The Miramichi Folksong Festival, is the oldest folk music festival in Canada. It is held annually in

Miramichi, New Brunswick Miramichi () is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay. The Miramichi Valley is the second longest valley in New Brunswick, after the Saint John River ...

, Canada. It was established by

Louise Manny Louise Elizabeth Manny (1890 – 17 August 1970) was a New Brunswick folklorist and historian. She was born in Gilead, Maine but her family moved to New Brunswick when she was three. She grew up on the Miramichi River and there she developed an ...

in response to a request from

Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), generally known as Lord Beaverbrook, was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics o ...

that she document the traditional songs of his boyhood home. It is the longest continuous event of its kind in Canada and one of the longest in North America. The first festival was held in September 1958 at the Beaverbrook Town Hall and Theatre in

Newcastle, New Brunswick Newcastle is an urban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. Prior to municipal amalgamation in 1995, it was an incorporated town and the shire town of Northumberland County. Situated on the north bank of the Miramichi R ...

. The festival is still held at this location, now in August of each year. Although the festival now is an important draw for local tourism, and features some mainstream talent, the original and primary purpose of the festival is to preserve local culture; thus, highlights of the festival include many amateur, often elderly, local performers. Traditional lyrics and music highlighted by the festival have been preserved in the 1968 book ''Songs of Miramichi'' and in several recordings, including a 1962

Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...

album produced by Louise Manny. Allan Kelly (September 23, 1903- October 1, 2008) was one of the most popular singers and ardent supporters of the Festival. One of his earliest performances, ''The Petit Moine'', is recorded on the 1962 album. Raymond and Frank Estey, brothers from Sevogle N.B, sang each year. Afterword, the Esteys entertained the crowd by telling their famous ghost stories.

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