Performer Norman Blake, above, is one of this year’s headliners.
Once again, Memorial Day weekend means three days of folk, bluegrass, gospel, blues, country and zydeco at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park near White Springs north of Lake City.
The 51st annual Florida Folk Festival will feature entertainment on a dozen stages scattered through the park.
The festival also highlights Florida culture with demonstrations of traditional arts and crafts and food and the Seminole Family Camp, complete with palmetto-thatched chickees.
Participants can attend workshops on everything from how to yodel to French Canadian fiddle tunes.
The music remains the main attraction, however.
Performer Norman Blake, above, is one of this year's headliners. Blake, one of the biggest bluegrass guitarists of the 1960s, has performed with a diverse range of musicians, including Johnny Cash, the late June Carter Cash, Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson and Joan Baez. His rendition of You Are My Sunshine and an instrumental version of Man of Constant Sorrow were included on the hit soundtrack from O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Other performers scheduled for the weekend include Darol Anger of the New Age group Montreux; award-winning guitarist David Grier; Mark Johnson and Emory Lester; banjo player Ken Perlman; fiddler Alan Jabbour, founder of the American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress; roots musician Steve Young; and singer/songwriter Alan Rhody.
The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday through Sunday at the center, off U.S. 41, White Springs Interstate 75, Exit 439. Tickets are $15 to $20 daily, $35 to $40 for the weekend. Toll-free 1-877-635-3655 or www.dep.state.fl.us/parks/folkfest/index.asp
