Events & Festivals

Tired of paying top dollar for your concerts? The National Folk Festival is culturally diverse and has a proud history of presenting up and coming artists across a wide range of genres, and it’s free.

Music takes over the streets of rural Salisbury, Maryland, with more than 35 groups performing on seven stages, though there are dances and crafts, and there’s storytelling too. Add in free parking and free shuttles to move you around and this is looking like a great deal. Anyway, Salisbury is a small place, so do not worry too much about distances. Food vendors offer a range of cuisines as fitting for an event of this nature.

Volunteers keep things moving. There are water stations and a first aid post. The National Folk Festival aims to be as green as possible.

History of the National Folk Festival

2021 is the 80^th year of this event (the 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID-19) that embraces traditional cultures from across the nation. Different towns host the event for three years apiece and the umbrella organisation is the National Council for the Traditional Arts. In the late 1930s it was one of the few events that featured a desegregated stage. Nowadays, it regularly draws crowds of 100,000 to 175,000 people.

Other Things to Do in Maryland?

Baltimore is the nearest big city and it is where the Baltimore National Aquarium is located, as is the Maryland Science Centre with its planetarium and observatory. The Baltimore Inner Harbor has been renovated and has a collection of historic ships as well as many bars and restaurants. There is a railroad museum and several art museums, while Edgar Allan Poe’s house can also be visited. Nearby is Fort McHenry, which repulsed an attack by the British navy in 1812.

In Annapolis there are the dockside attractions of Ego Alley in this historic town and a museum of African-American history. Salisbury itself is a small town of 30,000, yet many people come here to visit Baltimore zoo.

Festivals in Maryland

The National Folk Festival is not the only festival in the state, for more information, read our preview of Festivals in Baltimore and Maryland in Autumn, including the Baltimore Running Festival.

When is the National Folk Festival 2021?

The festival is from Friday 10 to Sunday 12 September.

The times are as follows:

Friday 5pm – 11:30pm; Saturday 11am – 11:30pm; Sunday 11am – 7:30pm

Though the event is free the organisers welcome donations to keep it free in the future.

Flights to Salisbury

To find the best accommodation and worldwide flights, please search via our comparison engine, which scans all the major booking sites.

The Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport serves these two cities, though it is also the gateway to rural Maryland to the east via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Thurgood Marshall is directly served by Air Canada from Toronto and British Airways from London Heathrow, as well as a large number of US cities. Though you will still need to hire a car or take public transport to get you to Salisbury.

Hotels in Baltimore 

To find the best accommodation in Salisbury and worldwide flights to the city, please search via our comparison engine, which scans all the major booking sites.

For more on the National Folk Festival

Click here

For more on things to do in Maryland

Read: Visit Maryland