Last Updated on January 28, 2024
Join the fun and festivities at the Florida Folk Festival 2024 as it kicks off Memorial Day Weekend along the banks of the Suwannee River.
The event features live music, dance, tall tales, and traditions and is one of America’s oldest and largest folk festivals.
Stephen Foster Folk Cultural Center
The Florida Folk Festival is a three-day celebration of the music, dance, stories, crafts, and food that make Florida unique.
Florida Folk Festival
From Irish fiddle tunes, techno contra dancing, chocolate-covered Key Lime pie, and the vast varieties of music brought by immigrants, the state’s cultural heritage reflects the lives of generations of Florida families and communities.
Throughout the Memorial Day weekend, more than 300 performances give voice and meaning to Florida’s heritage.
The event is held at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in North Florida’s White Springs from May 24 to 26th.
Every year the Department of State’s Florida Folklife Program researches a special topic on Florida’s traditional heritage.
Join in the Fun
At the Festival, you can sit with the masters who keep cultural traditions alive. In jam sessions, demonstrations, and workshops, try playing mandolin, telling stories, or making a pine needle basket.
Learn how to collect your family’s history, call a square dance, or the importance of native plant and animal species.
2024 Folklife Area
The Festival’s 2024 Folklife Area features performances and also demonstrations celebrating the diverse living traditions of some of Florida’s oldest and newest cultural communities.
Take a shopping excursion and visit Florida’s traditional and contemporary craftsmen.
In addition to music, the Festival’s Folk Life area demonstrates Florida’s heritage arts, including blacksmithing, butter churning, quilt making, a sugar cane boil, cracker whip making, and fishing line casting.
Eat and Shop at the Festival
Experience the old-time traditions and savor the flavors, sights, sounds, and tastes of some of Florida’s oldest and newest cultural communities.
They are famous for homemade root beer floats and authentic soul food served by local church groups.
Options include fried shrimp, chicken, fries, smoked mullet, grits, greens, sweet tea, and homemade desserts.
The festival offers many mouthwatering choices with a dose of genuine Southern hospitality.
After the Sun Sets
At the Festival, you’ll hear plenty of incredible music, enjoy tasty food, and join a jam session, or workshop, while paying homage to Florida’s land, people, and diverse cultural heritage.
As the sun sets, settle in for concerts by moonlight or dance the night away at the Heritage Stage. You’ll have discovered new corners of the state from the people who call Florida home.
Florida Remembered
Step back into the heartwarming embrace of yesteryear with “Florida Remembered,” an enchanting slice of Authentic Florida’s vibrant heritage.
This latest gem in the festival lineup is a heartfelt tribute to the indomitable spirit of Floridians—both native and those who have graced its shores from afar—whose sweat and dreams have sculpted the Florida we cherish today.
It’s a journey back to a time when sheer grit and creative spark were the tools that shaped Florida’s rich cultural tapestry.
Know Before You Go
- Gates open at 8 am. Opening ceremonies begin at 6 pm on Friday, May 24th, on the banks of the Suwannee River.
- Advance tickets for the Festival are $35.00 per day. You can also pay $70.00 for the weekend for adults.
- At the gate, prices are $40.00 for each day or $80.00 for the weekend.
- Children under six years of age are admitted free of charge.
- Ticket prices for children ages six to 16 for the entire weekend are $5.00.
- (Pricing is subject to change. This data reflects 2024 pricing details at this time.)
Tickets are available at www.FloridaFolkFestival.com.
The Florida Folk Festival is presented under the auspices of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Recreation and Parks.
Florida Folk Festival address: 11016 Lillian Saunders Dr., White Springs, FL 32096 (Get directions)
Official Florida Folk Festival website
While in the area, don’t miss out on Six Unforgettable Adventures in the Suwannee River Valley and 6 Things To Do in White Springs, Florida
Make a week of it and cool off at one of our Our 19+ Favorite Freshwater Florida Springs.
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