The year is 1928. Musician + folklorist Bascom Lamar Lunsford was asked by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce to put together a festival. It was a celebration of the musical traditions of the Southern Appalachians to be held at Pack Square as a part of the Rhododendron Festival. Although it wouldn’t become its own event until 1930, this was where the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival was born.
In 1967, Folk Heritage Committee members Jackie + Earl Ward, Bob Lindsay, and Jerry Israel started Shindig on the Green. Both the festival and its summer-jam-session offshoot would go through several venue changes over the years, before finally landing at Warren Wilson College’s Kittredge Theatre and Pack Square Park, respectively.
We have to say, the festival is looking pretty good for 97. Get your tickets for all the toe-tapping rhythms and captivating storytelling, happening on Thursday, Aug. 1-Saturday, Aug. 3.
