2024 Lowell Folk Festival Unveils Full Performance Schedule

The 2024 Lowell Folk Festival will kick off at 6:15pm on Friday July 26th with the traditional Parade of Flags carried by local citizens who hail from around the world. This year Jorge Arce Comparsa Boricua will lead the Parade through the streets of downtown Lowell, MA to the opening ceremony at Boarding House Park.    
 
Over three days (July 26th - July 28th), the 37th edition of the Festival will present more than 20 world-class artists performing  music and dance traditions that range from Korea to Louisiana, on stages throughout Lowell.   More information, including a complete schedule of performances, activities, crafts, and food stands representing cuisines from around the world, is available at lowellfolkfestival.org.
 
“This year the Festival is excited to announce its new street performance location at the corner of Central and Merrimack Streets,” said Festival Director Lee Viliesis. “There will be an expanded schedule of performances that will bring new vitality to the furthest corners of downtown.”
 
Saturday’s street performers will be San Simón Caporales of New England, who perform traditional Bolivian dance, and StiggityStackz Worldwide,  Boston’s acclaimed freestyle dance troupe.  
 
On Sunday, the corner of Merrimack and Central Streets will be lit up with performances by New England’s own Yo-Yo Guy, a past winner of the International Yo-Yo Federation’s Grand Prix and holder of 4 Guinness World Records, who performs his high-energy comedy show; Veronica Robles, director and founder of the Veronica Robles Cultural Center in East Boston, and her Mariachi Band; and the Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago’s flying footwork, brilliantly colored dress, joyful song, dance and percussion.
 
In addition, the four festival stages; Boarding House Park, Market Street Stage, St. Anne’s Churchyard, and the Dance Pavilion, will feature performances by world-class musicians and dancers representing cultures from around the world, and around the corner.
 
The  Lowell Folk Festival provides unique experiences to hear Festival artists from diverse cultural backgrounds explore the connections, similarities, and differences in their musical journeys.  These moderated talk/demonstration sessions allow festivalgoers a more intimate interaction with the musicians.   
 
On Saturday,  the familial performers of Choro das 3, The Friel Sisters, and Eddie Pennington & Caleb Coots will take part in a session titled All in the Family.  Soul-full Sounds of Devotion brings together Yoni Battat, High Fidelity, and Annie & The Caldwell Singers, to demonstrate how they weave sacred elements into their music..  
 
On Sunday, the festival will hold Masters of Movement, a conversation about dance traditions with internationally renowned Kathak dancer Farah Yasmeen Shaikh, Native Pride Dancers and Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago.  Joe Hall & the Cane Cutters, Afro Dominicano, Swanky Kitchen Band, and Cyril Neville will take part in a session titled Caribbean Crossroads: From the Bayou to the Barrio and Jesse Daniel, Lutchinha and Sugaray Rayford will talk and sing songs about love, loss, and trouble in a panel called Songs for Good Times and Hard Times.
 
“Annually, one of the highlights of the Lowell Folk Festival has been the dazzling array of food options for hungry folk-arts lovers of all ages,” said Viliesis.  “The 'I'm only here for the food' t-shirts were a big hit last fall, everyone has a favorite food group they come back for every year.” 
 
At Boarding House Park, the Dance Pavilion and Market Street, foods from around the world are prepared and served by local non-profits representing the diverse ethnic cultures to be found in New England.   Cuisines representing Portuguese, Brazilian, Greek, Polish, Asian, Latin, African, Burmese and so many other communities, promises a rich and diverse culinary and cultural experience. 
 
Festival goers also have the opportunity to experience visual and hand-craft arts at the Experience Lowell Arts Market.  It will feature 50 area artists, craft makers, and organizations, enabling festival attendees to experience everything that Mill City’s arts and culture community has to offer.  
 
The Lowell Folk Festival is produced and supported by the Lowell Festival Foundation, the City of Lowell, Lowell National Historical Park, the National Council for the Traditional Arts, the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Lowell Community Foundation, and the Greater Merrimack Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.
 
Major support for the Lowell Folk Festival comes from Mass Cultural Council, Saab Family Foundation/Saab Center for Portuguese Studies, Gate City Casino, Richard K. and Nancy Donahue, Demoulas Foundation, John Hunnewell Trust, Middlesex Community College, UMass Lowell, Mahoney Oil/Eastern Salt, Mosaic Lowell, Hilton Garden Inn Tewksbury Andover, Mass Office of Travel & Tourism, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Anheuser-Busch, Gervais Auto Group, Corning, Owl Stamp Visual Solutions, All Sports Heroes, Enterprise Bank, Aubert Fay Foundation, Theodore Edson Parker Foundation, Lowell Litter Krewe, Mark-One, Jade Lowell, Lowell Sun Charities, Albert E. J. Bergeron Insurance Agency, 92.5 The River, Lowell Telecommunications Corporation (LTC), Chelmsford Telemedia, Fred C. Church Insurance, WCAP, Marte Media, and Dylan & Pete’s Ice Cream.
 
Thanks to our exhibitors: C4 Energy, Vinfen, All Energy Solar, EternalHealth, Kids In Tech, Leaf Filter, Lowell Humane Society, Momentum Solar, NRG, Prestige Heating & Cooling, Renewal by Andersen, School of Rock Nashua & Burlington, Senior Whole Health by Molina Healthcare, Smilebliss Orthodontics, TopNotch Pro Painting, Advanced Cultivators, Cannabist, Full Harvest Moonz, Reverie 73, and Rise Dispensary.
 
Thanks to our business sponsors: Athenian Corner, Brew’d Awakenings, Cobblestones, El Potro, Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union, The Keep, Lowell Memorial Auditorium, The Old Court, and Sahel Restaurant & Lounge 
 
For information about the 2024 Lowell Folk Festival, including musical artists and schedules, and other programming, visit lowellfolkfestival.org or Facebook.com/LowellFolkFestival to stay posted on all updates for the 2024 Lowell Folk Festival.