Our Mission
Folk Music is passed from generation to the next, and influenced by culture, family, ethnicity, and era. Examples of folk music are folk music, old timey, bluegrass, Cajun, French Canadian, Celtic, Tribal, swing, jazz, and western music. Folk Music often represents a place or a group of people. It can also express the thoughts and feelings of a point in history. Sharing traditions through folk music strengthen the ties of a community while connecting folks to the past and future. It is an elder reciting a story, a fiddler sharing a tune, or a musician carrying on the traditions of their culture. Folk Music is practiced for the pure joy of it.Fairbanks Folk Fest, Inc. is a non-profit organization based in Fairbanks, Alaska. The mission of the Fairbanks Folk Fest is to serve as a resource for the preservation and presentation of traditional and contemporay Folk Music.
Founded in the mid-seventies, the charitable and educational organization has grown from offering a single music folk festival to presenting a Winter Folk Fest, a Summer Folk Fest, a Kid's Mini Fest, and the Bluegrass Camp for Kids. The organization is meeting its mission, by way of presenting free concert performances for the community and by sponsoring a summer bluegrass music camp for kids.
More than 30 bands from Alaska, Canada, Yukon Territory, and even from the lower 48, perform at the "Winter Folk Fest" and the "Summer Folk Fest" while individual performers offer their services to music education programs. Instructors for the "Bluegrass Camp for Kids" range from established musicians from the community to musicians from nationally famed bands. The camp encourages appreciation and participation of traditional music.
Volunteers contribute numerous (endless) hours of planning and carrying out the activities presented by the Fairbanks Folk Fest. Each year approximately 3000 persons are consumers of the Winter and Summer Folk Fests, the Bluegrass Camp for Kids, music workshops, children and family concerts, music jamborees, traditional square and contra dances, and the sponsoring of community concerts.
Funding for the activities presented by the Fairbanks Folk Fest is made possible through membership and sponorship donations and in-kind contributions from the community. We are thankful to all for making Fairbanks Folk Fest achieve its mission.