This year’s New Jersey Folk Festival takes place on April 29.
“Turkish Traditions” is the theme of the 43rd annual New Jersey Folk Festival, taking place April 29 in New Brunswick, so lots of Turkish music is on the bill, as well as demonstrations by devotional Sufi dancers known as whirling dervishes.
But many other traditions will be part of the day as well, including bluegrass, Celtic music, Native American music and contemporary singer-songwriter music.
The free event takes place on the grounds of the Eagleton Institute at George Street and Ryders Lane in New Brunswick. For information, visit njfolkfest.org.
A variety of music, dance and family activities will also be presented on Rutgers’ New Brunswick campus, April 29, as part of Rutgers Day. For information on that, visit rutgersday.rutgers.edu.
Here is the folk festival’s schedule:
SKYLANDS STAGE:
10:30 a.m.: Opening ceremonies
11 a.m.: Roger Deitz (folk)
11:30 a.m.: Aytekin Senyaylar Turkish Band (Turkish music)
Noon: Awards ceremony
12:30 p.m.: Spook Handy (folk)
1:20 p.m.: Whirling dervish
1:30 p.m.: Amir Vahab (Turkish music)
2:20 p.m.: Whirling dervish
2:30 p.m.: Grainne Hambly and William Jackson (Celtic harp music)
3:20 p.m.: Whirling dervish
3:30 p.m.: Lenni-Lenape Pow Wow
4:20 p.m.: Whirling dervish
4:30 p.m.: McDermott’s Handy (Irish music)
5:15 p.m.: RJ Storm & Old School (bluegrass)
PINELANDS STAGE
11 a.m.: Kathy DeAngelo and Students (Irish music)
Noon: Pete McDonough (blues)
12:30 p.m.: Amir Vehab (Turkish music)
1 p.m.: Roger Deitz (folk)
1:30 p.m.: Jim Albertson & Friends (folk)
2 p.m.: RJ Storm & Old School (bluegrass)
2:30 p.m.: Spook Handy (folk)
3 p.m.: Magnolia St. String Band (Americana)
3:30 p.m.: McDermott’s Handy (Irish music)
4 p.m.: Grainne Hambly and William Jackson (Celtic harp music)
4:30 p.m.: Michael Soga (Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young tribute)
SHORE STAGE
11 a.m.: Old Time Jam (Stony Brook Friends of Old Time Music)
Noon: Bluegrass Jam (Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association of NJ)
1 p.m.: Irish Seisiun
2 p.m.: Kate Vargas (singer-songwriter)
2:30 p.m.: Kala Farnam (singer-songwriter)
3 p.m.: Joe Cat (singer-songwriter)
3:30 p.m.: Sara Onteneda (singer-songwriter)
4 p.m.: Grace Morrison (singer-songwriter)
4:30 p.m.: Chloe Jacobson (singer-songwriter)
SEMINAR TENT (discussions and lectures)
11 a.m.: “Folklife at Tuckerton Seaport,” Jaclyn Stewart Wood
11:30 a.m.: “The Role of the New Jersey Folklore Society,” Ameurfina Nazario
Noon: “Kalmyk Folklife: From Nomadism to Global Urbanism,” Nikolai Burlakoff
12:30 p.m.: “Lenni Lenape Tribal Preservation,” the Rev. John Norwood
1 p.m.: “Garifuna Language Maintenance,” Eleanor Bullock
1:30 p.m.: “Trucker Narratives: Life on the Road,” Anthony Donato
2 p.m.: “Turkish Musical Instruments: The Ud and the Kanun,” Aytekin Senyaylar
2:30 p.m.: “Culinary Traditions of Turkey,” Serife Akkurt
3 p.m.: “Carpet Weaving Traditions of Turkey,” Aylin Boz Eser
3:30 p.m.: “Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Founder of the Republic,” Meral Muyesser
4 p.m.: “The Teachings of Nasreddin Hodja,” Omer Turk
4:30 p.m.: “The Art of the Golden Venture Refugees,” William Westerman
