First held in 1934, the National Folk Festival is the oldest multicultural festival of traditional arts in the nation, and has been produced from its inception by the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA). 

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—a “moveable feast of deeply traditional folk arts.” Presented to audiences free of charge over a three-day period, National Folk Festivals since 1987 have had audiences upwards of 175,000.