An introduction to NEFFA
The New England Folk Festival Association is a non-profit educational and cultural organization, incorporated under the General Laws of Massachusetts to encourage, sponsor, and preserve high standards of performance of the folk arts and traditions in New England and elsewhere.
In addition to the annual Festival, NEFFA supports a weekly contra dance, the annual Ralph Page weekend, a grants program for folk artists, educational programs, and more.
The flagship event for NEFFA is the annual Festival, which takes place over the course of three days in the spring and involves roughly 3,000 participants. 2023 marks the 79th anniversary of the New England Folk Festival—it is an event with a long-established tradition of success, an organizational model that has staying power, and a storied history.
The Festival features a wide array of participatory dancing, singing, and instrument-playing; performances of dance, music, and storytelling; workshops and discussions on a variety of skills and topics; handmade crafts; vendors selling instruments, dance clothing and shoes, recordings and sheet music, ethnic goods, and more. The range of music and dance is vast: traditional New England contras and squares; international folk dancing (Balkan, Breton, Scandinavian, and much more); Morris and other traditional English dancing; sea chanteys, rounds, and shape-note singing; and so much more.
There are a couple of features that distinguish the New England Folk Festival from other “folk festivals”. For one thing, it is organized and run almost entirely by volunteer effort. Except for a few highly-skilled tasks (such as sound engineering in the large dance halls), none of the organizers, committee chairs, or workers in tasks large and small are paid. It is particularly of note that none of the performers are paid.
Another distinguishing feature is that the Festival is primarily participatory in nature. There are dance and music events, workshops, discussions, jam sessions, pick-up bands for adults and young people, and much more, in which Festival attendees participate. A powerful piece of this model is that, where there are no “headline” performers, where high-quality artists with many different skills offer their time and talents voluntarily, the Festival takes on an egalitarian, encouraging, accessible feeling. People gather and do what they love to do year-round, inviting others to join them for this very special annual gathering. It builds a strong sense of community.
The Festival is also truly an intergenerational event, with performers and participants of all ages and abilities. Parents dance with babies slung to their bodies; toddlers and grandparents sing and dance in family events; teenagers romp on the contra dance floor; singers and dancers with decades of experience pass their wisdom to the next generations; the wheelchair-bound have the opportunity to try “sitting square dancing”.
This community culture provides a powerful antidote to many pervasive features of American society that many of us lament: materialism, individualism, isolation, passivity in entertainment choices. It invites Festival-goers to be actively engaged, to try something new, to hold hands in a dance, to make eye contact and talk to one another. For one wonderful weekend a year, we leave our differences aside and affirm our common humanity and our love of traditional folk arts.
NEFFA - What We Do
- New England Folk Festival
- This yearly event attracts thousands from New England, the country, and the rest of the world to its wonderful mix of particpatory dance (folk, square and contra), folk music and song, international food, crafts, performances, family-oriented activities, and much, much more. Festival History
- Thursday Contras
- This popular contra dance is held most every Thursday (except Thanksgiving) at the Concord Scout House, 74 Walden St., Concord, Mass. It features a wonderful assortment of local and touring performers.
[ Schedule || About the Dance ] - Ralph Page New England Dance Legacy Weekend
- This event, held annually during Martin Luther King Birthday weekend in January at the University of New Hampshire at Durham, brings together dancers, musicians, and callers in a weekend of dance, music, and discussions. The weekend was established to honor NEFFA founder Ralph Page, who kept New England dancing alive during the lean years before the revival in the late 1960's. This is a pre-registration event. This is the site of the New Hampshire Library of Traditional Music and Dance, to which Ralph donated his archives.
- The Grants Committee
- Each year, NEFFA awards over a thousand dollars in grants and loans to individuals and organizations that support NEFFA's goals.