The Folk Heritage Committee is excited to announce new ways to view our annual gatherings through online streaming events. The performances will help kick off a celebration of the upcoming 93rd season of the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival® on August 6, 7 and 8, 2020.

Asheville, NC – Asheville’s Folk Heritage Committee announces changes to the scheduled 2020 season of planned events including the 93rd Mountain Dance and Folk Festival® and the 54th Shindig on the Green®. These events have always featured long-standing as well as the newest generation of traditional and mountain string bands, ballad singers, and big circle mountain dancers and cloggers, resulting in fun-filled and authentic evenings enjoyed by all ages.

The 93rd Mountain Dance and Folk Festival® is normally a ticketed event in Asheville with a different show each night, The sister event to Shindig on the Green®, the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival® was founded by Bascom Lamar Lunsford in 1928 and is the nation’s longest continuously running folk festival. The Mountain Dance and Folk Festival® showcases the best of the region’s mountain musicians, dancers and storytellers during its three evenings of indoor performances.

The 54th Season of Shindig on the Green® is a free event which would normally take place in the heart of downtown Asheville with a stage show and informal jam sessions on summer Saturday evenings.

As summer is approaching, we will modify our long-standing traditions with the safety of our fans, performers, volunteers, and community in mind; and we will truly miss the warmth of your friendship and camaraderie. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate the new normal of public safety mandates.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic makes mass gatherings in person impossible so we will present some first-of-its-kind variations on these traditional events. As a thank you to everyone who has attended and supported us for decades, these broadcasts will be presented at no charge through links on our website, www.folkheritage.org. We are thrilled to be able to bring a new version of these historical events to music lovers and fans and appreciate our sponsors for their continuing support during these challenging times.

Follow us on our website, www.folkheritage.org, and our Facebook page, Shindig on the Green and Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, for updates about how to tune in to this year’s events. Until then, thank you for your continued support and please stay safe and stay well.

The non-profit, all-volunteer Folk Heritage Committee’s mission is to preserve and present the musical heritage of the Southern Appalachian Mountains to audiences from throughout the region and world, for entertainment and education, by producing the annual Shindig on the Green® and the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival® events.

For more info about the 54th Season of Shindig on the Green or the 93rd Annual Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, visit www.folkheritage.org or call Brian Carter: 828-335-1263.