Salisbury, MD — The Maryland Folk Festival, which is expected to bring 100,000 people to Downtown Salisbury this September, is seeking more than 750 volunteers, and registration is open now.
The Maryland Folk Festival, a three-day celebration of American culture, is set for Sept. 22-24. This event follows the success of the National Folk Festival, which had been held in Salisbury starting in 2018.
There are dozens of roles to choose from, and volunteers can select their preferred time slots when registering online. Volunteers are needed to assist with artist CD sales, the bicycle valet, the bucket brigade, the Downtown Visitor Center, the family area, the folklife area, guest services, the ice and water brigade, the marketplace, site setup and take-down, transportation, and volunteer check-in.
Volunteers will be asked to attend an orientation session the Wednesday before the festival, and training sessions will be provided if necessary for the role. Along with a sense of community pride, each volunteer will receive a Maryland Folk Festival volunteer T-shirt, and students can earn service-learning hours.
“The Maryland Folk Festival doesn’t work without amazing volunteers,” said Caroline O’Hare, events and culture manager for the City of Salisbury. “As a volunteer, you get to experience the festival up close and personal, and we guarantee that you’ll have a blast.”
To learn about volunteer roles and sign up for shifts, visit https://mdfolkfest.com/volunteer/ or email mdffvolunteer@gmail.com.
About the Maryland Folk Festival
After more than five years as the host of the National Folk Festival, produced in collaboration with the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA), the City of Salisbury’s Arts, Business and Culture Department is proud to launch its own legacy festival. In 2023, the City of Salisbury, Maryland, will take center stage with the Maryland Folk Festival from Sept. 22-24.
This large-scale, multi-day outdoor event celebrates the roots, richness and variety of American culture. It features hundreds of the nation’s finest musicians, dancers, craftspeople and other keepers of culture in performances, workshops, and demonstrations, plus children’s activities, non-stop participatory dancing, storytelling, and more. https://mdfolkfest.com/
About the City of Salisbury, Maryland
Founded in 1732, Salisbury is the county seat of Wicomico County, a place where John Smith touched land in 1608 during his exploration of the Chesapeake Bay bringing him in contact with the Wighcocomoco or Wicomico, the Nause, the Kusk’arawack, and the Nantaquack or Nanticoke tribes who had lived in the region for several millennia. Situated on Maryland’s historic Eastern Shore at the crossroads of the Delmarva Peninsula, Salisbury is now one of the region’s largest cities, and serves as the capital of the Eastern Shore, a rural area defined by its agricultural and maritime traditions, landscapes, and industries. The Chesapeake Bay is central to this distinctive identity. Though a relatively small city, Salisbury is the geographic and economic hub of one of the nation’s fastest-growing Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The City of Salisbury is working to build its reputation as an arts and culture destination and is aligning its downtown development and revitalization efforts with the arts. Salisbury believes hosting the Maryland Folk Festival is the perfect catalyst to further a cultural renaissance and urban renewal. https://salisbury.md/
ABCD Events
The Arts, Business and Culture Department is responsible for fostering Salisbury’s thriving economic climate through supporting business, expanding economic opportunity, promoting artistic expression, hosting unique experiences, and maintaining regional attractions such as the Salisbury Zoo and Poplar Hill Mansion. By producing signature events, facilitating business incentives, and collaborating with stakeholders, this department strives to make Salisbury a place where arts, business and culture intersect and flourish. https://salisbury.md/departments/arts-business-culture
