20 Reasons Why Greensboro is Cool as FOLK

Perhaps you had no idea that the Gate City could bring in over 100,000 people to a folkin’ festival. Check out the top reasons why the National Folk Festival is the best free festival in the South.

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Award-winning Headliners. Mavis Staples brought down the house during her 2015 set. She “took us there” with her infamous “I’ll Take You There” that closed her headlining set.

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This year, we've got the legendary hip-hop icon DJ Grandmaster Flash. So get ready to bust a move.

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Endless Food Trucks. There are soooo many options to satisfy any of your cravings -- Korean street food, turkey BBQ, shrimp tacos. Bring on the yum.

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Hoppin’ Dance Pavilion. There’s a designated area for you to bump ‘n grind, do the jive and get down tonight.

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Seven Stages. This festival is so folkin’ big that it needs seven stages across all of downtown. You’ll get plenty of exercise and be pretty damn familiar with the geography by the end of the three-day festival.

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Multiple Artist Sets. Let’s face it, with seven stages, sometimes it’s hard to choose what artist you want to see. Unlike most festivals, these artists have multiple sets. If you didn’t catch them today, they’re probably playing tomorrow. Sigh of relief.

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Family Friendly. It’s the one festival you won’t be shamed for bringing your two-year-old cause there are activities for them too – crafts, story-telling, puppetry. No need for a babysitter.

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No Brown Bags Needed. That’s right, you can stroll the streets with your beer or wine in hand and nobody will folk with you!

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UnWINE. If you’re not into beer, there’s plenty of wine to satisfy as well.

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Put your hands in the air and wave them like you just don’t care. When at the National Folk Festival, one must participate in the fun and dance to the music!

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LOCAL Craft Brews. It was quite possibly the first time Natty Greene’s and Foothills linked up to fill pints with local brews. Support local.

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Cultural Immersion. What’s a better way to immerse yourself in different cultures than through music? From one of hip-hop’s biggest legend to a Grammy-award winning Mariachi band, the folk festival serves up a major dose of culture.

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Free Public Trans. The City of Greensboro has special shuttles that take you from free park ‘n ride lots to downtown. All at the cost of nothing.

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Tap Dancing. Yup, just like this little guy.

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Become One With the Beats. Whether you’re swinging your hips to the Colombian drums, vibing to the reggae tempo or stepping to the bluegrass base, you’re sure to find yourself caught in the trance of the music.

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Come as You Are. You don’t have to be a Coachella boho beauty or a unshaven, bearded Bonnarroo hipster. This festival is as eclectic as it gets. Everyone’s welcome- come as you are.

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Fado. It’s the world’s oldest urban folk music and it’s from Portugal. And you’re gonna hear it here this summer!

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Discover the Undiscovered. There will be plenty of artists you’ve never heard of that will straight up blow you away.

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Be Free. You may see others walking around without shoes on, so if want to join the fun and become one with your surroundings, we say why the folk not?

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No Such Thing as Too Much Maraca. Between the Grammy award-winning Mariachi band and the Colombian band out of Queens, NY there will be plenty of maraca playing!