Schedule of Events

Wednesday, July 27   

1:00 pm    Hazelwood Elementary School. Free Event.

2:00 pm    Blue Ridge Community College, Bo Thomas Auditorium, Flat Rock. (6 Groups) Adults $25; Faculty, Students & Children (12 & under) 1/2 price.

7:30 pm    Blue Ridge Community College, Bo Thomas Auditorium, Flat Rock. (6 Groups) Adults $25; Faculty, Students & Children (12 & under) 1/2 price.

7:30 pm    Swain High School, Bryson City. (3 Groups) Adults $16; Children (12 & under) 1/2 price.

Thursday, July 28   

7:30 pm    Smoky Mtn. Center for Performing Arts, Franklin. (4 Groups) Adults $25, $20; Children (12 & under) $10.

7:30 pm    Haywood Community College, Waynesville. (5 Groups) Reserved seating: $25, $20; General admission $15; Children (12 & under) 1/2 price.

Friday, July 29

2:00 pm    Extravaganza Matinee, Stompin’ Ground, Maggie Valley. (7 Groups) Reserved seating: $25, $20; General admission $15; Children (12 & under) 1/2 price.

7:30 pm    Extravaganza, Stompin’ Ground, Maggie Valley. (7 Groups) Reserved seating: $25, $20; General admission $15; Children (12 & under) 1/2 price.

Saturday, July 30

10-5    Haywood County Arts Council’s International Festival Day, Main Street, Waynesville. Free Event.

7:30 pm    Haywood Community College, Clyde.  (All Groups) Reserved seating: $30, $25; General admission $20; Children (12 & under) 1/2 price.

Sunday, July 31

7:00 pm    Candlelight Closing, Stuart Auditorium, Lake Junaluska. (All Groups) Reserved seating: $30, $25; General admission $20; Children (12 & under) 1/2 price.

Leave politics at the door and enjoy Folkmoot USA

I’ve been volunteering with the Folkmoot USA International Dance Festival for about 15 years. It’s one of the most culturally rich, unique events in these mountains. It was going on before the Iron Curtain was raised, bringing dancers from those former communist countries to the U.S. for some eye-opening adventures.

Today, as terrorists lurk in shadowy places around the world and political divisions remain firmly entrenched, the message of this festival remains as strong as ever: people are more alike than they are different, and overcoming political and religious differences isn’t all that difficult when you focus on sharing instead of dividing. For the 28 years that Folkmoot has been in existence, politics has never won out over the sharing of traditions.

During the planning for many of the festivals in past years, some of us on the Folkmoot Board had nagging worries in the back of our minds that some countries would simply not get along. But it never happens, at least not for any kind of geopolitical reasons.

No, the worst we’ve had in 28 years are disagreements over who should do the finale, complaints about beds not being comfortable or rooms being too hot. Some of these are problems that have to be dealt with — and thank goodness for the Folkmoot staff — but these aren’t game-changers.

Folkmoot is an opportunity to forget politics and put xenophobic notions aside, and I would encourage everyone reading this to do just that and enjoy one of the performances happening in your community over the next week or so (July 22-31). You won’t be disappointed.

•••

I wrote a story for this year’s Folkmoot Guidebook about the history of the festival. While doing the research, I learned about an early attempt to bring Folkmoot under the tent of Bele Chere, Asheville’s huge street festival.

Charles Starnes, a former Tuscola High School principal and Folkmoot volunteer, was a close friend of Dr. Clint Border, who founded the festival. After Folkmoot’s first festival in 1984, it became very popular very quickly. Asheville’s own Bele Chere started in 1979, and was a small event compared to what it has become today.

Starnes told me — and Brenda O’Keefe of Joey’s Pancakes confirmed — that early on Bele Chere organizers contacted Folkmoot about bringing the festival to Asheville and running it in conjunction with Bele Chere. The idea was that the two festivals together could turn into something really big.

According to both Starnes and O’Keefe, Dr. Border was absolutely adamant that moving the festival to Asheville was not even open to discussion. Folkmoot, he said, would always be based in Haywood County. Twenty-eight years later, it is still here and is very successful.

As for Bele Chere, well, it did not need Folkmoot to thrive. It has become Asheville’s signature event and one of the largest street festivals in the country.

•••

And now for a little politics.

The current debate about debt and spending in the U.S. has highlighted a fundamental flaw of democracy: can people vote against their self-interest in the name of shared sacrifice?

