Shannon Neu
   A&E Editor

There will be something for everyone at the 75th National Folk Festival in downtown Greensboro during the weekend of Sept. 11-13.

The free outdoor event will feature performances representing a colorful variety of cultural traditions, other types of unique performing arts and visual art demonstrations.

Additionally, visitors will be able to purchase food and local craft beer. The National Folk Festival celebrates the diverse cultures that compose 21st century America.

Beginning in 1934 in St. Louis, Miss., the National Folk Festival was the first national festival that equally showcased the arts of many languages, races and nations. It presented different forms of music publicly for the first time, including Cajun music, the blues, polka, Peking Opera and Tex-Mex conjunto.

The festival has drawn thousands of visitors each year since 1987. It has been presented in 28 different cities for three years at a time. It will be held annually in Greensboro from 2015 through 2017.

Greensboro was chosen as the host city for the next three years by the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA). Greensboro was one of 32 cities that applied to host the festival. Greensboro made it to the second round of the application process in February 2014.

“The NCTA came down from Maryland to Greensboro, and we put together a tour of the city and showed them how we kind of envisioned the festival fitting into downtown and what our city had to offer,” explained Kaitlin Smith, who is the marketing and communications coordinator for ArtsGreensboro.

“That was about a three-day process,” Smith continued. “Then in May, they made the announcement that Greensboro was chosen as the host city for the next three years. We’ve been busy getting everything together since then. We’re excited!’

With 50,000 to 100,000 expected attendees, the National Folk Festival is likely to have a significant impact on Greensboro’s local economy. Smith explained that the festival is hosted in smaller communities, saying, “the National Folk Festival is such a huge economic driver, and whatever city it goes to, it really transforms the surrounding area.”

Smith went on to explain that the festival helped in boosting the economy in Richmond, Va. a few years ago. The National Folk Festival aided significantly in revitalizing Richmond’s art and culture scene.

“It’s a free festival, so they don’t have to pay anything to come and check it out,” Smith added. “It is a big deal for our area and we really hope that as many people as possible can come out and experience it and enjoy it.”

ArtsGreensboro has worked determinedly to plan for this year’s National Folk Festival. Last winter, the organization hired a local director, Amy Grossmann, who has handled a lot of the logistics.

“It’s been a very detailed process planning this,” Smith said. “But Amy has worked on National Folk Festivals in the past so we’re very fortunate to have her on our team.”

Over 30 performing artists will represent different traditions from every part of the nation on the festival’s multiple stages. Performers were chosen through a juried process.

“We’d all sit in this room for hours listening to CDs and watching videos,” Smith reflected. “And we’d give them [NCTA] our feedback and let them know what artists would really resonate in our community, and which ones might not connect with the people that would be in the audience.”

Visual artists, craftspeople and vendors were chosen through a similar juried process as well

Audience members will be entertained with a wide variety of musical genres, including jazz, the blues, gospel, rockabilly, polka, bluegrass, tamburitza, klezmer, old-time, Cajun, rhythm and blues, mariachi, Japanese Taiko drumming and western swing.  They will also have the opportunity to watch dance performances from many different cultural traditions and other performing arts, such as storytelling, Chinese rod puppetry and circus arts.

Venues will vary in size, ranging from small, intimate stages to amphitheater sized stages. The Dance Pavilion will be dedicated to offering visitors a place to partake in nonstop dancing. Other stages include the McDonald’s Family Stage and the North Carolina Traditions Stage.

The themed festival areas include the North Carolina Folklife Area, Family Activities Area, the North Carolina Arts Marketplace and the Festival Food Courts.

This year, food vendors will include a variety of regional and ethnic foods, as well as classic American festival food. Craft beer from Natty Greene’s and Foothills Brewing Companies, as well as wine from Jackson Family Wines, will be sold at various locations throughout the festival.

Festival attendees are encouraged to step outside of their comfort zones and learn something new during the festival.

“Go and check out the things you know you love, but also take some time to see something new,” Smith suggested. “That’s kind of the whole mission of the Folk Festival—to highlight and celebrate this nation’s vast cultural background.

“All the information you could possibly need is on our website, nationalfolkfestival.com,” Smith added. “We really hope that the UNCG community comes out and has a great time!”

The National Folk Festival kicks off ArtsGreensboro’s other festival, 17DAYS, which runs Sept. 11-27. 17DAYS is an arts festival that involves more than 70 arts and entertainment presenters and organizations.

It will feature more than 100 unique events throughout the city within the 17-day time period.