Last updated on May 15th, 2025 at 08:59 am
Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs
The Florida Folk Festival began with the music: It was 1953, and Pete Seeger and the Weavers had a big hit with Leadbelly’s “Goodnight, Irene.” Folk music was exploding with acoustic guitar, coffee houses, banjos, beatniks and sing-alongs.
Now some 70 years later, the Florida Folk Festival is still held every Memorial Day weekend, and you’re sure to hear plenty of folk music. But the event has broadened to celebrate Florida’s land, people and diverse cultural heritage.
The Florida Folk Festival is held annually on Memorial Day weekend on the banks of the historic Suwannee River at Stephen Foster Cultural Center State Park in White Springs, and it is ranked among the top 20 festivals in the southeast.
In addition to a full schedule of performances, you’ll find plenty to amuse and educate.
The festival focuses on traditional crafts — everything from split rail fences to henna tattoos.
And the food is not the same-as-everywhere festival food. Look for blue crab burritos, Jamaican patties, shrimp gumbo or Beulah Baptist Church’s chicken and dumplings dinner.
The mission of the Florida Folk Festival is to keep cultural traditions alive, so it emphasizes demonstrations and workshops. Visitors can learn how to square dance, make a pine needle basket or try out playing a mandolin.
Diverse line-up of performers
There will be more than 300 performances by Florida’s greatest folk and roots artists, as well as folk, blues, gospel, country, Latin, jazz, bluegrass, Caribbean and zydeco music.
Note: The performance line-up for 2025 is available on the Florida Folk Festival Facebook Page. The list was not available when this story was written.
Here’s a sampling of traditional artists who have performed at the festival in recent years, many of whom return year after year.
Liliane Nerette-Louis is a Master Artist who has been promoting Haitian folk life for the past 40 years. She is the author of When Night Falls and other publications including 4 children books such as Pumpkin Soup is for Sunday. She was the recipient of the 2006 Life Achievement award. Louis is committed to continue passing on her rich culture.
Paco and Celia Fonta are internationally recognized performers of Spanish flamenco music and dance, and for over thirty years have been ambassadors of flamenco throughout Florida and the U.S. They are the founders of Siempre Flamenco, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the art of flamenco outside of Spain. They are recipients of the Florida Folk Heritage award and have been recipients of the Florida Folk life Apprenticeship Program as Master Artists. Their performances delight and exhilarate both young and old and the emotions expressed are timeless and universal.
Karibbean Groove is a dynamic six-piece dance band that has been entertaining audiences since 2004 with the sounds of the Caribbean. They specialize in many genres of music including Reggae, Zouk, Merengue, Salsa, Calypso, and Konpa. Karibbean Groove is the perfect blend of professional musicians with musical versatility, vocal harmonies and broad-based audience appeal.
Expect to hear original music by Lili Forbes and Michael Lewis when Lili Forbes & The Funky ‘Taters take the stage at the Florida Folk Fest. Forbes, along with her twin sister from St. Maarten, have been singing together since they were 12 years old. Growing up with the folk musical traditions of the Caribbean, they soon became expert in many Caribbean rhythms, including gospel, and toured the islands as teenagers.
Born in the Dominican Republic to Cuban parents, Jose Elias is a musician and arts administrator in Miami. He played with the Grammy-nominated group Conjunto Progresso as well as Miami stalwarts the Spam Allstars before co-founding Cortadito. Cortadito will perform early 20th century Cuban music in the styles of son montuno, guaracha, boleros, nengon and bolero son.
In the Cuban-rich region of South Florida, Plena Es has carved a space for Puerto Rican music by emphasizing the island’s distinctive bomba y plena musical traditions, percussion-driven sounds that reflect the island’s African heritage. Founded by Pierre Ramos in 2004, the band—featuring percussion, trombones, piano, and bass—stirs up a high-energy Latin dance music that is a touchstone for Puerto Rican identity.
Harmonic Motion Middle Eastern Music and Dance focuses on folkloric forms from Armenia, Arabic countries, Sefarad, and Turkey. Its core performers and teachers are Joe Zeytoonian on oud, darbuka, and voice, and Myriam Eli on darbuka, riqq, dance, and voice. Based in South Florida since 1985, they have performed and taught at many local festivals, concerts, universities, and schools.
“Mystic Thunder,” is the meaning of Loray Mistik, an exciting group which emanates from the hills and villages of the mysterious, ancient land of Haiti. Their music brings forward the truth of their traditions with rhythms played out on the drums like the sound of the mystic thunder of the Gods. Loray Mistik performs true Vodou music. Traditional instruments like the kleroon, graj, fe iron, conch shell, cha cha, jon, hand bass, and the drums unify with the eclectic sounds of the guitar, bass and saxophone to create what they call “Vodou pop”.
Planning your visit
At the gate, tickets are $40 per day for adults; $80 for the three-day weekend. Children 6 to 16 are only $5 for the weekend. You can purchase tickets online in advance for $35 per day for adults and $70 for the three-day weekend. Kids tickets are $5 in advance. Here is ticket information.
Stephen Foster Cultural Center State Park, 11016 Lillian Saunders Drive/U.S. Highway 41, White Springs FL 32096. Phone: 386-397-4331. 45 shaded sites with electric, water, picnic table and fire ring. All campsites are ADA accessible. Other activities include bike riding, fishing, hiking, paddling and wildlife. Camping fee: $20 plus $7 daily utility fee. Reservations: Book online at reserve.floridastateparks.org
Lodging
Book a room in nearby Lake City on Hotels.com
Bob and Bonnie, What a pleasure to discover your excellent publication! Living in White Springs, I am a long time Floeida Folk Festival attendee, suporter and volunteer. Perhaps I’ll see you at the Festival! Walter McKenzie