As democracies across Europe — Ireland, Portugal, Greece, and now Italy — teeter on the verge of insolvency, governments are struggling to find a middle ground. Those on opposing sides of the political divides are whipping up their constituents, just like here in the U.S.

Many people have seen this coming and been writing about it for years. We have created social welfare programs — Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — that have become very expensive. The senior citizens who get those benefits aren’t about to support cuts. Military spending here is huge, but those states and communities who depend on military bases don’t want them downsized or closed. The wealthy don’t want to pay more taxes, but they are the ones who can afford it. And on and on.

To fix these problems, I have to vote for leaders who will vote against my self-interest. So do you. The big question is whether any democracy can take this step, where the majority votes against what will benefit them in the short run.

(Scott McLeod can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)

Folkmoot, Evergreen Packaging form multiyear partnership

Folkmoot USA, North Carolina’s Official International Festival, has locked down its first presenting sponsor.

Evergreen Packaging has partnered with the Festival as its presenting sponsor for 2010 through 2013, becoming the first international corporation to develop a multiyear relationship with the nonprofit.

Based in Waynesville, Folkmoot USA operates a two-week folklore festival hosting approximately 350 musicians and traditional dancers from all over the world.

“This means a lot to the festival,” said Folkmoot USA Executive Director Karen Babcock. “In tough economic times, it’s good to have someone step up and make a multiyear commitment.”

Revenues from ticket sales do not cover the costs associated with hosting the festival. The nonprofit must pay Folkmoot performers’ room, board, and transportation expenses, as well as cover the cost of renting performance venues.

Evergreen Packaging, with facilities in Canton and Waynesville, employs more than a thousand people in Haywood County, home to Folkmoot USA. Evergreen produces paper and packaging products in operations worldwide.

“The fact that we are an international company made sponsoring this festival a particularly good fit,” said Jody Hanks, Evergreen vice president and general counsel. “We’re looking forward to helping bring people from all over the world to experience being in Western North Carolina.”

The 2010 Folkmoot Festival will take place July 22 – August 1 throughout ten counties in Western North Carolina. Folkmoot has been presented annually longer than any other traditional international folk festival in the U.S. and is considered one of the best festivals of its kind in all of North America.

Grand Opening and Candlelight Closing Tickets are now on sale. Call 828.452.2997 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for tickets.

For more information, visit www.FolkmootUSA.org or call 877.FolkUSA.

Leading the way: Folkmoot guides are instrumental in making sure group’s visits run smoothly

By Marian Larson • Contributing Writer

They are part camp counselor, part dorm parent, and part U.N. ambassador.

As Folkmoot arrives in Waynesville this week, the visiting dancers must somehow orient to their temporary American life in the mountains. Someone must help them manage their strict daily routine and orchestrate the elements of their day from meal to shower to performance.

Dance festival has gathered a crowd of supporters over the years

By Marian Larson • Contributing Writer

Not even a broken limb could keep one die-hard fan from missing a Folkmoot performance.

But then, “Folkmoot-fanaticism” seems to run in Karen Ford’s family.

Cooper wraps up first year as Folkmoot director

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

The 2006 Folkmoot USA international dance festival marks an important first for new executive director Jamye Cooper. This year will be the first year that she has organized the festival from start to finish, and thereby the first real test of her skills.

Behind the scenes: The logistics of running an international folk festival

By Marian Larson • Contributing Writer

So you’ve been to several of the performances, shopped for souvenirs, even hung out with some of the dancers? Here are a few things you still may not know about the behind-the-scenes side to Folkmoot USA.

A Celtic slice of France

One of this year’s Folkmoot groups, Bleuniadur, hails from northern France in the region known as Brittany. SMN’s Michael Beadle conducted an email interview with Fabrice David, executive director of the all-volunteer Breton folk music and dance group.

Catching the Folkmoot Bug: 2006 host band, performers dissolve cultural barriers with song

Ted White, a bass player with Whitewater Bluegrass Company, was warming up backstage at a Folkmoot performance last year when a Cyprus fiddler struck upon a melody everyone recognized, spurring a lively, impromptu jam among a hodge-podge of international musicians.

Folkmoot photo ops: International festival revamps, ramps up for 2006 season

By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer

Folkmoot USA, the annual international dance festival with performances held throughout Western North Carolina, always is marked by riotous colors, intriguing costumes and smiling faces, making it a photographer’s paradise.

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