Folk Music Fest Unites Local Musicians, Fans and Families at Shore Cultural Centre

Folk Music Fest unites local musicians, fans and families at Shore Cultural Centre in Cleveland area.
Attracting musicians from all over, the 2016 Folk Music Fest featured an old-time jam at the Shore Cultural Centre. [Photo courtesy of Shore Cultural Centre]

Sat 2/25 @ 1PM

Oh, the beards. The hipster needle will invariably be pinned when traditional American music fans and local musicians converge at the Lake Erie Folk Fest taking place February 25 at the Shore Cultural Centre in Euclid.

The day kicks off with free performances from Brent Kirby, Andrew Bonnis & Christine King, and the Auld Pitch, as well as drummer, ukulele, banjo and blues guitar workshops. In the evening, the Shore Auditorium features local musicians Austin Walkin’ Cane, Shivering Timbers and Emily Keener, as well as Tuvan throat singers Alash.

CoolCleveland talked to festival director Laura Lewis and Shore Cultural Centre director of programming and marketing Chris Cipriani about the Lake Erie Folk Fest.

CoolCleveland: Laura, tell us about the origin of the Folk Fest.

Laura Lewis: This is our second year doing the festival. Last year, we were taken aback by how popular and well-received the festival was. People really appreciated the artists, the welcoming environment at the Shore Cultural Centre. They also really liked having an indoor festival to go to during the month of February. We also had many comments appreciating the diverse, friendly community that attended.

CoolCleveland: With that in mind, what are you looking forward to with the second annual event?

Laura Lewis: This year’s Lake Erie Folk Fest has a wide variety of artists on the evening concert. Austin Walkin’ Cane from Cleveland is a soulful performer of traditional Delta blues. Shivering Timbers is a great band from Akron that plays folk rock in a haunting, compelling way. Emily Keener is a wonderful young singer songwriter who was on The Voice. We also have the Able Brothers, who will be playing old-time fiddle tunes. They feature Mark Olitsky, one of the best claw-hammer banjo players in the country who lives just blocks away from the Shore Cultural Centre. And then we have Alash, which is a group coming to us all the way from Tuva in Central Asia. They do traditional throat singing, which I’m sure will be new to most people in the audience.

CoolCleveland: In looking at all of the attractions, it seems as though the Folk Music Fest has more than just music.

Laura Lewis: From 1 to 6pm there will be 36 free events — music workshops, mini-concerts, community dances, jam sessions and an open mic as well. In addition to workshops geared towards adults, the festival has a lot of fun things for kids. There will be world dances, singing and roots music workshops for kids, as well as a day-long gumbo party that weaves together art and interactive stories. New this year there will also be an instrument petting zoo and a Fiddle-from-Scratch workshop. With the afternoon events being free, and the evening concert free to children 12 and under, the festival is an affordable day for families.

CoolCleveland: Chris, in terms of the Shore Cultural Centre acting as a host, why does the Lake Erie Folk Fest make sense?

Chris Cipriani: It’s a very good thing because it brings new people to Shore Cultural Centre, as well as community members. The Shore Cultural Centre, which used to be a school, has 125,000 square feet. We have tenants who lease spaces for various activities, and we also have an auditorium with fantastic acoustics. Having a festival such as the folk fest kind of brings together our strengths with other regional and national musicians, dancers and performers. For the first-year event, it was great because we had between 900 and 1,000 people throughout the day.

CoolCleveland: Looking ahead, it seems as though the Folk Music Fest is here to stay.

Chris Cipriani: I certainly hope so. We had such positive feedback the first year and so many people are excited about returning, so we’re just gaining momentum.

lakeeriefolkfest

Euclid, OH 44123

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