Blue Ridge Folklife Festival

The deep-voiced yelps of coon hounds and the braying of jumping coon mules mix strangely with the rhythmic sounds of bluegrass banjos and old-time fiddles‚ but these and myriad other distinctive sounds reverberate through the air at the annual Blue Ridge Folklife Festival at Ferrum College‚ the pinnacle of festivals in the Blue Ridge. This hugely popular one-day extravaganza enacts‚ interprets‚ and celebrates the folklife and living cultural traditions of the Blue Ridge mountains. It is one of the largest presentations of bona fide regional traditional culture in the United States‚ and it is flocked to by twelve thousand people or more who enjoy a day of fun‚ crafts‚ food‚ and music. The music includes a stage for sacred music‚ a stage for string bands‚ and a Blue Ridge Heritage stage‚ where a wide variety of musicians playing country blues‚ rockabilly‚ old-time traditional‚ and country perform. It is an impressive gathering of the region’s finest traditional players. If there is a problem with the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival‚ it is that there is just too dang much to see‚ to eat‚ to hear‚ and to do in only one day.