NEWS & UPDATES

Just Announced: The Nashville's National Folk Festival will be held on September 2-4, 2011!

For more details, visit www.nationalfolkfestival.com.

NCTA honored with 2010 Folk Alliance International Lifetime Achievement Award

The NCTA received the Folk Alliance International’s 2010 Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Award on Wednesday, February 17 at the 2010 International Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis, TN.  The other recipients of this year’s award were Bob Dylan and the late Elizabeth Cotton.

First Annual Florida Keys Traditional Music Festival a Success! 

Thank you to those who came out to the first annual Florida Keys Traditional Music Festival! It was a tremendous weekend of great traditional music that supported both the NCTA and Dolphin Research Center. If you missed the chance to purchase a t-shirt at the festival they are still available. Go to NCTA Merchandise page or click here for a direct link to the sales site.

Legends & Legacies Concert Webcast  

The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress (AFC) has made the webcast of the "Legends and Legacies" concert available online here.

The concert, presented as part of the symposium "Legends and Legacies: An American Folklife Center Celebration of Public Folklore," was held September 10, 2009. This high energy celebration honored folklorist Joe Wilson and the NCTA. The NCTA Collection, was recently acquired by the AFC. During the evening event Joe Wilson received a Living Legend Award from the Librarian of Congress with a tribute by Representative David Obey (D-WI). Performers include Bill McComiskey, Brendan Mulvihill, Tom Mauchahty-Ware, The New Ballard's Branch Bogtrotters, The Sweet Heaven Kings, and Phil Wiggins.

For information about other Legends & Legacies symposium events, please visit their site.

The Legends and Legacies symposium was sponsored and co-produced by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and the National Council for the Traditional Arts.

More News & Updates

A Note from our Executive Director, Julia Olin
Recently, the NCTA marked the 75th Anniversary of its founding. For over seven decades we have worked tirelessly to increase awareness of the many different cultural traditions that coexist in this vast country. To claim it’s been easy would be disingenuous, because a private, non-profit folk arts organization must be scrappy, dedicated and tough to survive. Yet despite all the challenges and shifting national priorities the NCTA remains dedicated to its mission of presenting the highest caliber traditional artists on a national stage. Our family of folk festivals has now expanded from three to four. While we continue our festival partnerships in Bangor, Maine, Lowell, Massachusetts and Richmond, Virginia, the National Folk Festival is now in its third year in Butte, Montana, its first time west of the Mississippi in over four decades.

Much of the The National Council for the Traditional Arts Collection is now housed at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. We now focus on the next phase of the project, creating public access to portions the Collection via the Internet. Additionally, our work continues to expand at the Blue Ridge Music Center, located on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Southwest Virginia. Under the leadership of NCTA Chairman Joe Wilson, new interpretive exhibits are being planned and a host of new programs presented, including live music every day, a new music education initiative, and a great season of conceptual concerts honoring the musical traditions of the Appalachian region.

As the year progresses we’ll keep you informed of the latest news and developments. Thank you for your appreciation of American grassroots arts and your interest in our work. I hope you’ll join us at an NCTA event this year.

Julia