Northwest Folklife

Northwest Folklife creates opportunities for individuals and communities of the Pacific Northwest to celebrate, share and sustain the vitality of folk, ethnic and traditional arts for present and future generations. Northwest Folklife carries out its mission in a variety of ways, most notably through the annual production of the free Northwest Folklife Festival.

• Northwest Folklife believes that the arts revitalize people and communities. Northwest Folklife is dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage and its continued growth and development.

• Northwest Folklife understands that everyone is a bearer of folk arts and that it is as important to participate in the arts as it is to observe them.

• Northwest Folklife encourages communities to share their cultural arts, believing that interaction with new audiences enriches the community as much as the audience. When people share aspects of their culture, opportunities are created to dissolve misunderstandings, break down stereotypes and increase respect for one another.

• Northwest Folklife relies on the diverse communities of the Pacific Northwest to inspire programs. Northwest Folklife collaborates with these communities to develop public presentations of their culture.

Northwest Folklife is recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt 501(c)3 corporation. It is registered with the Secretary of State of the State of Washington.