Kaustinen Folk Music Festival

The Kaustinen Folk Music Festival held in July each year in Kaustinen, Finland, is the largest folk music and dance festival in the Nordic countries. It was first recognized in 1968. The festival began with the goal of showcasing the famous local fiddle-based music tradition, which has been going on for at least 250 years and is still the emotional heart of the event. The Finnish government has decided to include the Kaustinen tradition on the Unesco Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the spring of 2020.

The festival expected 6,000 visitors in its first year. However, the actual figure was more than three times higher than the estimate. Nowadays, the festival lasts a week and attracts 40,000–50,000 visitors each year. Aside from Finnish and international professional performers, the festival attracts 4,000–5,000 amateurs who form 400–500 groups each year. Every year, over 1,000 scheduled performances are given in nearly 30 venues and stages, and dozens of workshops and other participatory programs are offered.

Since 1970, the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival has named one or more people each year as Master Folk Musician, Master Folk Singer, or Master Folk Dancer, based on their repertoire, skills, and work to preserve the traditions, as well as an Ensemble of the Year. In the Finnish folk music and dance community, these nominations are highly valued. Since 2012, the festival has been organized by the Pro Kaustinen Society, which is made up of three Kaustinen tradition bearers' organizations. The Peanuts comic strip bird Woodstock, named after the New York rock music festival of the same name, is called Kaustinen in Finnish, a clear reference to this folk music festival.

Takes place: July