A folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and

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 ...

. This list includes folk festivals worldwide, except those with only a partial focus on folk music or arts. Folk festivals may also feature folk dance or ethnic foods.

Handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

ing has long been exhibited at such events and festival-like gatherings, as it has its roots in the rural crafts. Like folk art, handicraft output often has cultural, political, and/or religious significance. Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring

tradespeople A tradesman, tradeswoman, or tradesperson is a skilled worker that specializes in a particular trade (occupation or field of work). Tradesmen usually have work experience, on-the-job training, and often formal vocational education in contrast t ...

. In contrast to

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic, and is often sold at festivals by tradespeople or practicing amateurs.West, Shearer (general editor), ''The Bullfinch Guide to Art History'', page 440, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, United Kingdom, 1996. As at folk festivals, such art and handicraft may also appear at historical reenactments and events such as

Renaissance fair A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire or Renaissance festival is an outdoor gathering open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which purportedly recreates a historical setting for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent the ...

Asia

Bangladesh

Dhaka International Folk Fest

India

* Gavari - Sacred Dance Drama Festival

Israel

* Jacob's Ladder

Europe

* Europeade (held each year in a different European country)

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Ilidža Folk Music Festival The Ilidža Folk Music Festival ( bs, Festival narodne muzike Ilidža / Фестивал народне музике Илиџa) is the oldest living and premier folk music festival in the Former Yugoslavia. It is held annually in Ilidža, Sarajevo, ...

* Ilidža International Children's Folklore Festival

Belgium

* Boombal Festival

Bulgaria

Stara planina fest Balkan folk Stara is a village in the administrative district on Gmina Aleksandrów, within Piotrków County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Aleksandrów, south-east of Piotrków Trybunalski, and south-east of ...

Denmark

* Tønder Festival

Estonia

Viljandi Folk Festival __NOTOC__ The Viljandi Folk Music Festival is a music festival in Estonia with a central focus on European folk music. It is traditionally held during the last weekend of July, when the otherwise quiet city of Viljandi is completely transformed as ...

Finland

* Kaustinen Folk Music Festival

France

* Festival Interceltique de Lorient * Rencontres Internationales de Luthiers et Maîtres-Sonneurs

Germany

Festival-Mediaval XIV, "Folk of the World"

Ireland

Temple Bar TradFest TradFest Temple Bar is an annual music and culture festival that takes place in late January in Dublin, Ireland. Founded by the Temple Bar Company, a not-for-profit organisation who work on behalf of businesses in the cultural quarter of Temple ...

Lithuania

Kaziuko mugė Kaziuko mugė or Saint Casimir's Fair is a large annual folk arts and crafts fair in Vilnius, Lithuania, dating to the beginning of the 17th century. The fair is traditionally held in city's markets and streets on the Sunday nearest to 4 March (Fe ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urba ...

Mėnuo Juodaragis Mėnuo Juodaragis ( en, Black-Horned Moon or Moon of the Black Horn, sometimes abbreviated as BHM (''MJR'')) is an annual Baltic culture, alternative music, folk music and experimental music festival organized in Lithuania. It has been running s ...

, Zarasai * Parbėg laivelis, Klaipeda

Netherlands

Castlefest Castlefest is a medieval/fantasy festival in the Netherlands, held in the gardens of Castle Keukenhof in Lisse since 2005. History During the first edition in 2005, 3,500 visitors attended the event, in 2007 the festival attracted 16,000 visito ...

Russia

* Empty Hills, Kaluga Oblast * Grushinsky festival, near

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population ...

Spain

* Interceltic Festival of Avilés * Interceltic Festival of Morrazo *

Ortigueira's Festival of Celtic World Ortigueira, a seaport and borough in County Ferrolterra (A Coruña) in Galicia, celebrates its patron saint day -Saint Martha of Ortigueira's Day- on 29 July. Held during Saint Martha's day, Ortigueira's Festival of Celtic World (Festival Inte ...

United Kingdom

Beverley Folk Festival The Beverley Folk Festival is a three-day celebration of folk music, art, comedy and spoken word held in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was first organised in 1983 by the White Horse Folk Club and grew considerably over thirty y ...

* Cambridge Folk Festival * Celtic Connections * England's Medieval Festival *

Edinburgh Folk Festival Ceilidh Culture is an annual festival held in Edinburgh, Scotland which incorporates folk music, song, dance and storytelling. There is currently a month-long programme of events which take place around Easter time. The current format first too ...

* Fairport's Cropredy Convention *

FolkEast FolkEast is an English music festival which started in 2012 at Somerleyton Hall, Suffolk, England. In 2013, it relocated to Glemham Hall in Little Glemham, Suffolk, where it currently holds its annual festival on the weekend before the August ban ...

Festival * The Green Man Festival *

Inter Varsity Folk Dance Festival The Inter Varsity Folk Dance Festival (IVFDF) is the longest running Folk dance, folk festival in the United Kingdom, having been hosted from 1951 to the present day (2022). It differs from most other festivals in two respects: it moves location ...

* Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival * Shetland Folk Festival * Shrewsbury Folk Festival *

Sidmouth Folk Festival There has been a folk festival in the coastal town of Sidmouth in South West England in the first week of August every year since 1955, attracting tens of thousands of visitors to over 700 diverse events. Sidmouth Folk Festival offers a wide r ...

* Soma Festival *

Wickham Festival Wickham Festival is a four-day music event that takes place in the village of Wickham, Hampshire, England. Wickham hosts live music and comedy across four stages, as well as food stalls, craft stalls, real ale and cider bars and children's ente ...

Wimborne Folk Festival Wimborne Minster Folk Festival took over from the previously known Wimborne Folk Festival in 2013 when the previous organisers retired in August 2012, after over 30 years organising the festival. The annual festival is still internationally re ...

North America

Honduras

* Encuentro Folklórico Nacional ''El Grande de Grandes''

Canada

* Calgary Folk Music Festival * Canmore Folk Music Festival *

Edmonton Folk Music Festival The Edmonton Folk Music Festival (EFMF) is an annual four-day outdoor music event held the second weekend of August in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, established in 1980 by Don Whalen. The festival continues to draw many people from around the world a ...

* Winnipeg Folk Festival (Birds Hill) * Celtic Colours (Cape Breton) * Stan Rogers Folk Festival (Canso) * CityFolkFestival (Ottawa) * Emerald Music Festival * Hillside Festival (Guelph) * Home County Folk Festival (London) * Mariposa Folk Festival (Orillia) * Mill Race Festival of Traditional Folk Music (Cambridge) *

Northern Lights Festival Boréal Northern Lights Festival Boréal is an annual summer music festival in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. It is one of Canada's oldest music festivals in continuous operation, having been staged every year since 1972 until the Covid-19 pandemic.

(Sudbury) *

Red Rock Folk Festival Live from the Rock Folk Festival is an annual roots music festival that was started in 2003 in Red Rock, Ontario Red Rock is a township in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located in the Thunder Bay District. The community of Red Rock sits on the ...

(Red Rock) * Regina Folk Festival *

Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival Summerfolk is an annual folk music and craft festival held in Owen Sound, Ontario during the third weekend in August (August 20–23 in 2015). Summerfolk attracts performers and fans from across North America and the globe to Kelso Beach Park locat ...

(Owen Sound) * TD Canada Trust Sunfest (London)

United States

Alaska

Alaska Folk Festival The Alaska Folk Festival is an annual celebration of the music of Alaska, the Northwestern United States, and Canada, established in 1975. It is organised by The Alaska Folk Festival Inc., which is a non-profit membership organisation dedicated to ...

California

Big Sur Folk Festival The Big Sur Folk Festival, held from 1964 to 1971 in California, was an informal gathering of prominent and emerging folk artists from across the United States. Nancy Jane Carlen (1941-2013) was working at the Esalen Institute when Joan Baez wa ...

District of Columbia

Smithsonian Folklife Festival The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, launched in 1967, is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage presented annually in the summer in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is held on the National Mall for two weeks around the F ...

Florida

Florida Folk Festival Florida Folk Festival is a long-running annual folk music festival in Hamilton County, Florida. It began in 1953. Thelma Boltin was an organizer for the festival. The festival has also featured presentations in the Mikasuki language. Reference ...

Indiana

Feast of the Hunters' Moon Feast of the Hunters’ Moon is a weekend festival and historical reenactment held on a weekend in October since 1968, at the present-day site of Fort Ouiatenon, a replica 18th century French military and trading post near West Lafayette, Indiana ...

New York

Falcon Ridge Folk Festival The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival and dance festival held at Dodds Farm in Hillsdale, New York. History The first festival was a two-day event in 1988, held at a ski slope. In 1991, the festival mo ...

* Old Songs Festival

North Carolina

Folkmoot USA Folkmoot USA, The State International Festival of North Carolina, is an international folk festival held since 1984 in Waynesville, North Carolina and surrounding communities. During its history, the two-week event has featured around 8000 perform ...

North Dakota

Norsk Høstfest Norsk Høstfest (Norwegian language: "''Norwegian Autumn Festival''") is an annual festival held each fall in Minot, North Dakota, US. It is North America's largest Scandinavian festival. History The event is held on the North Dakota State Fair gr ...

Oklahoma

* Woody Guthrie Folk Festival

Oregon

* Sisters Folk Festival

Pennsylvania

Flood City Music Festival Flood City Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, presented by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association. The festival began in 1989 as a street fair to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Johnstown Flood ...

* Philadelphia Folk Festival * Pittsburgh Folk Festival

Rhode Island

Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

Tennessee

* The Americana Folk Festival

Texas

Kerrville Folk Festival The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The Kerrville Folk Festival was founded in 1972 by the husband-wife team of Rod Kennedy ...

Traveling

* National Folk Festival

Washington

* Northwest Folklife

Wisconsin

* Great River Folk Fest * Holiday Folk Fair * Mile of Music * Oshkosh International Folk Festival

Oceania

Australia

* National Folk Festival * Woodford Folk Festival

New Zealand

* Whare Flat Folk Festival - held over the New Year period at Whare Flat near

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

; run by Dunedin's New Edinburgh Folk Club