The European Folk Day 2023 is a pilot project conceived and coordinated by members of the European Folk Network (EFN) with co-funding from the European Union via the MusicAIRE programme. It is born with the intention of establishing the European Folk Day as a key date in the annual calendar.
Background and objectives
The idea of the European Folk Day emerged during conversations within the EFN. It is an event directly related to one of the objectives of the network: to demonstrate the existence of a critical mass of people all over Europe, involved, in one way or another, in the traditional performing arts (music, dance, storytelling).
Who can participate in the European Folk Day?
Participation is open to any individual, band, institution, company, community, workshop, local group - indeed anyone who wants to join in with an activity related to folk music, dance or storytelling, either on-site or online. EVERYONE is welcome, whether or not they are members of EFN.
How can I participate in the European Folk Day?
Participation can be:
• as simple as recording a video with an old or new song, uploading it to your social media and tag it with #europeanfolkday.
• as elaborate as a festival on-site with several artists performing, on or around the time of 23 September and publicising it as part of the European Folk Day,
• and if you are a journalist, you can feature a song or an artist in your media… or dedicate the whole day to the topic. And publicise European Folk Day events in your local/national media. Do you need any tips? Ask us: the EFN has members in most of the European countries who can support you.
There is no limit to how and where you can participate. If you can't think of anything, contact the Participation email (contacts below) or look at the new website and we'll help you come up with ideas.
When you have decided the shape of your participation, give us the details on the website, on the Participate page, and submit the information to the search-able database. Your participation will be added on the database and on the map of Europe. Over the next few months, we will be communicating progress to the world and giving visibility to all European Folk Day events. You can sign up for the mailing list about the Folk Day, here.
How can I contact the organising team?
EFN has a small team coordinating the European Folk Day project. We have set up specific emails for different needs:
• For questions about participation, contact Eric via participate@europeanfolkday.eu
• For requests from journalists and media, contact Araceli via participate@europeanfolkday.eu
• For general requests or other issues, contact Nod via info@europeanfolkday.eu
We are looking forward to everyone joining in this new pan-European initiative to support and celebrate the traditional arts of communities throughout Europe.
The European Folk Day is by you, for you, for us!
