The National Folk Festival (NFF) is an Australian family-oriented celebration that has been attended by over 50,000 people. Winner of the National Qantas Australian Tourism Award for Best Festival in 2009, it features over 20 stages with vibrant world-class artists, 'blackboard' opportunities, workshops, craft, themed bars and cafes and delectable food. Originating 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 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 (though commonly listed in the adjacent Mitchell) in Canberra, Australia. Regular ...

(EPIC) at Easter from Easter Thursday – Easter Monday. It was cancelled in 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in Australia was identified on 25 January ...

, and in 2021 was held as a 2-day event dubbed Good Folk at venues spread across

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of 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 ...

in New South Wales.

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". Initiated by The Victorian Folk Music Club, The Monash Traditional Music Society, the Burwood Teachers Folk Club and performers

Martyn Wyndham-Read Arnold Martyn Wyndham-Read (born 23 August 1942, Crawley, Sussex, England) is an English folk singer, who was a collector and singer of Australian folk music. He lived and worked in Australia from 1958 to 1967 and was subsequently a regular vis ...

and Glenys 'Glen' Tomasetti, it was inspired by the

Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

in the United States. From 1969 until 1991 the festival traveled interstate each year. It was hosted at least once in Melbourne,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' A ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Kuranda and

Maleny Maleny (pronounced ''mah-lay-knee'') is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. At the , the locality of Maleny had a population of 3,959 people. Maleny was a timber town ...

. From 1988 to 1992 organising groups had heavy financial losses, and the increasing size of the festival made it harder for the hosting states to organise the festival every year, so from 1992 to 2017, the festival was held in Canberra at

(EPIC), with a 'feature state' on the program – providing increased performance opportunities for artists from that state.

COVID-19 impact

The 2020 festival was not held due to restrictions caused by the

. In 2021 a scaled-down 2 day version titled "Good Folk", was held over the border in

, NSW across Saturday 3 April and Sunday 4 April. The event was profitable and praised by artists and patrons. the future of the NFF, and whether a full festival in 2022 will be possible, was uncertain as the event has a long lead time and a decision about the next event needed to be made soon. The NFF General Manager since October 2019, Helen Rogen, has left and was replaced by board member Lynne O’Brien as Acting GM. Singer-songwriter

Katie Noonan Katie Anne Noonan (born 2 May 1977) is an Australian singer-songwriter. In addition to a successful solo career encompassing opera, jazz, pop, rock and dance, she was the singer in the band George and remains the singer in the band Elixir; perf ...

was appointed as artistic director.

Features

National Folk Festival (NFF) Canberra 2019

The Festival usually takes place at

, 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 Stockman's 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. Upwards of twelve hundred volunteers make the festival possible. The festival has over 100 concerts, a film festival, 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 4 delightfully themed 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 Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

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.'The National' The National Library and The National Folk Festival NLA News April 2003 Vol XIII No. 7
/ref> 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 Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

, starting with a Scottish

Ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...

on the Friday night, an Irish

Ceili Ceili was an Irish priest in the mid-eleventh century. He was Bishop of Ardagh and died in 1048."Fasti Ecclesiae Hibernicae: The succession of the prelates Volume 3" Cotton,H. p181 Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest ...

on the Saturday, and an Australian

Colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

Ball on the Sunday night – as well as a colourful range of diverse dance styles including Latin, tango, flamenco and

contra dance Contra dance (also contradance, contra-dance and other variant spellings) is a form of folk dancing made up of long lines of couples. It has mixed origins from English country dance, Scottish country dance, and French dance styles in the 17th ...

. 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

External links

National Folk Festival Website
{{coord, 35.231, S, 149.147, E, type:event_region:AU-ACT, display=title Events in Canberra Festivals in Australian Capital Territory Recurring events established in 1967 Folk festivals in Australia Music festivals established in 1967