The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, held annually in Asheville, North Carolina, is the oldest continuously running folk festival in the United States.
History
Started initially by Bascom Lamar Lunsford as an offshoot of the larger Asheville Rhododendron Festival in 1928, the festival started on its own in 1930. In 1967, the festival was taken over by Asheville's Folk Heritage Committee. The festival starts on the first Thursday in August and continues through the following Friday and Saturday. Other modern festivals, such as the National Folk Festival, were inspired by the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival.
In its early years, the festival hosted artists such as Samantha Bumgarner. Pete Seeger was inspired to play banjo after hearing founder Bascom Lamar Lunsford play the five-string banjo at the festival in 1936.
References
- ^ "Shindig on the Green: 52 years of music 'round about sundown 🎻 - AVLToday". 25 July 2018.
- "Mountain Dance and Folk Festival turns 90".
- "Mountain Dance and Folk Festival - Digital Heritage". 5 March 2012.
- "North Carolina: Looking for music? Here's where to start".
- ^ Jones, Loyal (1984). Minstrel of the Appalachians: The Story of Bascom Lamar Lunsford.
- ^ Fussell, Fred; Kruger, Steve (2018). Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina: A Guide to Music Sites, Artists, and Traditions of the Mountains and Foothills.
- "Feasts of Unnaming". xroads.virginia.edu. Archived from the original on July 28, 1997.
- Schubert, Leda (2017). Listen: How Pete Seeger Got America Singing.
- Dunaway, How Can I Keep From Singing, pp. 48–49.