The annual International Folkfest once again brings dancing, singing and celebration to Murfreesboro, offering area residents the opportunity to bridge cultural divides and observe folk dances from across the globe.
The June 10–17 festival brings traditional dance troupes from various cultures together in Murfreesboro to share in performance and art. The troupes dress in costume and perform for area schools, youth and senior citizen organizations and civic clubs. Folkfest organizer and Cripple Creek Cloggers Founder Steve Cates calls the festival a “people-to-people type event.”
“It allows people here to experience what our local folk troupe has experienced hundreds of times as they have traveled to many parts of the globe: the sharing of traditional music, costuming, dance and, most of all, the interaction that allows our local folks to realize that these people, none of whom who have ever visited Tennessee before and many of whom have never visited the U.S. before, are folks just like themselves,” Cates said.
The festival was founded in 1982 and is based on experiences enjoyed by the Cripple Creek Cloggers, the local clogging troupe that hosts the festival every year. The troupe began traveling and performing internationally in 1973.
“The process of organizing was made much simpler than one would think because of the wide variety of local volunteers who provided guidance, encouragement . . . and all types of other assistance as the first festival was organized,” Cates said.
This year, three foreign dance troupes from Italy, Sweden and Mexico will be participating in the festival along with the Cripple Creek Cloggers. The troupes will be housed in residence halls on Middle Tennessee State University’s campus. Cates said that, despite the vast cultural differences between this year’s troupes, the dancing has a way of bringing people together.
“Folklore is the most basic of our traditions in all parts of the world,” Cates said. “Just as Cripple Creek Cloggers represent the traditional music and dance of our Appalachian region, these visitors bring theirs as well. It is often very interesting to see similarities among all.”
The 2018 festival includes public folk music and dance events at venues such as the Linebaugh Public Library and the Bell Buckle Banquet Hall.
However, the opportunities to experience foreign cultures do not stop at the performances. A unique function of the Folkfest is that community members in Murfreesboro can choose to house and serve meals to foreign troupes who come for the festival.
“The meals served in homes expand our mission because those who host an individual troupe often include their neighbors, family and friends to help provide the meal, enjoy the meal with the foreign visitors and then enjoy the music and dancing following the meal itself,” Cates said. “It’s an extension of getting to know folks from places that become real to the local folks through these visits.”
Cates explained that these home visits and the entire festival goes a long way in minimizing the differences people may have.
“The arts are often overlooked in the midst of ‘U.S. foreign policy’ and the emphasis on how ‘different’ we are,” Cates said. “We show actually how alike we all are. As local folk here get to know our visitors, they learn about their work, their families, their education and on and on and on. It’s more than just music and dance—and far different than just knowing these countries as entities on a map.”
For more information on Folkfest, visit mboro-international-folkfest.org.
2018 Schedule of Events
Wednesday, June 13
Linebaugh Public Library
105 W. Vine St., Murfreesboro
10 a.m. – free
Thursday, June 14
Smyrna Public Library
400 Enon Springs Rd. W., Smyrna
10 a.m. – free
Friday, June 15
Winfree Bryant Middle School
1213 Leeville Pike, Lebanon
7 p.m. – $10
Saturday, June 16
Murfreesboro Public Square (east side)
8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. – free
Bell Buckle Banquet Hall
27 Railroad Sq., Bell Buckle
6 p.m. – free (dinner buffet available for purchase)
