Kaustinen Folk Music Festival ( fi, Kaustisen kansanmusiikkijuhlat), celebrated yearly in July in
Kaustinen
Kaustinen ( sv, Kaustby) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is part of the Central Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population about 4300 and covers an area of of which is water. The popula ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, is the biggest
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
and
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
festival in the
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
. It was first celebrated in 1968. The festival originated in showcasing the famous local fiddle-based music tradition, which has continued uninterrupted 250 or more years, and is still the emotional core of the event. Finland has decided to propose the Kaustinen tradition into Unesco Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage spring 2020.
In its first year, the festival expected 6,000 visitors. The number was over three times the estimate, though. Nowadays the festival lasts a whole week and hosts 40,000–50,000 visits per year. Besides Finnish and international professional performers, 4,000–5,000 amateurs, forming 400–500 groups, participate the festival yearly. Over 1,000 scheduled performances in almost 30 venues and stages are given yearly, and dozens of workshops and other participatory programs are offered.
Since 1970 the festival has nominated yearly one or more persons as Master Folk Musician, Master Folk Singer or Master Folk Dancer, on the basis of their repertoire, skills and work for keeping up the traditions, as well as an Ensemble of the Year. These nominations are highly valued in Finnish folk music and dance community.
The festival is organized since 2012 by Pro Kaustinen Society, which is formed by three Kaustinen tradition bearers' organizations.
The Peanuts comic strip bird
Woodstock
Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
, named for the rock music festival in Woodstock, New York, is called Kaustinen in Finnish with obvious reference to this folk music festival.
References
External links
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Kaustinen Folk Music Festival
{{Authority control
Folk Music Festival
Music festivals in Finland
Dance festivals in Finland
Recurring events established in 1968
Tourist attractions in Central Ostrobothnia
Folk festivals in Finland
Music festivals established in 1968
Summer events in Finland