Folk Festival shows off its wide appeal

Feel like some Chinese this weekend? Maybe a little Hawaiian? Some Middle Eastern?

The Spokane Folklore Society’s Fall Folk Festival is like a buffet of world music and dance, with more than 90 artists performing West African, East Indian, South American and Pacific Northwestern traditions, just to name a few compass points.

This 15th annual version will include the usual elements that draw 6,000 or more people every year:

• Eight stages, with numerous performances to choose from at all times.

• An eclectic lineup of styles ranging from the down-home (the Stevens County Stompers) to the far-away (the Silk …

Feel like some Chinese this weekend? Maybe a little Hawaiian? Some Middle Eastern?

The Spokane Folklore Society’s Fall Folk Festival is like a buffet of world music and dance, with more than 90 artists performing West African, East Indian, South American and Pacific Northwestern traditions, just to name a few compass points.

This 15th annual version will include the usual elements that draw 6,000 or more people every year:

• Eight stages, with numerous performances to choose from at all times.

• An eclectic lineup of styles ranging from the down-home (the Stevens County Stompers) to the far-away (the Silk Road Band, with folk music from Asia’s Silk Road).

• Music and dance workshops, for those who want to do more than listen.

• Kids’ activities and storytelling sessions.

• Food booths and craft booths, with an international flair.

• A New England-style contra dance on Saturday night.

• A live KPBX-FM (91.1, Spokane Public Radio) broadcast from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

• The best price in town: free.

That’s right, the Fall Folk Festival is one of Spokane’s premier free events, thanks to generous sponsors and hundreds of volunteers, including the performers.

By the way, if you’re a musical locavore, the Fall Folk Festival has plenty of choices, too. The best-represented musical categories are blues, bluegrass, old-time and Americana-style folk.