Lewis Center: Central Ohio Folk Festival to mark 25th anniversary
It took 26 years, given a year off for a global pandemic and one virtual festival, but the Central Ohio Folk Festival will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2022.
The festival will be held May 7 and 8 at Highbanks Metro Park, 9466 Columbus Pike in Lewis Center.
Festival organizers plan a jam-packed weekend of concerts and activities in the event’s return to in-person status for the first time since 2019.
“Last year, being able to hold our event online allowed people from around the world to participate, but it just didn’t have the spirit of being together in person and people singing together,” said festival member Bill Cohen. “There’s a great spirit of community when people do folk music together.”
“Our performers are really excited to be getting back to playing live for people,” festival director Diane Boston said. “It’s just not the same without the live experience for the audience or the performer.”
Three stages will host more than 30 concerts throughout the festival’s two days, Cohen said, featuring artists playing a variety of styles, including '60s revival folk, bluegrass, Americana, Scottish traditional and others. Headliner The Way Down Wanderers from Illinois will perform at 7 p.m. May 7.
The schedule also includes a storytelling session featuring Native American musician and storyteller Alexa Dawson and a slate of local storytellers. A special children’s area with arts and crafts plus an “instrument petting zoo” to let children handle folk instruments will be featured. Festival mascot Darby Duck also will be present.
Also planned are a host of workshops, from playing various instruments and songwriting to hosting a house concert and using folk music as an agent of social change.
“A lot of these workshops are tailored to beginners,” Boston said. “Whether someone is interested in learning about a particular instrument, for example, we’re ready to meet them even if they have little or no experience.”
The heart of the festival is participation, Cohen said, so if you play a musical instrument, plan to bring it with you, although the festival will have some available to share, as well. Jam sessions in a variety of musical styles will be held, and the festival will open with a mass sing-along of '60s-era folk songs.
Baba Jubal Harris, an Ohio-based musician and educator, will lead two drum circles, one each day, open to anyone in attendance. Harris will have some instruments available.
“It’s a mesmerizing experience,” Cohen said of the drum circle.
For the first time, the festival will include a beer-garden tent, where attendees ages 21 and older may purchase craft beer.
Although past festivals have featured ticketed admission for the headline concert and a fee for the various workshops, this year’s event will accept donations as patrons enter the grounds, Cohen said, and all activities inside the festival are free. Donations will help ensure the festival continues in future years, Cohen said.
The festival is produced by the Columbus Folk Music Society and is run completely by volunteers.
Festival hours are listed as 10:30 a.m. May 7 to 5:30 p.m. May 8.
For more information, go to columbusfolkmusicsociety.org.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Lewis Center: Central Ohio Folk Festival to celebrate 25th anniversary
