The New England Folk Festival is heading to Mansfield for the fifth straight year, and will take over the East Street school complex for the weekend of April 15 - 17. Selectmen granted the festival its required entertainment license Wednesday night.
The 67-year-old organization draws between 2,500 and 3,500 people to the event every spring, coordinated by a squad of 1,200 volunteers from the organization itself and the surrounding community. The schools are the beneficiaries of the $30,000 fee charged to NEFFA for the use of the buildings and grounds.
Harold Henry, the association's chair of inside facilities, and outgoing president Bob Golder told the board the festival was originally organized to boost the public out of a post-World War II exhaustion.
"The Governor of Massachusetts created a commission of recreation," Golder said. "The founding members wanted to create something out of the traditional folk arts of New England. It began in the Boston area - there were only 200 people at the first festival."
Golder said the festival has stayed in a number of areas around New England over the years, but said, "We have found great joy" in Mansfield.
The big event starts at 7 p.m. on Friday night, runs all day and into the evening on Saturday, and winds up Sunday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. Doors open Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. The food booths will also be opening.
Most events will be held indoors in either the middle or high schools. The celebration is one of community participation, featuring lessons in a variety of ethnic dance and singing styles, jam sessions, and crafts. The festival also offers a number of concerts by different groups from all over the country.
All kinds of music fill the halls, from traditional and ethnic folk to classic shape-note singing and sea shanties, and dancing runs the gamut from contra to English ritual dance styles.
Workshops and tutorials are open to any beginner, and are a huge part of the fun.
Food of all kinds will be abundant and available from breakfast through dinner, featuring fare from a number of local restaurants as well as from some of the different countries featured during the weekend.
Henry said he had seen selectman George Dentino at every festival in Mansfield, and Dentino commented, "I can't say enough about the festival - they have really bonded with the town. Everyone there has a smile."
A schedule of events, parking details, and places to stay can be found on the festival Web site, as well as tickets to the events. Flyers are available at Town Hall.
Over the years the town and police department have worked out a system of parking and shuttle buses that have proven to be efficient in getting the thousands of guests from their vehicles to the festival site.
Volunteers get a free pass, and that information is also on the Web site. The general telephone number for the organization is 1-617-299-1590.