The N.C. State Fair excels at showcasing the many talents local North Carolinians offer. The fairgrounds host countless competitions and exhibits highlighting delicious dishes, homegrown crops, homemade crafts and performing arts acts. One of these attractions is the N.C. State Fair Folk Festival.
In 1928, the traditional festival was founded in Asheville by Bascom Lamar Lunsford. Lunsford traveled throughout the East to collect music and dance styles from a variety of communities, establishing festivals in small towns and hollows.
The Folk Festival was established at the N.C. State Fair in 1948 to preserve and promote the music and dance of North Carolina’s early years. Additionally, it provides wholesome entertainment for fair visitors.
The N.C. State Fair Folk Festival has three categories: Heritage Dance (clogging backed by live music), Novelty and Contemporary Dance (non-clogging dance), and Music (traditional vocal and instrumental styles).
“It’s a great place to see local groups do what they do best,” said Jeri Ellen Helms, current Folk Festival superintendent. “This is my third year as superintendent, and it has been a privilege to oversee this showcase that was so special to me as a kid. Fairgoers will be impressed by this year’s lineup.”
Photographs from previous Folk Festivals
Seasoned performers shared their experience with the N.C. State Fair Folk Festival.
Little River Cloggers
The Little River Cloggers of Durham are a traditional clogging team dedicated to keeping Southern Appalachian clogging and smooth dance styles alive for the next generation. Founded in 1995, the team consists of cloggers ranging in age from 6 to 66 who love performing at festivals and rehabilitation centers.
The N.C. State Fair Folk Festival is the pinnacle of the Little River Cloggers’ dance season. They’ve been participants for more than 20 years, always beginning their fair routine preparations in July. Instructors of the Little River Cloggers are team members who have clogged for most of their lives.
“Our audiences can’t help but smile and clap along as our teams perform freestyle, precision and line dances,” said current manager Jan Dalton. “We sure hope fair attendees come to the Folk Festival tent on Monday, Oct. 21, to see our teams compete. It will get your foot a-tapping!”
Additionally, Jan is thrilled to be performing with her family, making their 17th Folk Festival appearance.
To learn more about the Little River Cloggers, visit their website at www.littlerivercloggers.org.
West of Heaven
Raleigh’s West of Heaven is the name of the West family’s a cappella group. Their specialty is singing medleys of great music paired with seamless layers of harmonies. A cappella music is performed with no instruments – all sounds are made with their mouths.
Kevin and Gay West have been singing together since they were married more than 40 years ago. They are the proud parents of five children who share the same love of music and have passed that love on to their own children.
The Wests have performed at the N.C. State Fair Folk Festival for quite a while and are thrilled to be returning to the stage. They even won a trophy at the Folk Festival a few years back for their top-notch talents!
“I’ve always thought of folk music as the music that defines us as the American people,” said Aleesha Bake. “Whether it’s traditional folk or more modern, it connects us all.”
This year, the family will sing together with the addition of soloist Aleesha Bake and the duo Austyn Anderson and Ariana Bake, teen grandchildren of the Wests.
“The group will be smaller because many of our family members are traveling to the mountains to work on hurricane crisis cleanup crews,” said Aleesha. “But we are still looking forward to sharing our love of music and creating something beautiful. Our performance will be a tribute to the ‘folk’ of the North Carolina mountains, where Kevin and Gay raised their children for eight years.”
Between entering the food and crafting competitions and enjoying the fun atmosphere that celebrates art and music, the West family are huge fans of the N.C. State Fair.
“Seeing our community come together and celebrate what makes us North Carolinians is fantastic,” said Aleesha.
Clogger Jayne
Jayne Treadwell, a third-generation clogger residing in Lake Ridge, Virginia, is excited to perform at this year’s Folk Festival because her relatives have a long-standing history with the show – a four-generation family of N.C. State Fair Folk Festival performers.
She was inspired to pick up clogging by her granddaddy, who learned to clog when he was 65 years old and taught his children. Jayne learned to clog in the fall of 1979 and began teaching clogging in 1985, frequently teaching at workshops and conventions throughout the East Coast.
“I absolutely love sharing clogging every chance I get,” said Jayne. “Folk, to me, means tradition, community, culture and family. Cloggers are a large, supportive and loving family who always look out for each other, whether it’s sharing shoes and costumes, filling in for dancers, or sharing valuable advice.”
Jayne has been participating in the N.C. State Fair Folk Festival since 1980 – 42 festivals total. Her first appearance was with her granddaddy’s team, the Craven County Cloggers, while she was a student at N.C. State University. She later took over as director of the group.
Jayne also founded the East County Hoedowners, a multigenerational clogging team based in Wilson, made up of children, parents and even a few grandparents. The group provided clogging and hoedown entertainment for the Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Festival in the late ’90s and early 2000s, performing four to five shows daily over 10 days.
“Under my instruction and direction, the East County Hoedowners performed in the N.C. State Fair Folk Festival every year until 2013, when I retired the team and moved to Virginia,” said Jayne. “However, I continued to return every year to visit with my dear Folk Festival family and compete in the women’s individual freestyle clogging competition.”
Jayne also has experience dancing on the Folk Festival’s House Team, a team of local cloggers from various groups who dropped in when available for a combined hoedown.
Clogging has provided Jayne with many memorable moments she’ll cherish forever – including trips to perform in Spain and Germany. Her teams also performed annually at the Cystic Fibrosis Telethon in New Bern from 1980 until 2015. Clogging is something she can’t imagine her life without.
Jeri Ellen, Jan, Aleesha and Jayne encourage every fairgoer to spend some time at the Folk Festival. You can even catch a shade break!
“It truly is an event enjoyable for all ages,” said Jeri Ellen. “My goal is to grow the Folk Festival into something that can represent folk as a group of people sharing their long-time traditions through song and dance.”
Check out the N.C. State Fair Folk Festival’s Facebook page to access the full lineup. Performances will take place almost every day of the fair.