We developed this guide to help ground and prepare visitors for the 82nd-84th (2025-27) National Folklife Festival in Jackson, Mississippi. This big, diverse annual festival features vibrant, contemporary traditional artists and art forms from the region and around the nation. Worksheets and guiding questions may be adapted for many festival settings. We created scaffolding for teachers to share the guide with students and their families through an arts-integrated lens. Because folklife is interdisciplinary, it fits any subject area and any grade level. And, because all of us and our communities have folklife, we can enjoy seeing how others share their folklife through performances and demonstrations.
National Folk Festival Guide
Each community is culturally unique and worth celebrating. Festivals are a way of honoring and showcasing local traditions, from farm goods to the arts. Use this guide to engage your students in approaching your local festival like a text for learning.
Supplies
Packet Worksheets and a Local Festival
Packet Worksheets and a Local Festival
Downloads
Acknowledgements
This guide reprinted with permission from the Mississippi Arts Commission and National Council for the Traditional Arts.