Get your folk on: Albuquerque Folk Festival showcases music and community

Walk a mile in other cultures’ shoes at the Albuquerque Folk Festival.

Hosted at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the Albuquerque Folk Festival is the culmination and celebration of folk culture from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29.

Folk is a term referring to the cultural traditions of groups who often live in rural or isolated areas. Folk culture celebrates sharing stories, art and traditions. The festival focuses on spreading the knowledge of different cultures through an immersive experience where guests can deep dive into folk culture at their own leisure.

Get your folk on: Albuquerque Folk Festival showcases music and community

With over 100 different activities and five different stages for various performances, fans of folk will have something to do at every hour during the event and can engage in several different workshops at the festival.

“Our real goal is to pass on folk tradition and in Albuquerque there’s a lot of folk tradition,” said Erika Gerety, co-director of the event. “We try to get as much in as we can.”

Start your morning at 10 a.m. with the Ballet Folklórico Fiesta Mexicana workshop inside the Roy E. Disney Center for Performing Arts: Albuquerque Journal Theatre at the NHCC. Dancers from the company will teach participants how to perform basic Mexican folk dance moves and footwork. Other dance workshops include square dancing, Irish ceili dancing, East Indian dance, The Art & Soul of Hawai’i Hula, waltz and Spanish Colonial dance.

“We do a lot of participatory workshops and that’s been part of the mission of the festival is to get people involved and actively participate in a festival in different ways,” said David Para, one of the festival’s organizers.

If dance workshops aren’t your style, walk over to the Courtyard Stage at 10 a.m. and enjoy The Consequences, who will be performing Celtic music. Other local bands, including The North Valley Tune Tanglers, the ABQ Skeleton Crew and the Duke City Swampcoolers, will make an appearance at the festival. Various folk music styles will be played at the festival including bluegrass, Scandinavian folk, French Cajun, Irish and more.

For guests who love to perform music, instruments are allowed into the festival and encouraged at the event. Visitors are welcome to play along with the music performers at the Pete V. Domenici Education Center, which is also where the instrument check-in is located. Each jam session focuses on a different genre and skill level. There will also be a hosted jam session, where guests can join together and sing along to different songs from all genres. Guests are also welcome to take a seat in the shade and simply enjoy the melodies while eating a snack.

Vendors will be on site to provide snacks throughout the day. On theme with the event, the vendors will serve cultural foods. Gourmet Döner Kebab European Street Food, Kimo’s Hawaiian BBQ, Pop Pop’s Italian Ice, Sanchez Tacos and The Supper Truck will be present and stationed at the front of the NHCC. There will also be an area selling alcoholic beverages and six vendors selling crafts.

Guests can explore four different sections of workshops filled with instrumental and vocal masters who can provide information and obtain beginner level skills. Take a spin at the Mountain Dulcimer workshop, where you can learn how to play the Appalachian instrument. Guests can also learn how to play mandolin, Irish fiddle, clawhammer banjo, hammered dulcimer and more.

The event is family-friendly and children will have their own special section to enjoy activities. Children can learn how to make corn husk dolls, have their faces painted and enjoy a puppet show from OffCenter Arts.

“We sort of lamented the days when people would play music or tell a story on their porch, and you would learn more about your neighbors,” said Bill Balasi, co-director of the event. “We’ve lost that sense of community and we’re trying to get the community involved using music or dance to get people to talk to their neighbors. Maybe if you get to know those people you’ll learn more, and I think that’s our inspiration.”