Celebrate the End of Summer with the Takoma Park Folk Festival on Sunday, September 8

For many people in Takoma Park, the annual Folk Festival marks the official end to summer and the beginning of the fall—with a day of music and community as we prepare to knuckle down at school and work.

Traditionally held on the second Sunday in September, this year’s Takoma Park Folk Festival falls on Sunday, September 9—from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Takoma Park Middle School once again.

Following the renovation on Lee Jordan field, the Field stage has been moved to the basketball court, but still honors Takoma Park hero Lee Jordan as the Jordan Court stage. This year introduces the Tom Prasada-Rao Memorial stage in honor of the Takoma Park singer-songwriter legend, who passed away in June of this year. Late
Takoma Park Mayor Sam Abbott, the driving force behind the first Folk Festival in 1978, is honored once again with the Abbott stage. Other stages coming back this year are the Silk Road, Grove, and Crossroads stages.

The festival offers an array of musical experiences—Americana, folk pop, country blues, klezmer-fusion, soulful lounge, indie rock, ska, and more—44 acts across six stages.

From its beginning, the Folk Festival has taken a broad approach to the term “folk music,” which became pigeon-holed by the folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s.

“It could really be any kind of music from any place,” says Candice Broda, Folk Festival publicity chair. “The programming group has really worked hard to make a diverse lineup so that it’s not your grandpa’s folk music. They want it to be more diverse and have younger people, too. They’ve picked a few that they’re calling emerging artists—we have four of them.

“They don’t want to have the same performers year after year,” continues Broda, “so if you’ve performed one year, they won’t choose you for the following year. You can apply and be chosen the next year. But they try to not have the same exact lineup every year just to give other people a chance to come in and show what they can do.”

“We have so much talent in our region; it’s great to be able to share that with people,” says Robin Stearn, Folk Festival chair, “But it’s so much more than music—there are lots of things to do all day long.”

Broda reminds residents that the festival will also feature “food from all over the world—food trucks and coffee, and sweets. And there’s also a juried craft show, with amazing pottery, soap, jewelry, artwork, everything you can imagine. And we’re kind of ramping that up children’s activities this year.” Broda also points to the community tables as an important tradition of the folk festival, with the opportunity for festival-goers to connect with local groups and initiatives.

The first Folk Festival was held in 1978 with one stage, organized to raise money to save the Takoma Theatrer, on 4th Street in Takoma D.C., from being demolished by a developer. That first festival set the tradition of a yearly gathering to celebrate live, local music, entirely organized by volunteers.

“I’ve been volunteering with TPFF since 2017,” says Joy Markowitz, Folk Festival secretary. “It’s a lot of work to pull off a big festival, but the satisfaction of seeing a diverse group of people enjoying music,
crafts, and community is very uplifting. I’ve been introduced to new music that I continue to listen to regularly, and I’ve made some new friends along the way.”

“The festival is a volunteer-run event, so we are constantly looking for people to help produce the festival to help out,” says Broda. Potential volunteers can visit the festival’s website or send an email to volunteer@tpff.org.

Check tpff.org to see the line-up and for information
about the crafts and other details.

This article appeared in the August Edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. Check out this article and more on the City webpage.