A folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and

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 ...

. This list includes folk festivals worldwide, except those with only a partial focus on folk music or arts. Folk festivals may also feature folk dance or ethnic foods.

Handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

ing has long been exhibited at such events and festival-like gatherings, as it has its roots in the rural crafts. Like folk art, handicraft output often has cultural, political, and/or religious significance. Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by

peasants A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic, and is often sold at festivals by tradespeople or practicing amateurs.West, Shearer (general editor), ''The Bullfinch Guide to Art History'', page 440, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, United Kingdom, 1996. As at folk festivals, such art and handicraft may also appear at

historical reenactment Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational entertainment, educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historic uniforms or costumes and follow a plan to recreate aspect ...

s and events such as

Renaissance fair A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire or Renaissance festival is an outdoor gathering open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which purportedly recreates a historical setting for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent the ...

Asia

Bangladesh

Dhaka International Folk Fest

India

* Gavari - Sacred Dance Drama Festival

Israel

* Jacob's Ladder

Europe

Europeade Europeade is the largest festival of European folk culture, held in a different European country each year. The last Europeade was held in Turku, Finland in 2017. The year before that it was held in Namur, Belgium in 2016. The first Europea ...

(held each year in a different European country)

Bosnia and Herzegovina

* Ilidža Folk Music Festival * Ilidža International Children's Folklore Festival

Belgium

Boombal Boombal (pl. Boombals) is a relatively recent phenomenon of folk dance parties in Belgium, originating in the French bal folk. The partygoers indulge in pair, ring, line, and string dances such as the waltz, polka, An Dro, etc. adapted from th ...

Festival

Bulgaria

Stara planina fest Balkan folk Stara is a village in the administrative district on Gmina Aleksandrów, within Piotrków County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Aleksandrów, south-east of Piotrków Trybunalski, and south-eas ...

Denmark

Tønder Festival Tønder Festival is an annual folk music festival in Tønder, Denmark. It is held on the last weekend of August. It was founded in 1974. The first festival took place in 1975. The festival is one of the most prominent festivals for traditional a ...

Estonia

* Viljandi Folk Festival

Finland

* Kaustinen Folk Music Festival

France

Festival Interceltique de Lorient __NOTOC__ The (French), Emvod Ar Gelted An Oriant (Breton) or Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient in English, is an annual Celtic festival, located in the city of Lorient, Brittany, France. It was founded in 1971 by . This annual festival takes ...

* Rencontres Internationales de Luthiers et Maîtres-Sonneurs

Germany

Festival-Mediaval XIV, "Folk of the World"

Ireland

* Temple Bar TradFest

Lithuania

Kaziuko mugė Kaziuko mugė or Saint Casimir's Fair is a large annual folk arts and crafts fair in Vilnius, Lithuania, dating to the beginning of the 17th century. The fair is traditionally held in city's markets and streets on the Sunday nearest to 4 March (Fe ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

* Mėnuo Juodaragis, Zarasai * Parbėg laivelis, Klaipeda

Netherlands

Castlefest Castlefest is a medieval/fantasy festival in the Netherlands, held in the gardens of Castle Keukenhof in Lisse since 2005. History During the first edition in 2005, 3,500 visitors attended the event, in 2007 the festival attracted 16,000 visito ...

Russia

* Empty Hills,

Kaluga Oblast Kaluga Oblast (russian: Калу́жская о́бласть, translit=Kaluzhskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kaluga. The 2021 Russian Census found a population of 1,069,904. G ...

* Grushinsky festival, near

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population ...

Spain

* Interceltic Festival of Avilés * Interceltic Festival of Morrazo * Ortigueira's Festival of Celtic World

United Kingdom

* Beverley Folk Festival * Cambridge Folk Festival * Celtic Connections *

England's Medieval Festival England's Medieval Festival is a medieval-themed festival held over the August bank holiday at The King's Grove, Pippingford Park in Sussex, England. Held over three days, the festival features jousting, falconry, knights battles, medieval cam ...

* Edinburgh Folk Festival *

Fairport's Cropredy Convention Fairport's Cropredy Convention (formerly Cropredy Festival) is an annual festival of folk and rock music, headed by British folk-rock band Fairport Convention and held on the edge of the village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire, England. The festi ...

* FolkEast Festival * The Green Man Festival * Inter Varsity Folk Dance Festival * Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival *

Shetland Folk Festival Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

Shrewsbury Folk Festival Shrewsbury Folk Festival is an annual festival of folk and world music and traditional dance held in the town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire, England. It takes place over four days on and around the UK Late Summer bank holiday weekend (usually t ...

* Sidmouth Folk Festival * Soma Festival * Wickham Festival *

Wimborne Folk 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 re ...

North America

Honduras

* Encuentro Folklórico Nacional ''El Grande de Grandes''

Canada

* Calgary Folk Music Festival * Canmore Folk Music Festival * Edmonton Folk Music Festival * Winnipeg Folk Festival (Birds Hill) * Celtic Colours (Cape Breton) *

Stan Rogers Folk Festival The Stan Rogers Folk Festival, informally known as Stanfest, is an annual music festival held in Canso, Nova Scotia. Established in 1997 in honour of the late Canadian folk singer and songwriter Stan Rogers Stanley Allison Rogers (Novemb ...

