New Folk Arts Exhibit and Festival at the Washington State History Museum

WITH OUR HANDS: World Folk Arts Traditions of Washington State
Exhibit on display from January 21 - August 23, 2009
Washington State History Museum
1911 Pacific Ave. Tacoma, WA 98402

JOIN US for a Festival Weekend of folk arts demonstrations by the artists and tradition bearers in the exhibit. The festival is FREE and open to the public.
April 18th, 2009 - 10:00am–5pm
April 19th, 2009 - noon–5pm

NEW! Native American Stories of Washington

Native American Stories of Washington is a project designed to document and preserve stories and legends as told by some of Washington state’s important Native American tradition bearers. Learn more about this project...

New tour available now!

Interstate 90 Heritage Tour Guide: Seattle to Spokane
Northwest Heritage Resources has just released our 7th heritage tour guide for Washington state, featuring the cultural heritage that you would encounter as you travel along I-90.  Check the Heritage Tours link on our website.

The Interstate 90 East Corridor

From Seattle to Spokane, Washington, originates in a major metropolis, passes through historic cities and suburbs, farmland, forests and desert, ending near the Washington Idaho border. It follows a Historic Pacific Northwest transportation route and passes within easy access of national state parks, national forests, historic sites, and other natural and recreational areas. This tour, with its guidebook and two-and-one-half hours of audio, will help acquaint you with this fascinating region.

Traditional Arts Programs in Washington State Parks

Starting in 2005, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, in collaboration with the Washington State Arts Commission established a Folk & Traditional Arts in the Parks Program at Washington State Parks that organized a wide range of traditional arts concerts, artist demonstrations, festivals and other events for state parks located throughout Washington state.  The programs have included Native American Cultural Days, Latino Folk Arts Festivals, gospel, bluegrass, and Celtic music concerts, Arab-American Cultural Days, storytelling events and much more. Many of the programs are FREE to the public.

For more information about these wonderful programs, see:  www.parks.wa.gov/events Or contact: Jens Lund, Folk & Traditional Arts Program Coordinator, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission;
jens.lund@parks.wa.gov; 360-902-8526.

Finnish folk artist honored

We are proud to announce that Finnish traditional artist, Wilho Saari was honored in 2006 with a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship.
More...