© 2024 Maine Public | Registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 22-3171529
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scroll down to see all available streams.

American Folk Festival to Wrap Up Sunday

Jennifer Mitchell

 The celebration of music, arts, crafts, and folk life continues today with performances live from three stages on the Bangor Waterfront.

Saturday's acts include folk music from Quebec, Louisiana, Vietnam, China, and Cuba, as well as African percussion workshops, gospel, and Middle Eastern dance. 
  
It's the thirteenth year that Bangor has hosted an international folk festival. The American Folk Festival is the successor to the National Folk Festival, which the city hosted for three years between 2002 and 2004. The following year, organizers kicked off a homegrown version.

"We've come every year," says Jill Kulbe of Searsport. "The music is fabulous. You get to experience music that you normally wouldn't hear from all over the world, so I love that part. The dancing, we love the folk art, the food- the food is amazing. Just love every bit of it whether the weather is good or bad we have a good time."

Credit Jennifer Mitchell
Bon Débarras from Quebec performs from the Railroad Stage on Saturday, the second day of the folk festival.

Fortunately for festival-goers this year, the sun is expected to shine throughout the entire weekend, unlike in years past where revelers have been drenched with rain.

Admission to the celebration of world art and folk culture is free, but say festival organizers, it costs close to $1 million dollars to put on each year.

"And there are businesses that get to show their wares here," says Jean Grzybowski of Bangor, who, with her husband Joe, has chosen to spend much of the festival manning a donation bucket in support of the event. "The economic benefit is great," she says, "I just saw a sign that 15 million dollars comes to the city through this. So that's great."

Credit Jennifer Mitchell
Jean and Joe Grzybowski of Bangor call for donations from passers by to help support the festival. Some 800 volunteers work to put on the festival every year.

Roughly half of the folk festival's funding comes from corporate sponsorship; the rest coming from sales, government, and independent support.

The festival kicked off Friday evening. It continues Saturday with music until 10:30 PM, and wraps up Sunday at 6:30 PM with blues, bluegrass, and Cajun music.