Albuquerque Folk Festival

June 21, 2008 at the State Fairgrounds!
Last updated Tuesday, January 22, 2008

The Albuquerque Folk Festival is a non-profit event held with the goal of increasing the public's participation in music, dance and other folk activities.  The 2008 Festival (our ninth annual!) will be held Saturday, June 21, 2008 at the State Fairgrounds (Expo New Mexico) in Albuquerque. Advance Tickets at discounted prices are available at several locations around town.  In the tradition of the folk ethic, the goals of the Albuquerque Folk Festival are to highlight non-commercial acoustic folk music and dance activities in the greater Albuquerque region and to encourage individuals to sing, dance and play music.  If you are interested in volunteering to help with the 2008 festival, please email volunteers@abqfolkfest.org.

Haven't gotten around to updating the web site or adding photos from 2007, so until I do, here's what we had for our last festival:

The schedule of events better be firmed up by now under the leadership of our 2007 event director, Erika Gerety. For a  one-page, printable (pdf) schedule, click here.  Entertainment will start at 10 AM with MacBeth Goforth greeting you at the Entrance Gate with the Highland Pipes, and Farfesha Belly Dance followed by Zito Ellas Greek Dance on the Demo Stage. Once again the Martial Artistry Dragon and Lion Dance will perform under the dance tent, and the Marimba Ensemble Kubatana will play in front of the Fine Arts building, while Banjo's Etc performs on Stage 2.  Linda Bolton, has lined up some great performers for the Main Stage this year, including folk/rock legend Jonathan Edwards.  For more information including band bios, go to the performers page, but briefly the line-up is:

New this year, we're going to close the Main Stage performances with a Band Scramble at 6 PM which will give musicians and dancers of all levels a chance to be a Main Stage Performer at the Albuquerque Folk Festival.  The deal is you put your name and the instrument you play (or dance style)  in hat, and we'll put together some randomly organized bands (with dance accompanists). You'll have about 45 minutes to put together two numbers and a band name (that's the hard part), and learn the tunes and be ready to perform them on the main stage.  This has been a favorite event at the Southwest Pickers Santa Fe Traditional and Bluegrass Festival, and we've enjoyed it so much, we stole the idea and want to bring it to Albuquerque!

One of the things that makes the Albuquerque Folk Festival so unusual is the incredible variety of workshops and performances that fill the day. Over 100 different things all going on in one place! If you play an instrument, or would like to get started with one, we have dozens of workshops from bouzouki to Klezmer music with an emphasis on getting beginners started (and yes, we have more common instruments like guitar, banjo, harmonic, sometimes even kazoo!). Like to sing?  We've got lots of opportunities there as well.  Prefer to move your feet to the music? We have Square dancing, Contra dancing, Swing, Irish Step and Scottish Country Dance, Israeli, Argentine, Balkan, Hawaiian, Scandinavian, and International Folk Dance throughout the day, and in the evening we had three great dances with: the FolkMADS evening Contra Dance with music by Megaband, and a Swing and Country Barn Dance with music by the Rifters from Taos, and new this year, an African Dance.

What's in the works for the 2007 festival:

Coming from out of town, or need a place for visiting friends? Howard Johnson Hotel & Convention Center (I40 & Eubank, 505-296-4852) is offering a special low rate for people coming to the Festival who mention "Folk Festival Group Code CG0427" when they call. Rates (which include breakfast) and are $45 + taxes for standard rooms and $55 + taxes for deluxe rooms. They also will offer complimentary 24-hour airport shuttle service and a shuttle to/from Expo on a preset schedule.
Howard Johnson Inn, 15 Hotel Circle NE/I-40  Exit 165 Albuquerque, NM, 87123

Thanks to all our volunteers who are helping put on this community gathering. Whether you are a performer, a workshop teacher, a dance demonstrator, a tireless volunteer, an active participant or a fascinated viewer, we thank you all. We couldn't have this successful event if it were not for everyone of you and the part you play in making a community event like this come to fruition. This project is made possible in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs and a grant from the Urban Enhancement Trust Fund of the City of Albuquerque. We also offer our heartfelt thanks to Mayor Chavez and the City of Albuquerque and NMArts for their support, as well as to KUNM for broadcasting live from the festival Saturday morning, and many more that you can find on our Supporters page. 

Want to help out with the festival? We are a completely volunteer organization. If you enjoy the festival and want to support what we are trying to do for the folk music, folk arts and dance community of Albuquerque, come join us!  For further information and to get on our distribution list,  email volunteers@abqfolkfest.org.

General EventInfo Schedule Workshops Performers Volunteering Supporters Resources Contact Us

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For further information contact: info@abqfolkfest.org
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