The 2021 North Carolina Folk Festival is almost here.
The NC Folk Festival kicks off in downtown Greensboro on Friday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.
Friday the festivities end at 10:15, with a full day Saturday, Sept. 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:15 p.m. and concluding with performances Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
The 2021 NC Folk Festival will be live and in person, far different from the 2020 NC Folk Festival that, after announcing in April that the show would go on, finally due to the COVID-19 restrictions had to settle for a virtual folk festival.
In 2019 the NC Folk Festival set new attendance records with an estimated 156,000 people coming to downtown Greensboro to enjoy music, food, drink and crafts.
The 2021 NC Folk Festival is making some concessions to COVID. A letter from President and CEO of the NC Folk Festival Amy Grossman at ncfolkfestival.com states, “We feel that our community needs festivals now – to celebrate our cultural and artistic roots, and to start to heal from the past 18 months. We can do that safely if, as members of society and our local communities, we all show care, kindness, respect and consideration for those around us by:
“• Getting Vaccinated (Find a COVID Vaccine Near You)
“• Wearing a Mask
“• Practicing good hygiene through hand washing/sanitizing
“• Distancing”
The COVID-19 Safety Protocols on the website also state, “Audiences are strongly encouraged to wear masks and maintain 6’ distancing protocols while attending the festival. Masks will be available for free at every information Booth on the festival site.”
The volunteers working at the NC Folk Festival will be required to wear masks.
Guilford County currently has a mask mandate requiring that masks be worn indoors, but since the Folk Festival is almost exclusively outdoors, it would not apply.
The 2021 NC Folk Festival also cancelled the “Family Area” because of the interactive nature of the family activities.
However, along with a weekend of music there will be lots of food, beverages and crafts available at the NC Folk Festival.
I used to go to these things; then one evening I saw a BLM students march down Elm St., and another sorry lie-down episode at a Christmas celebration.
Include me out. If I have to go downtown, I would want some kind of protection.
Otherwise, try the Folk festival at Brevard this weekend; or the one in downtown Raleigh the first of October.
I forgot to mention MerleFest next weekend. SOS the following week.
I agree. When I saw BLM that changed my mind. Downtown isn’t as safe as it once was. Let’s all visit other venues.
L’Shana Tova
Didn’t she used to sing with The Knack?
Not spending money in Guilford County as long as there is a mask mandate and I’m certainly not going to go to some work festival with morons wearing masks outside. Yes, they are morons – who cancels the family stuff at a friggin’s festival??? All this article tells me is this will be woke, crime ridden, and stupid. Sane places have festivals – looking forward to them (outside Guilford County)
They should really rename this the woke festival for non-reproducing adults.
Well, I suppose that Greensboro thought that this would somehow attract burgeoning crowds to this downtown wonderland. One can’t help wonder where the COVID-19 concerns went. While masks were required,(you will obey!), the press of people on the street weren’t considered a threat to the public safety they have espoused to protect. It makes one wonder how far behind this hypocrisy will mandate after mandate follow.
Remember this paraphrase I like; “ to seem , rather than to be”.
The headline should read “Tyrant Biden and Comrade Alston work to eliminate freedoms while Greensboro hosts super spreader event downtown”