| New England Folk Festival |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT NEW ENGLAND FOLK FESTIVAL | |
| folk festivals | |
| social dance | |
| square dance | |
| contra dance | |
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HISTORY It was the summer of , the popular New Hampshire caller who presided at the square dances. The series had been running for little more than a year, but was already drawing over two hundred people every week, most of them college students. As Ralph Page later recalled the conversation, they were discussing a recent attempt at a "New England Folk Festival" at the Boston Garden which had left them unimpressed. "Suddenly, Mary said, 'Why don't we have a real folk festival?' and so the idea was born -- as simple as that!" Mary Gillette envisioned a festival where New England's many ethnic groups could share their song, dances, and crafts and present them to a wider audience -- not in a commercial, isn't-this-quaint way, but in a simple, honest, straightforward manner. It was an idea whose time had come: everyone was enthusiastic. Grace Palmer offered the facilities of the Boston YWCA. Philip Sharples, who in 1940 had founded the Belmont Country Dance Group (one of the first square and contra dance series in the Boston area), joined with Mary Gillette and Ralph Page in calling local leaders to meet and talk it over. Many recreation agencies and ethnic groups sent representatives, who wasted no time in getting down to business. From the start, the Festival Committee agreed to maintain an atmosphere of non-commercialism and high standards of performance and authenticity. The first festival took place on 28 October - 29 October 1944 and attracted 200 attendees, mainly to watch performances of local ethnic dance performing groups. Since then, the festival has grown to a three-day affair, attracting about 5000 attendees. THE PROGRAM Since the 1960's, the festival has taken place at Natick High School, Natick, Massachusetts . Participatory dancing (notably Contra Dancing and Folk Dancing ) occurs in three areas, concerts, discussions and other more intimate performances take place in five other rooms. Family-oriented events occur during daylight hours on Saturday and Sunday. The courtyard in front of the school is devoted to Morris Dancing , Rapper Sword and Longsword dancing. PERFORMERS The hundreds of performers are mainly from the New England area, but occasionally distant artists appear. The performers apply in the fall, and the program is announced in the spring. EXTERNAL LINKS # Official web site: The New England Folk Festival Association |
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