44 years.
250,000 people each year.
5,000 performers.
65 genres of music.
100 community groups.
23 stages.
Food. Art. Books. Dance. Beer.
Really, do you need more reasons to go to this weekend’s Northwest Folklife Festival?
The four-day bash at the Seattle Center is the ultimate celebration of music, art and cultural traditions.
The Memorial Day weekend event started in 1972 as “what folks do at home to entertain themselves and pass on their traditions.” It’s grown every year to become a mega arts festival that showcases a community program that goes on year-round.
“This year it’s called ‘Beats, Rhymes and Rhythms: Traditional Roots of Today’s Branches,’” said Kelli Faryar, Folklife program director. “We are going to be exploring the traditional roots of hip-hop.”
It goes beyond music and dance.
“There will be lots of storytelling,” Faryar said. “One of the supercool things is they are inducting Seattle’s first youth poet laureate.”
So, hip-hop over to the Seattle Center. Kick up your feet with Irish cloggers, Middle Eastern dancers, bluegrass fiddlers, West African drummers, ska bands, indie bands and anything else that moves you.
Kids can scale a 35-foot climbing tower, walk a colorful labyrinth and take a spin on the ADA-accessible integrated carousel. “It’s a permanent installation launching this weekend,” Faryar said.
Though there is no admission to the festival, it has a suggested donation of $10 per person or $20 for the family.
Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.
If you go
Northwest Folklife Festival runs through Monday at the Seattle Center.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday. Learn more at www.nwfolklife.org.
Five things to do
1. Dance. You will move your feet. Wear sensible shoes or kick off your heels. Groove in the grass. Waltz in the Armory. Shake it Swedish and Balkan style. Participatory dance opportunities and workshops range from salsa to contra, English country to Latin swing.
2. Play. Where kids get in the zone. The Discovery Zone is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily with arts, crafts, storytelling, musical instruments, listening stations and “story waves.” Family friendly activities abound all over the grounds.
3. Shop. Dozens of booths have merchandise made by the talented hands of our Northwest neighbors as well as booths with imported crafts from around the world. Find soaps, jewelry, clothing, art, dishes, instruments and hard-to-find food items.
4. Eat. Taste the world by visiting food stalls with fare from Africa, South America, the American South and classics such as elephant ears and funnel cakes.
5. Drink. Take a load off, find a quiet or lively spot and watch the festival go by with a nice cold brew. Beer and ciders on tap.
More to do
School of Rock. Strum an electric guitar or play a snare drum at Little Wing, an early childhood music education program. Play different instruments or sing into a microphone.
Explore rhythm with the Seattle Children’s Museum. Test out instruments from around the world and make a dancing ring to dance to the music you hear at Folklife.
Build a boat with experts from The Center for Wooden Boats. Use hand drills, hammers and art supplies to build wooden toy boats.
Drawing jam by the Gage Academy of Art. People of all ages and skill-levels can draw with charcoal, pastels, pencils and markers. Art supplies and still-life setups provided.
Seattle Youth Poet Laureate finalist readings in the Cornish Playhouse.
Performance highlights
Saturday
Canote Brothers, 4 p.m., identical twins Jere and Greg do down-home fiddle tunes to soaring scat solos to goofy novelty songs. Grace Love, who describes her style as “Seattle soul,” 7:45 p.m.
Sunday
Hot Cider String Band, 2 p.m., Northwest fiddling branches into Scandinavian, Celtic and French Canadian fiddle styles as well as bluegrass, folk and most recently Brazilian choro. Hip-Hop Break Dance, 5 p.m., learn how to break dance with the Multi-Generational Hip-Hop dance crew and North City Rockers.
Monday
Mikey Gervais, 2:45 p.m., songs to have all ages dancing, jumping, wiggling and partying all while learning about the science of our beautiful planet. Kids Brazilian Dance Workshop with Dora Oliveira, 1 p.m. “Kindiependent Show!” 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring Johnny Bregar, Brian Vogan and his Good Buddies, The Not-Its!, Recess Monkey and Harmonica Pocket.
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