First held in Melbourne in 1967, from 1969 the NFF was held in various states in city and regional venues. Since 1992 the festival had been staged at Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC) at Easter from Easter Thursday – Easter Monday. It was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, and in 2021 was held as a 2-day event dubbed Good Folk at venues spread across Queanbeyan in New South Wales. It returned to its normal location and timing in 2022.
History
The festival was first held at the Teachers College, Melbourne University on the weekend of 11 –12 February 1967. It was then known as "Port Phillip District Folk Music Festival".[1] Initiated by The Victorian Folk Music Club, The Monash Traditional Music Society, the Burwood Teachers Folk Club and performers Martyn Wyndham-Read and Glenys 'Glen' Tomasetti, it was inspired by the Newport Folk Festival in the United States.[1] From 1969 until 1991 the festival traveled interstate each year. It was hosted at least once in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane, Fremantle, Alice Springs, Adelaide, Kuranda and Maleny. From 1988 to 1992 organising groups had heavy financial losses,[1] and the increasing size of the festival made it harder for the hosting states to organise the festival every year, so from 1992 to the present, the festival has been held in Canberra at Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC),[1] often with a 'feature state' on the program – providing increased performance opportunities for artists from that state.[citation needed]
COVID-19 impact
The 2020 festival was not held due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[2] In 2021 a scaled-down 2day version titled "Good Folk", was held over the border in Queanbeyan, NSW across Saturday 3 April and Sunday 4 April.[3] The event was profitable and praised by artists and patrons.[4]
The Festival survived COVID and returned to its normal time and location in April 2022.
The Festival usually takes place at Exhibition Park in Canberra, which for the duration resembles a small, vibrant and colourful village full of music and dance venues, cafes, themed bars and stalls, as well as a unique 'Community Arts' area for demonstrating and workshopping a range of arts disciplines, as well as the 'Tradition Bearers' demonstration area where visitors can view the making of a range of Australian craft and purchase unique gifts. There is a traditional Bush Camp that resembles an archetypal bush scenario with authentic performances and delectable bush-style damper and stew and Billy Tea. Camping is provided adjacent to the Festival grounds for up to 5,000 people. In 2011 the event was attended by approx 50,000 people.[5] Approximately 800-1100 volunteers make the festival possible.[6]
The festival has over 140 concerts, numerous impromptu street performances, workshops on making, playing and repairing musical instruments, visual art, storytelling and poetry, and many dance workshops. There are at least 60 craft stalls, 30+ food vendors and 5 bars with dedicated restaurant areas.
For the 5 days of the festival, there is also an almost continuous Session in the world-famous "Session Bar", known as the 'London Underground' of folk music, that only stops briefly due to alcohol licence restrictions in the early morning and kicks off again in mid morning for another round the clock session of music and culture.
International and Australian performers are featured, with the organisers firmly committed to representing the full spectrum of folk/ethnic/Indigenous music.[7]
The festival has an exciting Opening and Closing Concert in the 3,000 seat Budawang Pavilion – and every night the festival has a grand dance, starting with a Scottish Ball on the Friday night, an Irish Ceili on the Saturday, and an Australian Colonial Ball on the Sunday night – as well as a colourful range of diverse dance styles including Latin, tango, flamenco and contra dance.
The National Folk Festival, at EPIC, features several large permanent indoor venues where concert-goers can enjoy music and performances in all weather conditions.
Notes
1 2 3 4 "History". National Folk Festival. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
↑ "A STATEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL". National Folk Festival. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2021. Given the current public health direction regarding non-essential gatherings, it is impossible and inadvisable to proceed with the Festival.
Queanbeyan is a city in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. At the 2021 census, the Queanbeyan part of the Canberra–Queanbeyan built-up area had a population of 37,511.
A bush band is a group of musicians that play Australian bush ballads. A similar bush band tradition is also found in New Zealand.
BunkFest is an end-of–summer music festival that takes place in the town of Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire. It features a broad range of music, dance displays, a beer festival, food from all over the world, trains and boats. BunkFest is a not-for-profit free access festival and is run entirely by volunteers.
