Communities Performing Arts

Folkmoot USA: Ten Days of Cultural Experiences

By Emma Castleberry

Communities across Western North Carolina will welcome cultural groups to perform from Thursday, July 19, through Sunday, July 29, for the 2018 Folkmoot Festival. Folkmoot, which was recognized by USA Today as one of the Top Twenty Festivals in North Carolina, will feature performers and artists from Ghana, Italy, Czech Republic, Mexico, Venezuela, Jamaica, Northern Cyprus and Thailand, as well as local Appalachian and Cherokee dancers and musicians. Over its 35-year history, the festival has hosted 8,000 performers from almost 150 countries. “Each summer, cultural groups from across the globe share their brilliant costumes, smiling faces, coordinated dance steps and world music to reflect their country’s rich and honored heritage,” says Angeline Schwab, executive director of Folkmoot. “Over the years, these festival activities and performances—a cultural exchange in the truest sense— have sustained Folkmoot’s contributions to peace, respect and understanding between people who are different from one another.”

New to this year’s festival is the Gala Under the Stars, a kickoff event on the first day of the festival. Tickets are $175 per couple and the gala acts as a fundraiser for Friends of Folkmoot. Attendees will enjoy food and drinks in the field adjacent to the Friendship Center in Waynesville and have the opportunity to get a first look at the performances for the festival.

The Sunday Soirée, which debuted for the first time at last year’s Folkmoot, will return on Sunday, July 22, at 7 p.m. The event features a seven-course, international tasting menu arranged by the Blind Pig Supper Club. “The entertainment is primarily regional groups that are sharing their cultural heritage and the international performers will join us for a segment of the programming, plus dessert,” says Schwab. Tickets to the Sunday Soirée are $65 for adults and $30 for children and students. Funds from this event support cultural arts programming for youth and families in Haywood County.

The Folkmoot Festival is primarily operated by a team of volunteers and stipended students from local high schools and colleges. More than half of the 47 employees of Folkmoot are under 25 years old. Staff members are trained in cultural conversations, world politics, conflict resolution, festival operations, production management and emergency management. “This group of young people becomes very close to each other and to the international groups,” says Schwab.

While the Folkmoot organization is best known for its summer festival in July, it also holds programs on a year-round basis at its home-base in Waynesville. “Our friendship dinners, cultural conversations, workshops and special events are building a community that rises above ideology, politics, parties and the other issues that often divide us,” says Schwab. “Folkmoot brings us together.”

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit folkmoot.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the Folkmoot Friendship Center or by calling 828.452.2997.

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