2025 Folklife Festival

Every Memorial Day weekend for the last 54 years, Northwest Folklife brings us together to celebrate the cultures, stories, and creativity that define our region. 

Thanks to a deep history of community support and strategic use of our resources, we’ve kept the Festival free and accessible to all.

But sustaining this kind work has never been easy—and it’s getting harder. Costs continue to rise; the full price of putting on a 20-stage festival in the middle of a major city has grown significantly.

Every year, tens of thousands of people attend the festival. The math is simple: if every attendee donated just $20 a day, we’d raise enough funds to ensure the Festival returns next year.

This year, we’re asking everyone who is able, to donate $20 for every day you plan to attend the Festival. 

The Festival is and has always been a living, breathing showcase of what a community can look like when it’s built on a foundation of care, connection, and creativity.

With your partnership, we can build a future that’s just as vibrant, bold, and rooted in community as our past.