Mountain Dance and Folk Festival

The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, held annually in Asheville, North Carolina, is the oldest continuously running folk festival in the United States.[1][2][3][4][5]

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.[1][6] 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.[6] Other modern festivals, such as the National Folk Festival, were inspired by the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival.[7][5]

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.[8][9]

References
  1. "Shindig on the Green: 52 years of music 'round about sundown 🎻 - AVLToday". 25 July 2018.
  2. "Mountain Dance and Folk Festival turns 90".
  3. "Mountain Dance and Folk Festival - Digital Heritage". 5 March 2012.
  4. "North Carolina: Looking for music? Here's where to start".
  5. Jones, Loyal (1984). Minstrel of the Appalachians: The Story of Bascom Lamar Lunsford.
  6. 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.
  7. "Feasts of Unnaming". xroads.virginia.edu.
  8. Schubert, Leda (2017). Listen: How Pete Seeger Got America Singing.
  9. Dunaway, How Can I Keep From Singing, pp. 48–49.
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