New Jersey Folk Festival facts for kids

Quick facts for kids New Jersey Folk Festival
Festival on April 27, 2007
Date(s)	Last Saturday in April, Rain or Shine
Begins	10 am
Ends	6 pm
Frequency	Annual
Location(s)	New Brunswick, NJ
Inaugurated	1975
Participants	Folk musicians, folk dancers

The New Jersey Folk Festival is a super fun yearly event that celebrates folk music and culture! It happens on the big lawn at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. This festival is free for everyone and is a non-profit event, meaning it's not trying to make money. It takes place every year on the last Saturday in April, from 10 AM to 6 PM, no matter the weather!

The festival often happens at the same time as the Rutgers Agricultural Field Day, which is held nearby. Since 2009, both events have been a big part of Rutgers Day. In 2020, the festival's theme was Oaxaca, and it took place online.

The American Studies Department at Rutgers University helps put on the New Jersey Folk Festival. The festival is also a special non-profit group in New Jersey.

Discover the Festival's History

The New Jersey Folk Festival started way back in 1975. It is the oldest folk festival that has run non-stop in New Jersey! A small team of college students from Rutgers University helps organize it. The festival brings in over 15,000 people and is one of the biggest regular events in New Brunswick.

The main goal of the New Jersey Folk Festival is to keep the music, culture, and arts of New Jersey alive and strong. So, the festival mainly focuses on traditional music, crafts, and foods from the many different cultures and communities in New Jersey and nearby areas.

Usually, the festival has three or four stages for music, dance, and workshops. There's also a special craft market where artists sell their handmade items. Kids can enjoy a fun activities area, and there are lots of yummy food choices. You can find everything from hamburgers and vegetarian dishes to funnel cake and many different ethnic foods. There's also a folk marketplace and a heritage area. The heritage area lets you learn more about the special cultural theme of the year.

Every year, the festival tries to have many different kinds of performers. They look for traditional "American" artists and also reach out to the many different cultural groups in New Jersey. This helps connect everyone to the varied cultures in the state.

Dr. Angus Kress Gillespie, who started the festival, and Michelle Yasay, a former staff member and Rutgers graduate, professionally guide the New Jersey Folk Festival.

A Festival Run by Students

This amazing festival is put together by a class at Rutgers University. The class helps students learn how to be leaders. The New Jersey Folk Festival is one of only a few festivals in the United States that college students manage! The student team works hard to continue the festival's goal of celebrating New Jersey's diverse cultures and folk traditions.

When the festival first began in 1975, only two students helped organize it. Today, about fifteen students are on the planning committee. Former students who worked on the festival also come back to advise the current team.

The class meets once a week for four hours. Students learn about folklore, which is the study of traditional stories, customs, and beliefs. They learn about different kinds of folk music and how to share ethnic cultures with the public. They also get practical lessons, like how to write news releases or do radio interviews. The second half of the class is like a business meeting. The festival manager leads it, and different student coordinators give updates and solve problems together.

The student coordinators become a close team. They learn important skills like leadership, teamwork, communication, organization, and time management. This class is part of the American Studies Department at Rutgers University.

Explore the Festival Stages

Skylands Stage: Music and Awards

The Skylands Stage is located in front of the Eagleton Institute building. Here, you can enjoy music and dance performances. The festival's Opening Ceremony and the Awards Ceremony also happen on this stage.

Shore Stage: Jams and New Songs

The Shore Stage is found between the Food Market and the Craft Market. This stage hosts three fun jam sessions where musicians play together. These include a Bluegrass jam, an Old-Timey jam, and an Irish Seisiún. You can also hear performances by the winners of the yearly Singer-Songwriter Showcase.

Singer-Songwriter Showcase: New Talent

While the festival mainly focuses on old folk traditions passed down through families and communities, it also wants to support new folk singer-songwriters. This showcase gives winners a chance to share their original songs with a big audience of over 15,000 people! At least six winners are chosen to perform 20-minute sets.

The festival is especially interested in songs about the state of New Jersey. Even though New Jersey has a rich musical past, it doesn't have a state song. The festival hopes to encourage artists to write songs about their home state.

Artists can sell their music CDs at the Folk Marketplace and keep all the money they earn.

This contest is only for singer-songwriters who have never performed at the New Jersey Folk Festival before. All songs must have original words and music. No instrumental songs are allowed. Each artist must submit music and lyrics for three songs, and the author must sing all entry songs. If chosen, each artist agrees to perform only their own original material. There are no rules about where artists must live. Artists must agree to perform at the festival to be a winner.

