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Past
Host Cities

First held in 1934, the National Folk Festival is the nation's longest-running multicultural festival of traditional arts, and has been produced since its inception by the NCTA. It is a traveling festival produced in partnership with communities around the country. The National Folk Festival’s residency in each host city is intended to lay the groundwork for sustainable, locally produced festivals and events that continue after the National moves on. To date, the National has been presented in nearly 30 cities, and musicians and craftspeople from every U.S. state and most U.S. territories have participated in the festival.

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National Folk Festival Host Cities Through the Years

1st – St. Louis, MO (1934)

2nd – Chattanooga, TN (1935)

3rd – Dallas, TX (1936)

4th – Chicago, IL (1937)

5th-9th – Washington, D.C. (1938-1942)

10th-11th – Philadelphia, PA (1943-1944)

12th – Cleveland, OH (1946)

13th-21st – St. Louis, MO (1947-1955)

22nd – Oklahoma City, OK (1957)

23rd – Nashville, TN (1959)

24th-25th – Washington, D.C. (1960-1961)

​26th – Covington, KY (1963)

​27th – Florence, KY (1964)

28th – St. Petersburg, FL (1965)

29th – Denver, CO (1966)

30th – Syracuse, NY (1967)

31st – Milwaukee, WI (1968)

32nd – Knoxville, TN (1969)

33rd-44th – Wolf Trap Farm Park (1971-1982)

45th-47th – Peninsula, OH (1983-1985)

48th – New York, NY (1986)

49th-51st – Lowell, MA (1987-1989)

52nd-54th – Johnstown, PA (1990-1992)

55th-57th – Chattanooga, TN (1993-1995)

58th-60th – Dayton, OH (1996-1998)

61st-63rd – East Lansing, MI (1999-2001)

64th-66th – Bangor, ME (2002-2004)

67th-69th – Richmond, VA (2005-2007)

70th-72nd – Butte, MT (2008-2010)

73rd – Nashville, TN (2011)

74th (Showcase) – St. Louis, MO (2013)

75th-77th – Greensboro, NC (2015-2017)

78th-81st – Salisbury, MD (2018-2022)

82nd-84th – Jackson, MS (2025-2027)

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