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Washington Folk Festival

Washington Folk Festival (WFF)

This spectacular annual event runs from noon to 7 pm on the Saturday and Sunday after Memorial Day weekend, at beautiful Glen Echo Park, rain or shine, and is free to the public. There are seven performance sites, including one devoted to participatory dance. Fine crafts are available for sale in the Bumper Car Pavilion. Check out this video that gives a great idea of the WFF experience.

Glen Echo Park is located at 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, MD. The festival is a perennial favorite but parking is limited so please take advantage of the free satellite parking at the GEICO parking lot located at 5260 Western Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD, just 2 blocks from the Friendship Heights Metro stop

See the 2019 schedule here!

See the crafters who will be at the 2019 Festival!

See the 2018 program book here!

The Washington Folk Festival showcases the diversity of traditional music in all its complexity. Every year features a new mix of cultures, from Slavic singing to banjos and bluegrass and everything in between. All musicians, storytellers, dancers, and craftspeople live in the greater Washington metropolitan area and volunteer their talents to put on a first class festival of national renown. With performances representing cultures from around the world as well as around the country, it is your chance to find out what is going on in the folk communities of the area.

We need volunteers!

This is an all-volunteer event: everyone, including the performers, planners, technicians, and sound engineers, EVERYONE donates their services. We Need You! Tell us about some of your talents and interests and we will find a place for you to contribute to the Washington Folk Festival's ongoing success. During the festival, we need help with stage crews, information booths, instrument check, food service, volunteer and performer check-in, and facilitating last minute changes. In addition, we also need volunteers every weekend in May to help prepare for the festival.

To volunteer, fill out the form at: Festival Volunteer

Potential performers

If you are a local musician, dance group, or storyteller interested in being considered as a performer in the Festival, please fill out an application form. This can be accomplished three ways. 1. Download the PDF or Word form and email back to the Program Committee,or mail to address contained in the form. You may also fill out a Google Form, which saves paper, time, and stamps. We strive to maintain a variety of traditional genres on our stages, and select performers based on musical quality as well as the tradition represented. General inquiries or questions can also be sent to the Program Committee email box. Applications accepted through March 17, 2019.

Potential Handcrafters

Every year, the festival offers space for artisans to showcase and sell their wares. If you are interested in exhibiting at the festival you can find more information here.

See what happened previous years

WFF schedule 2018 (pdf, 223 KB)

WFF schedule 2017 (pdf, 18.6MB)

WFF schedule 2016 (pdf, 238KB)

Pitch in today to help ensure that we can offer this event for many years to come! Your donation of any size is greatly appreciated.

Donate to the Festival

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The Washington Folk Festival is produced by the Folklore Society of Greater Washington and the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture, in partnership with the National Park Service and Montgomery County, Maryland. Support for the festival comes from the Richmond Folk Festival, the National Folk Festival, and Focus. WOWD-LP Takoma Park 94.3 FM is the official media sponsor while Bluegrass Country radio provides additional backing.

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