(Canso) *

CityFolkFestival CityFolk Festival (known until 2014 as the Ottawa Folk Festival) is a folk music festival held annually in Ottawa, Canada. Format The festival is held on the Lansdowne Park redevelopment, Great Lawn at Lansdowne Park each September as a 4- or ...

(Ottawa) * Emerald Music Festival *

Hillside Festival The Hillside Festival is an annual three-day, five-stage (including one kids' stage) summer festival occurring in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, hosting musicians, spoken word artists, workshops and more. The Hillside Festival occurs in late July on Gue ...

(Guelph) *

Home County Folk Festival Home County Music & Art Festival (formerly Home County Folk Festival) is a festival held the third weekend of July in London, Ontario. The festival is an admission by donation festival held in Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Place ...

(London) * Mariposa Folk Festival (Orillia) * Mill Race Festival of Traditional Folk Music (Cambridge) *

Northern Lights Festival Boréal Northern Lights Festival Boréal is an annual summer music festival in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. It is one of Canada's oldest music festivals in continuous operation, having been staged every year since 1972 until the Covid-19 pandemic.

(Sudbury) *

Red Rock Folk Festival Live from the Rock Folk Festival is an annual roots music festival that was started in 2003 in Red Rock, Ontario Red Rock is a township in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located in the Thunder Bay District. The community of Red Rock sits on the ...

(Red Rock) *

Regina Folk Festival The Regina Folk Festival (RFF) is an annual music festival held in Victoria Park in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. A three-night and two-day event usually held the second weekend of August, the RFF attracts more than 35,000 people. It runs with the h ...

* Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival (Owen Sound) * TD Canada Trust Sunfest (London)

United States

Florida

Florida Folk Festival Florida Folk Festival is a long-running annual folk music festival in Hamilton County, Florida. It began in 1953. Thelma Boltin was an organizer for the festival. The festival has also featured presentations in the Mikasuki language. Reference ...

Indiana

* Feast of the Hunters' Moon

Maine

* American Folk Festival

Massachusetts

* Lowell Folk Festival * New England Folk Festival

Montana

* Montana Folk Festival

New Jersey

* New Jersey Folk Festival

New York

Falcon Ridge Folk Festival The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival and dance festival held at Dodds Farm in Hillsdale, New York. History The first festival was a two-day event in 1988, held at a ski slope. In 1991, the festival mo ...

* Old Songs Festival

North Carolina

Folkmoot USA Folkmoot USA, The State International Festival of North Carolina, is an international folk festival held since 1984 in Waynesville, North Carolina and surrounding communities. During its history, the two-week event has featured around 8000 performe ...

North Dakota

Norsk Høstfest Norsk Høstfest (Norwegian language: "''Norwegian Autumn Festival''") is an annual festival held each fall in Minot, North Dakota, US. It is North America's largest Scandinavian festival. History The event is held on the North Dakota State Fair g ...

Oklahoma

* Woody Guthrie Folk Festival

Oregon

* Sisters Folk Festival

Pennsylvania

Flood City Music Festival Flood City Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, presented by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association. The festival began in 1989 as a street fair to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Johnstown Flood. ...

* Philadelphia Folk Festival * Pittsburgh Folk Festival

Rhode Island

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 foc ...

Tennessee

* The Americana Folk Festival

Texas

Kerrville Folk Festival The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The Kerrville Folk Festival was founded in 1972 by the husband-wife team of Rod Kennedy an ...

Traveling

* National Folk Festival

Washington

* Northwest Folklife

Wisconsin

Great River Folk Fest Riverside Park is a public park located on the riverfront of downtown La Crosse, Wisconsin. It hosts events such as Riverfest, Fourth of July fireworks, Oktoberfest – La Crosse, Wisconsin, Oktoberfest, Moon Tunes, and the Rotary Lights. The ste ...

Holiday Folk Fair The Holiday Folk Fair is an annual three-day festival celebrating cultures from around the world. Thousands of visitors attend the Fair each year. It is held the weekend before Thanksgiving in West Allis, Wisconsin, at the Wisconsin Exposition Ce ...

Mile of Music Mile of Music (also known as MoM or The Mile) is an annual all-original music festival located in downtown Appleton, Wisconsin. Started in 2013, the four-day festival runs the first weekend in August, Thursday through Sunday, and is a collaborativ ...

Oshkosh International Folk Festival Oshkosh may refer to: Places in the United States * Oshkosh, Wisconsin, city and the largest place with the name * Oshkosh (town), Wisconsin * Oshkosh Township, Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota * Oshkosh, Nebraska * Oshkosh Township, Wells County, ...

Oceania

Australia

* National Folk Festival *

Woodford Folk Festival The Woodford Folk Festival is an annual music and cultural festival held near the semi-rural town of Woodford, north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the biggest annual cultural events of its type in Australia. Every year ap ...

New Zealand

* Whare Flat Folk Festival - held over the New Year period at Whare Flat near

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

; run by Dunedin's New Edinburgh Folk Club