Kelt Grass Band
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Visitors from around the world will dance their way across Middle Tennessee during the International Folkfest, held June 12-19.
Folkfest is a week long festival, where dancers and musicians from Puerto Rico and two groups from the Czech Republic, Dance Group Betty and Kelt Grass Band, will join Rutherford County’s own Cripple Creek Cloggers to perform regional dances and music in Rutherford and surrounding counties with accompanying band the Turkey Creek Ramblers from Bell Buckle.
International Folkfest sponsor, the International Folkloric Society, was formed in 1986 and is a local nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote and preserve international cultural heritage with a primary focus on the arts.
IFS has created and sustained relationships with international organizations of folklore festivals and has made it possible for performers from around the world to bring their talents, heritage, traditions and culture to our local community.
“We are all aware of the strained foreign relationships our country is experiencing, and this has become a major concern for everyone,” said festival spokesman Troy Bell. “This is the exact opportunity and situation in which our country, the citizens, communities and organizations shine, by uniting and forming a stronger bond.”
The bond and international understanding can be strengthened at three public performances in Murfreesboro with additional performances in Nashville and Manchester. Also during the week, the folkloric musicians and dancers will perform at Boys and Girls Clubs, senior citizens sites, nursing and retirement homes and schools.
“International Folkfest is committed to bringing together folk art performers, with diverse backgrounds, in a peaceful and friendly atmosphere, to provide entertainment, and give our community an insight and understanding of the cultural heritage and traditions of other people,” Bell said.
To help the visiting groups better understand American and Tennessee culture, local FCE Clubs, sponsored by the Rutherford County Agricultural Extension, will present handmade gift to the groups at a Barn Party held specifically to welcome them to Tennessee.
“Members have made a fabric corsage in a hand stenciled Tennessee bag for each participant this year,” explained Pat Whitaker, Ag Extension agent and FCE coordinator. “They include the classic Tennessee candy bar – Goo Goo Cluster – and useful items for travelers.”
The travelers from the Czech Republic represent the Dance School Betty, which was founded in Prague in 1990. Dancers at Dance School Betty train three days a week in the traditional folk dances of the Czech and Moravian people.
“Sharing our traditional dance and song with the local audience has always been a great success and getting to know other cultures and meeting with foreign, yet like-minded, people enriched us a lot,” said Jitka Svachova, president of the Folklore Ensemble Betty.
Joining the dancers from Betty is the Folkloric Ballet Son Borincano from Barceloneta, Puerto Rico.
Kelt Grass Band, which hails from the Czech Republic, plays traditional folk music influenced by the Celtic culture, including Scottish, Irish, and American melodies brought to America by its first settlers.
Every member of the group plays at least two different instruments wth a total of 24 instruments in the band.
The Puerto Rican group will demonstrate a variety of dances influenced by African and Spanish traditions, like ballroom dances, traditional dances from “the humble and hardworking mountain people who worked the coffee plantations and inland farms of Puerto Rico,” and dances that originated on sugar cane plantations among West African migrants.
Groups like these promote the Folkfest’s mission of creating and fostering knowledge and understanding of cultural traditions from around the world.
“We recognize that the world’s cultural wealth is found in the diversity of its people and is expressed in folk traditions.” Bell said.
Folkfest strives to knock down cultural barriers and unite people from across the global with music and dance.
“I have always been able to pick up the phone, or send an e-mail to friends I have made at festivals last year, or 15 years ago, and talk as if no time has passed. That is the spirit and friendships these festivals create, and I will always be a long time supporter of (Folkfest), because we both share an understanding of learning from our differences”, said Scott McCurley, a current dance member.
Public Performances
• Ecumenical Service at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 15 in Central Christian Church
• Concert show at 7 p.m. Friday, June 17 at the Patterson Park Theatre (admission $5)
• Farewell performances by all groups from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 18 on the East Side of the Courthouse (Be sure to bring your lawn chair).
• All groups will also perform at 7 p.m. Monday, June 13 at the Centennial Park Bandshell in Nashville and at 7 p. m. Thursday, June 16 in the Manchester Art Center.
More info … www.Mboro-International-Folkfest.org |
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