Bangor State Fair are among the many events that make it such an extraordinary city. The National Folk Festival is yet another… Read More
    The city of Bangor long has been recognized for the beauty of its central and historic waterway, the Penobscot River. Likewise, many in our community appreciate the rich cultural and artistic country we call America. All of this comes together as we welcome the 65th National Folk Festival. Read More
    Welcome to the 65th National Folk Festival. This is the 26th time I’ve attended, and you’d think I would know a lot about it. But it is always full of surprises, and I flit about as happy as a Mississippi mockingbird in mating season. You… Read More
    AUGUSTA (77 miles from Bangor) Maine State Housing Authority 18 googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
    For children, the National Folk Festival can provide “glimpses of the wider world, in a festive and fun atmosphere.” That’s according to Andrea Stark, organizer for the Children’s Area and executive director at the nearby Maine Discovery Museum. “It’s a view that Maine children often… Read More
    First presented in 1934, the National Folk Festival is the oldest multicultural arts celebration in the nation. This “movable feast” of American heritage has traveled to 27 communities around the country to celebrate traditional music, dance, storytelling, crafts and food. Now entering its 65th year, the festival is… Read More
    Saturday: noon Two Rivers, 6:30 p.m. Two Rivers; Sunday: 3:30 p.m. Railroad, 5 p.m. Two Rivers Warner Williams is a songster and guitarist from the Washington, D.C., suburb of Gaithersburg, Md., and one of the finest Piedmont-style blues players in the country. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
    Friday: 9:30 p.m. Railroad; Saturday: 3 p.m. Railroad, 6:15 p.m. Heritage; Sunday: mariachi traditions 1 p.m. at Two Rivers with Nati Cano and members of Los Camperos Since leader Natividad Cano founded Los Camperos 42 years ago, the group has become one of the most… Read More
    Kwabena Owusu, drums of Ghana West African drummer googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
    The 65th National Folk Festival celebrates the rich traditional folk, ethnic and tribal cultures of the people of Maine and the United States. The nation’s earliest immigrants and settlers brought the music, arts and customs of their countries of origin with them to their new homeland, where they… Read More
    The Performers Alan Shavarsh Bardezbanian googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
    Saturday: noon Penobscot, 9:15 p.m. Penobscot; Sunday: 1:15 p.m. Penobscot Sounds of Korea presents a rich array of Korea’s diverse, ritual-based dances and percussion. The group is part of the Korean Traditional Performing Arts Association, a New York-based community organization that works to preserve, cultivate… Read More
    Peanut-almond butter and jelly sandwiches Greater Bangor Seventh-day Adventist Church googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
    Maine boasts a rich cultural heritage reflected in its food, ranging from the savory buckwheat pancakes, or ployes, prepared in the St. John Valley to the delicate lobster stews served up at churches and Grange halls along the Maine coast. The Pine Tree State’s ethnic population also is… Read More
    Friday: 9:15 p.m. Penobscot; Saturday: 1 p.m. Railroad Karan Casey has one of the most instantly recognizable and original voices in Irish music. A former lead vocalist with the Irish supergroup Solas, she exhibits the grace and richness of an old soul. The Wall Street… Read More
    Friday: 8:30 p.m. Railroad; Saturday: noon Railroad, 5:15 p.m. Kenduskeag; Sunday: 3:15 p.m. Heritage Five-thirty in the morning is not an hour generally claimed by musicians. While most singers and strummers are dozing on the bus or at the local Motel 6, there is one… Read More
    While Maria Baeza was growing up in Brooklyn, there were two constants in her life: beans and rice. Every night, her mother would cook up meat and some combination of the two – either mixed together or served separately. The latter was young Maria’s favorite, because, that way,… Read More
    Friday: 8 p.m. Kenduskeag; Saturday: 2:30 p.m. Kenduskeag; Sunday: 12:30 p.m. Kenduskeag Surrounded by local legend and enriched by a multiethnic past, vallenato, the music of Colombia’s coastal region, has become one of the country’s most popular styles. Sensacion Vallenata con Gustavo Nieto, a Maryland-based… Read More
    Saturday: 4:45 p.m. Two Rivers; Sunday: 2:45 p.m. Two Rivers Upon arriving in the United States in 1996, Yang Wei and Betty Xiang were immediately recognized as virtuosos of extraordinary ability, masters of the ancient Chinese pipa (lute) and erhu (violin). This husband-and-wife duet has… Read More
