What Can You Do at the Folk Festival?
The goal of the Festival is to encourage you to participate in the joy of playing music, singing, and dancing. Many of our activities are hands-on, and we hope you'll join in. Here are some of the things you can do:
Learn something new!
One of the things that makes the Albuquerque Folk Festival so unusual is the incredible variety of workshops available. Musicians and dancers delight in sharing their love for what they do with you!
- If you play an instrument, or would like to get started with one, we have dozens of workshops from bodhrán to Klezmer music with an emphasis on getting beginners started (and yes, we have more common instruments like guitar, banjo, harmonica, sometimes even kazoo!).
- Prefer to move your feet to the music? You can learn about square dancing, contra dancing, swing, salsa, Irish step and Scottish country dance, Argentine tango, Hawaiian, and international folk dance throughout the day.
Sing!
There are singing workshops all day Saturday, and you can always sing along at the various jam sessions. And be sure to come to our 6:30 pm Singalong! We'll provide the lyrics, you provide the voices!
Jam!
We have two formal (well, as formal as jamming gets) venues for jamming at the festival. At the hosted jam tent, a different host every hour will keep things moving, encourage everyone's participation, and perhaps influence tune selection. At the Jam with the Band venue, you can play along with your favorite local bands.
But nobody says jamming has to be confined to the jamming tents! There always seem to be informal groups playing around the grounds. And this year, with camping on Friday and Saturday nights, the jamming can just keep going!
Remember: it's easy to bring an instrument to the festival! We provide a free instrument checkroom all day Saturday so you can store your instrument safely.
Dance!
Dance all day at the dance workshops, and then continue on into the evening with swing and contra dancing.
Camp!
Can't get enough of the folk festival? Set up camp on Friday night on the Albuquerque Balloon Museum grounds, and stay until Sunday morning. We're planning some great activities at the campsite, including formal and informal workshops and lots of jamming.
Explore!
Spend the whole day exploring different kinds of music and dance at the Festival, but be sure to spend some time at Planet Music, where you can explore dozens of different instruments.
Perform!
This year, we're bringing back the Sign-Up Stage, a centrally-located venue where any performer (musical bands, individuals, dancers, singers, etc.) can sign up on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more info: Sign-Up Stage.
Compete!
The talent contest is on hiatus again this year, but the Band Scramble remains. So have some fun, get a chance to play on stage, and maybe win a ribbon: sign up for the sixth annual Band Scramble, where you'll be assigned to a random motley group of people and have less than an hour to come up with a band name and a couple of tunes, before performing those tunes on stage.
Bring the kids!
Along with a special venue just for children, kids are welcome throughout the festival. This year, we're introducing Planet Music, similar to the Musical Petting Zoo, where kids of all ages can try out different instruments.
Kids 11 and under can come to the festival for free! And admission for kids from 12 to 18 is only $5. The Folk Festival is an inexpensive day-long activity for the whole family.
Enjoy the music!
Our three stages feature a great mix of performers this year and will be rocking all day and into the evening on Saturday.
So far, featured acts include Peter Ostroushko, Jack Williams, Consuelo Luz, Notorious, Bayou Seco, Los Primos, The Porter Draw, Squash Blossom Boys, Le Chat Lunatique, and many more.
Listen to stories
Some of the best regional storytellers will entertain you all day on Saturday.
Shop!
You can find musical instruments, toiletries, rocks, glass, jewelry, candles...all kinds of delightful things! So allow a little time (and money) for checking out the vendors' wares.
Eat!
This year, we have some great food vendors lined up for your eating pleasure. BBQ, gourmet sandwiches and salads, wood-fired pizza, hamburgers, New Mexican...there should be something for everyone's taste. Plus cold stuff: Italian ice, Hawaiian ice, and good ol' ice cream!
Help us out!
If you want to get even more actively involved in the Festival, we can always use volunteers. If you'd like to get involved and work for a few hours at the Festival, see our Volunteers page for more information.
To sum it all up, here's what's in the works for 2013:
- Performances by great national, regional, and local bands
- Sign-up Stage.
- Two dances on Saturday night
- Music Workshops
- Dance Workshops
- Singing Workshops
- Planet Music
- Band Scramble
- Storytelling
- Vendors
- Hosted Jams and Jam with the Band
- Free Parking
- Free Camping
