Folkmoot USA, The State International Festival of North Carolina, is an international folk festival held since 1984 in Waynesville, North Carolina and surrounding communities. During its history, the two-week event has featured around 200 groups from approximately 100 countries. The Southeast Tourism Society has named Folkmoot USA one of its top twenty events for 20 years. The Folkmoot USA non-profit organization has its headquarters in the former Hazelwood Elementary School. The name "Folkmoot", used for a festival in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, means "meeting of the people".[1][2] In its 20th year, Folkmoot USA attracted 350 performers and 75,000 spectators from over 40 states.[3] One study estimated its contribution to the economy at $4 million. The North Carolina General Assembly declared Folkmoot USA to be the state's official international folk festival in 2003.[4]
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Each year, hundreds of groups apply to perform, but only 10 to 12 are chosen. In 2002, executive director Jackie Bolden explained that the festival offers different cultures each year, and each group has to give top-quality performances of the dance or music of their particular culture. The performances might represent holidays, battles, or occupations. Folkmoot USA strives to make sure as many countries as possible perform, so countries not previously represented get a higher priority in the selection process.
Regardless of their national origin, performers receive the best treatment.[5]
Folkmoot USA belongs to the International Council of Folklore Festival Organizations and Traditional Arts, or CIOFF, based in Paris. Most groups that perform for Folkmoot USA have some connection to CIOFF, and in case of a last-minute cancellation, CIOFF connections can find a replacement.
In recent years, audience members have been able to participate with the performers in workshops, getting a close-up look at the costumes, musical instruments, dance techniques and crafts of the various cultures.[4]
In Anglo-Saxon England, a folkmoot or folkmote (Old English - a meeting of the people) was a governing general assembly consisting of all the free members of a tribe, community or district. It was the forerunner to the witenagemot, which was in turn in some respects the precursor of the modern Parliament.
The term has also been appropriated for modern-day annual meetings of organisations such as the Order of Woodcraft Chivalry.
Folkmoot USA began with a visit by Waynesville surgeon Dr. Clinton Border and a square dance team to a folk festival in Sidmouth, England in 1973. Eleven years later, Border believed Western North Carolina, which had a history of preserving its traditional culture, would be the ideal location for an American folk festival. One month after Border presented his plan, a board of directors began work on the first Folkmoot USA.
The first event took place in 1984, the same year as North Carolina's 400th birthday celebration, featuring performers from England, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Turkey, Mexico, Puerto Rico and India.[1] The previous name for the event was North Carolina International Folk Festival, Folkmoot USA.
In 2002, the Folkmoot Friendship Center opened in the former Hazelwood Elementary School in Waynesville. Previously, Waynesville Middle School housed performers. When not used for the festival, the new facility became a community center, with art work from the various countries in the hallways. The organization's mission of understanding other cultures continued the rest of the year.[5]
Yocona International Folk Festival in northern Mississippi claims to have been inspired by Folkmoot USA. In 2007, Folkmoot USA executive director Jamye Cooper helped start the Yocona Festival.[6][4]