    Saturday: 1:45 p.m. Two Rivers; Sunday: noon Heritage The Volskaya Russian Trio, which is about to mark its fifth anniversary as an ensemble, is composed of Tamara Volskaya on domra, Anatoliy Trofimov on bayan and Leonid Bruk on bass balalaika. The group performs a blend… Read More
    Saturday: noon Kenduskeag, 9:15 p.m. Kenduskeag; Sunday: 3 p.m. Kenduskeag, 5 p.m. Railroad Emerging from the urban centers of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) and remaining popular for more than 50 years, soukous, or “rumba,” has been one of the most globally influential… Read More
    The Maine Discovery Museum 74 Main St., Bangor, Maine googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
    Saturday: 4:45 p.m. Penobscot, 7:30 p.m. Railroad; Sunday: 1:30 p.m. Railroad The members of Mountain Heart rank among the finest bluegrass musicians in the nation, so it is no surprise that their new band is sensational. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
    Saturday: 1 p.m. Chinese dragon and lion dancers on midway, 3 p.m. Taiwanese folk aboriginal dance at Children’s Area, 4 p.m. Chinese yo-yo exhibition at Children’s Area, 7 p.m. Chinese dragon and lion dancers parade from Heritage to Railroad; Sunday: 1:15 p.m. Chinese dragon and lion dancers at… Read More
    Vendors in the National Folk Festival’s Marketplace sell traditional arts. These arts are learned as part of the cultural life of a group of people whose members share a common ethnic heritage, language, religion, occupation or culturally united geographic region. Folk and traditional arts are shaped by a… Read More
    Saturday: noon Children’s, 4 p.m. Two Rivers, 5:45 p.m. Two Rivers; Sunday: 2 p.m. Two Rivers, 3:30 p.m. Children’s John Styles is the world’s leading authority on and practitioner of the ancient art of Punch and Judy, the slapstick hand puppetry brought to England from… Read More
    Saturday: 2 p.m. Heritage, 8:30 p.m. Railroad; Sunday: 2:30 p.m. Railroad, 5:15 p.m. Heritage The Klezmatics play the soul-stirring Jewish roots music known as klezmer. One of the seminal groups in the klezmer revival, the group was founded in New York City’s East Village in… Read More
    For generations, the Wabanaki of Maine – the Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot people – have kept alive their heritage in the form of basketry and woodcarving. Traditional artists specialize in crafting baskets from native flora such as brown ash, sweet grass and birch. Finding these materials requires… Read More
    Saturday: 1:15 p.m. Kenduskeag, 8 p.m. Kenduskeag; Sunday: 1:45 p.m. Kenduskeag, 4 p.m. Railroad La Bande Feufollet, a sextet of teenagers from the Lafayette, La., region, is carrying on Cajun community and family traditions and is committed to the Louisiana French language and music of… Read More
    Friday: 8:15 p.m. Penobscot; Saturday: 2 p.m. Railroad; Sunday: 2:15 p.m. Heritage Springfield Exit is a new band created by three veteran musicians who bring with them a rich variety of experience. Their sound stems from Appalachian roots and combines elements of bluegrass and country. Read More
    Special program segments at the National Folk Festival bring together, onstage, a number of festival artists from diverse cultural traditions. The organizing principle might be an instrument, a musical idea, or specific cultural activity (such as a wedding). These are informal, spontaneous sessions ostensibly guided by a moderator. Read More
    Friday: 7:30 p.m. Railroad; Saturday: noon Heritage, 4 p.m. Railroad; Sunday: 4:45 p.m. Penobscot Barachois plays traditional Acadian music – a rhythmic, high-voltage style born in the heart of a culture kept alive through 21/2 centuries on Canada’s tiny Prince Edward Island. Music brought from… Read More
    My boyfriend and I met at the Folk Festival. I guess the location was actually one of the best and selectively few places to meet new and different kinds of people. Rakan is an Arab, beautiful and dark-eyed and still of the Old World impression that treating a… Read More
    When Wylie Gustafson takes the stage at the 2003 National Folk Festival, you’ll probably notice a few things about his appearance. He’s a yodeling cowboy. Hence, he wears a cowboy hat, Wrangler jeans and a Western-style jacket that’s more Hollywood than home-on-the-range. What you may not notice are… Read More
    The defining moment of the Folk Festival, for me, came near the end. I had been tracking the hip-hop group from Manhattan for two days, hoping to see some cool moves to report back to my sons. I was delighted to hear that a decision had been made… Read More