The Philadelphia Folk Festival is a

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

festival held annually at Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford, Pennsylvania, just outside of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. The four-night, three-day festival, which is produced and run by the non-profit Philadelphia Folksong Society and staffed almost entirely by volunteers. The event hosts contemporary and traditional artists in genres under the umbrella of Folk, including World/Fusion, Celtic, Singer/Songwriter, Folk Rock, Country, Klezmer, Blues, Bluegrass, Hip/Hop, Spoken Word, Storytelling, and Dance.

Gene Shay Gene Shay (born Ivan Shaner; March 4, 1935 – April 17, 2020) was an American radio personality. Shay was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a Jewish family and was a representative of the city's folk music scene. He produced weekly folk rad ...

and folklorist Kenneth S. Goldstein founded the festival, along with George Britton, Bob Seigel, David Baskin, Esther Halpern, and others. Shay has acted as Master of Ceremonies since its inception and Goldstein served as Program Director for the first 15 years. Originally held on Wilson Farm in Paoli, Pennsylvania, each year the event hosts over 35,000 visitors and nearly 7,000 campers at the Old Pool Farm.Folk On Folk: Ian Zolitor of WXPN’s Folk Show recaps the Philadelphia Folk Fest
, ''The Key'', WXPN. The event presents over 75 hours of music with local, regional, and national talent on its stages. A special Camp Stage show takes place on Thursday night, hosted by WXPN radio for the nationally syndicated '' World Cafe'' with David Dye. The Philadelphia Folksong Society presents the Philadelphia Folk Festival and has a full-time, year-round staff.Philadelphia Folk Festival
,

Visit Philadelphia Visit Philadelphia, formally known as the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC), is a private, non-profit organization that promotes leisure travel to the five-county Philadelphia metropolitan area ( Bucks, Chester, Delawa ...

. The current PFS Executive Director is Justin Nordell since 2007, while past E.D.s include Lauri Barish and

Levi Landis Levi Preston Landis (born July 8, 1982) is an arts administrator, musician, manager and festival producer. Since 2016, he has been the Executive Director of GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, the largest visual art center in the country. Biograph ...

. This festival went online in 2020 and 2021, raising over $200,000 to support artists out of work, as live concerts were cancelled caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The Festival will return as a hybrid event live and in person for 2022.

References

{{Authority control Folk festivals in the United States Music festivals in Philadelphia 1962 establishments in Pennsylvania Music festivals established in 1962

See also

References