Rainbow Spirit Festival, previously known as Rainbow Serpent Festival, is a four-day annual open-air music and arts festival that takes place during the Australia Day long weekend, in Lexton, Victoria, 160 kilometres (99 mi) west of Melbourne, Australia. The festival is mainly known for its focus on electronic music, with psychedelic trance, minimal techno, and chill-out music on its main stage, but it now features music across many genres, many art installations, workshops, and other attractions such as market stalls, healing arts and multi-cultural foods. Approximately 12,000 people attend the festival each year.
Rhythms of the World (ROTW) was a British world music festival first organised in 1992. Acts performing included Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, Glen Matlock, the Swanvesta Social Club and Hugh Cornwell.
CoastFest is a three-day music event held on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, at The Point Wolstoncroft Sport and Recreation Camp Gwandalan on Lake Maquarie. Featuring some of Australia's finest Blues & Roots, World, Folk and Alternative musicians, as well as a host of local performers.
The Young Scientists of Australia is a collection of not-for-profit organisations dedicated to the promotion of science in Australia to the 14-25 year old demographic. The chapters are located in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney and are run independently.
The Basin Music Festival is held every March in the small fringe suburb/village of The Basin at the foot of Mount Dandenong, on the eastern outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. The first festival took place in March 2005.
PolArt is an arts festival that celebrates the Polish cultural heritage of Polish Australians and New Zealanders by presenting the Polish arts. The festival is held every three years in a different state capital in Australia with the first being held in 1975. Events that take place during PolArt cover the artistic disciplines of dance, literature, music, theatre and visual arts.
Canberra Theatre Centre (CTC), also known as the Canberra Theatre, is the Australian Capital Territory’s central performing arts venue and Australia's first performing arts centre, the first Australian Government initiated performing arts centre to be completed. It opened on 24 June 1965 with a gala performance by the Australian Ballet.
Vasanta Habba, which means spring festival in the Kannada language, is a cultural festival organised by the Nrityagram foundation in the city of Bangalore, India. It is a very popular event and is considered the classical Woodstock of India. This festival, first held in the year 1990, was the brainchild of Protima Bedi, the founder of Nrityagram. The festival is held in the premises of Nrityagram at Hesaraghatta in the outskirts of Bangalore and attracts the best musicians, dancers and cultural artists from across India. Starting from an audience of about 3000 in its inaugural year, the 2003 edition saw over 40,000 people attending the event.
The National Multicultural Festival is a free community festival held annually each February in Canberra, Australia.
Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC) is a 70 hectare showground and multi-building venue for exhibitions, conferences, and events located in the suburb of Lyneham in Canberra, Australia.
Australian folk music is the traditional music from the large variety of immigrant cultures and those of the original Australian inhabitants.
Peats Ridge Festival was an Australian sustainable arts and music festival, held in Glenworth Valley, Peats Ridge, one hour's drive north of Sydney and a 90-minute drive from Newcastle, New South Wales. Established in 2004, one year after the death of the founder of the Glenworth Valley Horse Riding facility, the Festival was recognised as one of the world's leading sustainability events. It ran for three days around New Year's Eve, from 29 December to 1 January. The event organisers relied heavily on volunteer support, and volunteer service was rewarded with a free ticket. That type of employment strategy was one of many of the sustainable options chosen by the organisers of the festival.
Wimborne Minster Folk Festival took over from the previously known Wimborne Folk Festival in 2013 when the previous organisers retired in August 2012, after over 30 years organising the festival. The annual festival is still internationally recognised for its traditional English folk music and dance, held in the market town of Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England.
The Harmonie German Club is a social club in Canberra, Australia founded and built by German migrants, including the "Jennings Germans", in the early 1960s. In the mid 1960s migrants and their children made up half of Canberra's 80,000 population. Community clubs, including for example those founded by Italian, German and Polish migrants, were recognised as important for welcoming new settlers, providing venues to socialise and reminisce.
The Illawarra Folk Festival started in 1985 in Jamberoo, New South Wales. It has grown to become one of the largest festivals in Australia run entirely by volunteers from the Illawarra Folk Club Inc.
Killin Music Fest is a Scottish music festival held annually in Killin, Perthshire.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Australian Capital Territory is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. After one case of the delta variant in mid-August 2021, the Territory went into lockdown. By 26 September, the ACT had its first COVID-19 related death since mid-April 2020, nearly 18 months, followed by 3 more deaths in the first week of October 2021. 28 deaths during the outbreak since 12 August 2021 brought total deaths to 31, the most recent being on 8 February 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
