Looking for a place to stay during the North Carolina Folk Festival Greensboro, North Carolina? We invite you to stay with us at the Proximity Hotel or our sister O.Henry Hotel in Greensboro. Both are just three miles away from downtown Greensboro! We also have the local’s favorite restaurants and bars in town, plus plenty of amenities.
The VIP lounge is located near the Festival’s Lawn Stage in the GMA Parking Lot (Commerce Place in Downtown Greensboro with a bar, hors d’oeuvres, and music throughout the weekend.
Experience the NC Folk Festival in Greensboro and don’t worry about a thing! Stay just three miles away from downtown Greensboro in sustainable style at the LEED Platinum Proximity Hotel. Unwind after a long day in a modern, loft-like guestroom with warm relaxed surroundings including custom furnishings, original art by artist-in-residence and AAA Four Diamond luxury hotel features that include complimentary rental bikes for nearby trails and infinity pool with underwater speakers. The next morning, enjoy a leisurely brunch at Print Works Bistro before you head back to the festival.
Check into a relaxing and inviting guestroom at O.Henry Hotel after a long day of festival action. Experience our attentive staff, custom-designed, finely crafted furnishings and AAA Four Diamond amenities, including an extraordinarily comfortable Magi bed for a great night’s sleep, large soaking tub, afternoon tea or inviting pool. The next day, head back down to the festival for another day of music or stay and relax.
Print Works Bistro, adjacent to Proximity Hotel, uses fresh local ingredients to create extraordinary flavors and creative comfort foods. Enjoy traditional and modern versions of classic dishes popular in European-French bistros at this restaurant adjacent to the LEED Platinum, eco-green Proximity Hotel. The vibrant dining room has walls of windows overlooking the gardens, with outdoor dining on a lovely creekside terrace.
Visit Green Valley Grill, adjacent to the O.Henry Hotel, and enjoy informally elegant fine dining and seasonal food using old-world European culinary sensibilities and Mediterranean flavors. GVG’s wine list receives the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence each year and features 75 wines by the glass. The freshest food prepared by a passionate team, and served by friendly and competent people, is our recipe for a great dining experience.
George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic | Sam Bush | Futurebirds | Karan Casey | QWANQWA | Michael Winograd & The Honorable Mentshn | Kaleta & Super Yamba Band | Big Bang Boom | Jeff Little Trio | Symphony Unbound featuring Dori Freeman and the Winston-Salem Symphony String Quintet | Black Opry Revue | BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet | The Rumble | Soultriii | The Secret Agency | Kiko Villamizar | Larry Bellorín | Caleb Serrano
Music and dance traditions from every part of the nation are represented, performed by the country’s very finest traditional artists. Audiences are treated to authentic blues, rockabilly, gospel, jazz, polka, tamburitza, cowboy, bluegrass, klezmer, old-time, Cajun, rhythm and blues, mariachi, western swing, honky-tonk and zydeco, as well as traditional music and dance from Native American, Celtic, Acadian, Middle Eastern, Caribbean, East Asian, Appalachian, Latin American, Eastern European, African, and Pacific Island cultures, among others.
Click for the complete line-up of NC Folk Festival Performers.
Make your plans now to join us in the heartland of North Carolina for the National Folk Festival – one of America’s most prestigious and longest-running celebrations of arts, culture, and heritage. Best of all, this three-day celebration is FREE! No tickets needed!
The site for the North Carolina Folk Festival is in downtown Greensboro, and partially within Greensboro’s vibrant Elm Street district. A mix of open air and tented sites provide a variety of performance venues ranging from intimate stages to amphitheater size.
With 30+ groups performing on seven stages, as well as North Carolina Folklife Area, Family Activities Area, North Carolina Arts Marketplace, and Festival Food Courts, the National Folk Festival offers a jubilant array of experiences for all ages.
The North Carolina Folk Festival features performances and demonstrations by the finest musicians, dancers, and craftspeople – with performing groups on multiple stages including a dance pavilion dedicated to non-stop participatory dancing, and a family stage with performances appealing to both the young and young-at-heart. A mix of open air and tented sites will provide a variety of performance venues ranging from intimate stages to amphitheater size. In addition to the performance stages, the Festival also hosts a Family Activities Area, the North Carolina Arts Marketplace, and the Festival Food Courts
Greensboro’s own unique story and rich, multicultural heritage—from the pacifist traditions of its 17th-century Quaker founders to the brave college students who initiated the country’s Civil Rights’ Sit-In Movement at a downtown Woolworth’s lunch counter in 1960.
The North Carolina Folk Festival is a legacy event of the National Folk Festival which was hosted in Greensboro from 2015 – 2017.
Building on the foundation of its predecessor event, the North Carolina Folk Festival will continue to be a FREE outdoor annual event that celebrates and showcases the cultural roots and traditions of communities across our state, nation, and the world.
Background on the National Folk Festival:
An exuberant traveling festival that celebrates the diverse cultural expressions of 21st-century Americans, the National Folk Festival is produced by the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA) in partnership with communities around the country. In 2017, the National celebrated its 77th anniversary in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Since it was first presented in St. Louis in 1934, the National has celebrated the roots, richness, and variety of American culture. Championed in its early years by Eleanor Roosevelt, the Festival was the first event of national stature to present the arts of many nations, races, and languages on equal footing. Some of the artists presented at the first festival are now legendary and the recordings and other documentation made possible by the National are precious. “Father of the Blues” W.C. Handy’s first performance on a desegregated stage was at the 1938 National. It was also the first to present to the public musical forms such as the blues, Cajun music, polka bands, Tex-Mex conjunto, Peking Opera, and many others.
The National’s three-year stay in each host city is intended to lay the groundwork for a sustainable, locally produced festival that continues after it moves on. Including Greensboro—where the Festival will be in residence from 2015 through 2017—the National Folk Festival has been presented in 28 cities. Musicians and craftspeople from every state and most U.S. territories have participated in this “moveable feast of deeply traditional folk arts.” Presented to audiences free of charge over three days, National Folk Festivals have drawn audiences of 100,000 to 175,000 annually since 1987.