The banks of the Suwannee River in White Springs will come alive with activity once again, during the annual Florida Folk Festival at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park.



The 52nd Florida Folk Festival will take place in White Springs May 28-30 and is one of the oldest and largest celebrations of cultural heritage in the nation. Readers of Florida Monthly magazine voted the event the ‘Best Cultural Festival in Florida” in 2000 and 2001.



Two years ago, the Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection breathed new life into the festival after assuming its production from the Florida Dept. of State. The Folk Festival brings instrumental and vocal music, storytelling, dancing, arts, crafts and traditional food to visitors every Memorial Day weekend.



The Florida Humanities Council is providing $18,000 for the second year to sponsor the Heritage Stage at the annual event. The grant will pay for feature performances by some of the best musicians, tradition bearers and humanities scholars from around the Sunshine State and across the country.



Visitors can learn the history of the blues and folklorist tradition, or take a workshop with master musicians such as Arlo Guthrie, Roy Book Binder, John McCutcheon and Mike Marshall. The opportunity to ‘dance the night away’ to swing, Cajun, klezmer or ole-time fiddle music will also be available to both the young and old at heart.



The partnership between the Folk Festival, FHC, DEP and Florida State Parks has assured the continued success and popularity of the annual White Springs celebration.



“Together, we are saving and sharing a piece of Florida’s folk history with tens of thousands of visitors every year,” says FPSD Director Make Bullock.



For more information relating to the ’04 Florida Folk Festival, interested individuals may contact the State of Florida’s Nature and Heritage Tourism Center at 1-877-6FL-FOLK (1-877-635-3655).