Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Folk Festival shows off its wide appeal

Spokane Community College’s Lair plays host to the Spokane Folklore Society’s Fall Folk Festival.  (File)

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.