By Starr Munro
Riverbend News
The Florida Folk Festival is an annual event that takes place at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, in White Springs. But this year was the first year since its creation that musicians, performers, artisans and storytellers with their entanglement of roots from all over the world were not able to come together to showcase the many different cultures, histories, music and art that Florida is home to, due to the coronavirus pandemic. For those who have been before or attend regularly, it's an impactful change and those who never have gone can use this time to become introduced to the iconic festival that easily defines what this state represents, before attending for their first time, next year.
There are many events in Florida that have the power to bring folks from all walks of life together using food, music, history and regional craft work, but none of them can compare to the Folk Festival that takes place in White Springs, because few of those events have been going on for over 50 years. Florida is an old state compared to some, but not one of the oldest, and every opportunity given to learn about heritage is something to take advantage of. Being the fastest growing state in the country has put us in the very unique position in our efforts to protect and preserve certain ways of life, song and art that could easily be forgotten in the world today being as fast paced as it is now.
In 2002, the Florida Park service assumed full responsibility for the festival. But when it began in 1953, the event was solely a product of community and grassroots involvement. It began, like most new ideas in Florida, with the land. When Mrs. Ada Holding Miller, President of the National Federation of Music Clubs, attended a Florida Federation of Music Clubs convention as a guest speaker in White Springs, she realized right away during a tour of the grounds, that what was previously known merely as “Stephen Foster Memorial,” was an absolutely perfect area to host a folk festival and the idea was proposed to the Memorial's commission where it was approved. It's nothing less than perfectly fitting that a Folk Festival intended to highlight Florida culture takes place on a piece of land named after the man who made the Suwannee River one of the most famous rivers in America in his songwriting and the integrity behind this festival proudly showcases how much the people respect the history here.
The very first festival was on Friday, May 8 in 1953 and began with music and dancing from people of the Seminole nation, whose ancestors would travel to the area of White Springs to drink the water from White Sulfur Springs for its healing powers, which was revered by anyone who had seen the place. They were followed by American square dances from folks in Steinhatchee and British ballads and folk songs, Scottish Ballads (Barbara Allen) and Scottish Sea Chanteys (Skye Boat Song) all the way from 1745. Live Oak High School's Glee Club sang a medley of Stephen Foster music together, and right after their performance, Jasper High School shared some of their own favorite square dances with that first crowd of attendees. A collection of “Southern Superstitions” was orally given from Dr. J. Russel Reavers' unpublished manuscript and a traditional sermon learned from former slaves was preached by Reverend Herbert S. Phillips. Fiddle and harmonica tunes filled the air as the Suwannee River Playboys Jamboree, of Live Oak, played their music. Storytellers, dancers and musicians ensured that this was not going to be a one time event, but a festival that Floridians from all walks of life would be sure to put together year after year, for years to follow.
A folk festival would not be complete without the smells of an assortment of regional foods wafting through the air, flowing in the breeze as is blew through the spanish moss that danced lazily over peoples heads as they spread out on blankets, sheets and quilts. An example of the sort of treats to be expected at a southern festival such as this are everything a hungry stomach could hope for and then some- chicken and dumplings, BBQ, fried chicken, glazed ham, sausage and biscuits, cakes, pies, fish and hush puppies, smoked mullet, indian fry bread and sassafras tea were just some of the smells one could expect to be moved from a comfortable spot in the shade beneath a giant Live Oak to go investigate. On the way to the food booths, one may stop to see the craft tables, with artisans sharing their skills, talents and livelihoods found in quilting, basket making, wood carving, doll making, glass blowing, rock and shell jewelry creating, pine and palmetto specialities, folk toy artisans, lye soap makers, sunbonnet seamstresses, and an assortment of tables full of different jellies, honey and relishes. More than one attendant over the years has spent more money than they intended to, due to the vast array of goods for sale at the Florida Folk Festival. Just as many have returned the next year to stock up again on their new favorite Mayhaw jelly.
It's hard to imagine how vital events like this can be, especially if one has never been to a folk festival of any kind, yet alone none that happen in a state is unique as Florida is. But the program from their second annual festival explains it better than anyone else ever could. “Folk festivals are a mighty answer to standardized assembly line entertainment, so prevalent in these days of rapid communication.” Many today may know exactly what Sarah Knott, Director of Stephen Foster Memorial, may have meant by that, for it seems as true today as it was in 1954, maybe even more so.
Their objective in that program is written as this: “..to encourage the use of folk songs, music, dances and legends..to preserve and keep flourishing traditional expressions which reflect life as it has been lived in the US, and in the countries from which our people have come...to utilize this wealth of cultural legacies so as to create better understanding and stronger appreciation of the fundamental cultures of our world neighbors, demonstrated in the diverse folk traditions of the people of the US.”
The rich history of the Florida Folk festival has been recorded for posterity since its conception. Videos, photographs, recordings of music played in the past and scannings of schedules and event programs from the 1950s to the 21st century can be found online in the Florida archives and websites like Florida Memory are open for the public. You can experience an eclectic variation of performances this way, from young Israeli women singing and dancing their native music barefoot, Native American drum dances, talented bird calling and jigs from lone good ol' boys up on the old wooden stage, choral and hymn singing from churches all over the state, Caribbean style dancing and of course any version of the song “Suwannee River” that you could ever imagine. Just some notable names over the years who have played at the festival are performers like Rosanne Cash, Arlo Guthrie, Doc Watson, Bill Monroe and Johnny Shines, proving that the stages at the park hold a magic that people will always be drawn to. Be sure to check in with Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park for next year’s festival.