Though Hurricane Dorian had just passed within a few hundred miles of Greensboro not long before, on Saturday, Sept. 7, the weather in Greensboro was working in complete cooperation with the organizers of the North Carolina Folk Festival, an event that completely and happily took over downtown Greensboro for the entire weekend.
Thousands of area residents, along with those from across the country, listened, swayed and danced along with the bands and musical acts that were performing at the festival this year. Last year, the Folk Festival brought over 150,000 people to downtown Greensboro. Before the 2019 incarnation of the event began, organizers called it one of the fastest growing free festivals in the Southeast – and they’re hoping that trend continues when the final count is tallied for the attendance this year.
While the event was free, parking was most certainly not, with almost all of the prime parking – including three large downtown parking decks – coming in at $10 a space. Private business owners were also raking in the parking dollars just like they do for Grasshopper games.
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the festival featured a wide variety of music performed by artists from all over with some North Carolina acts featured.
There were also plenty of merchandise and crafts vendors, food trucks and food stands, and one unaffiliated musician who performed on a street corner in exchange for whatever people tossed into the open guitar case in front of him.
There was a little something for those of all ages and some chose to cool off on the splash pads while other played foosball while they listened to the music.
The festival also featured a Family Stage with a variety of performances that included storytelling, puppetry, interactive music and dance.