The deadline to enter is usually in mid-December.

Pinelands Stage: Learn and Participate

The Pinelands Stage is located between the Gatehouse and the Craft Market. This stage is all about workshops! Here, you can get instruction, watch demonstrations, participate in activities, and see performances.

Heritage Area: Cultural Displays

The Heritage Area has craft demonstrations and exhibits that are connected to the festival's theme for the year. You can also see one or two traditional "American" craft demonstrators here.

Craft Market: Handmade Treasures

The Craft Market has about 100 different sellers. This market focuses on traditional folk art crafts. All the items sold here are carefully checked for high quality and traditional style. You can find crafts like jewelry, woodwork, pottery, ceramics, clothing, and clothwork.

Food Vendor Arc: Delicious Eats

The Food Vendor Arc has about two dozen different food sellers. They offer a mix of ethnic and traditional "American" foods. You can find them in a semi-circle between the Skylands and Shore Stages, near the Loree Building.

Children's Activities Area: Fun for Kids

The Children's Activities Area offers many free activities for kids. These include games, face painting, crafts you can take home, pie-eating contests, and even pony rides!

Folk Marketplace: Festival Info and Souvenirs

At the Folk Marketplace, staff can answer your questions about the festival. You can pick up a schedule of performances or buy souvenirs. These include performer CDs, festival T-shirts, magnets, or keychains.

The Festival Logo

The Jersey Devil is the official symbol of the New Jersey Folk Festival. However, every year, a new logo is designed. This new logo shows off the special highlight or theme of that year's festival.

Original Logo: The Rooster

The very first festival logo was a rooster! Back in 1975, only three people managed the festival: Professor Gillespie, Kathy DeAngelo (music), and Barbara Irwin (crafts). When they were choosing a logo, they looked at the folk art collection at the Newark Museum. There, they found a copper rooster weathervane from 19th-century rural New Jersey. They thought this rooster was a great symbol of the folk culture found in New Jersey long ago.

The rooster is probably the oldest weathervane design in the United States. This might be because roosters were often seen on church steeples in Europe. It's said that the rooster on churches reminded people of Peter's denial of Christ. So, it served as a warning not to do the same. There's even a picture in the Bayeux Tapestry (from the 1070s) showing a man putting a rooster on Westminster Abbey. Some stories also say that in the 9th century, Pope Nicholas I ordered the rooster figure to be placed on every church steeple. Even before that, Pope Leo IV had it placed on the old Old St. Peter's Basilica.

Upcoming Festival Highlights

• April 26, 2014 - 40th Anniversary Celebration

Previous Festival Highlights

• 2020 - Oaxaca
• 2019 - Best of the past 4 years (45th Annual)
• 2018 - Native Americans of New Jersey
• 2017 - Turkish Traditions
• 2016 - Bluegrass Showcase
• 2015 - Maritime
• 2014 - 40th Anniversary
• 2013 - Garifuna Folk Culture
• 2012 - Bulgarian Folk Culture
• 2011 - Kalmyk Folk Culture
• 2010 - The Andes
• 2009 - 35th Anniversary Celebration
• 2008 - German-American Traditions
• 2007 - Dominican-American Traditions
• 2006 - Charm of Korea
• 2005 - Norwegian-American Traditions
• 2004 - 30th Anniversary Celebration
• 2003 - Mexican-American Traditions
• 2002 - Blues & Gospel
• 2001 - Portuguese-American Traditions
• 2000 - Women in Folk
• 1999 - Silver Jubilee Celebration
• 1998 - Chinese-American Traditions
• 1997 - India
• 1996 - South Jersey
• 1995 - Puerto Rico
• 1994 - 20th Anniversary Celebration
• 1993 - Lebanon
• 1992 - American Indians
• 1991 - Haiti
• 1990 - Greece
• 1989 - Ireland
• 1988 - Sweden
• 1987 - Philippines
• 1986 - Italy
• 1985 - Scottish Traditions in America
• 1984 - Cuban Ties
• 1983 - Hungarian-Americans
• 1982 - Holland-American Culture
• 1981 - 200 Years of NJ Agriculture
• 1980 - New Brunswick Folklore
• 1979 - Folk Heritage
• 1978 - Folk Heritage
• 1977 - Folk Heritage
• 1976 - Folk Heritage
• 1975 - Folk Heritage