National Folk Festival (Australia)

The National Folk Festival is a music festival that is dedicated to the folk music. It takes place every five days during the Easter week, at the Exhibition Grounds in the district Mitchell the Australian capital Canberra. The National, as it is also called, attracts thousands of visitors of all ages from all over Australia.

The festival includes more than 100 concerts and numerous impromptu street performances, courses for the production, playing and repair of musical instruments and lessons for folk dances from around the world. Three evenings a large dance takes place; on Friday a Scottish Ball, on Saturday an Irish Céilí and on Sunday an Australian colonial ball.

Was first played the festival in 1967 in Melbourne. From 1969 to 1991, the venue changed every year; they were the next to Melbourne and Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Alice Springs, Perth and Maleny. The ever-increasing program provided the organizing cities face increasing problems. For this reason, in 1992 Canberra was determined as a fixed venue.