Last weekend was Memorial Day Weekend and the annual escape to way North Florida – the 72^nd annual Florida Folk Festival. Daughter and I made the trek. This year we had passengers, Miss Liliane Louis and her assistant, Angela, two lovely Haitian ladies (more about Miss Liliane below). Constant Companion decided to stay home and watch our feline family members. And avoid the heat; it was really hot this year.

It’s about a seven hour drive from home to Lake City, where those who do not camp (me, for one!) stay. Along the way, we stopped at the Fort Pierce Golden Corral, for lunch. This is a favorite of Daughter, something she enjoyed in our Oklahoma years. It’s a mega buffet restaurant, with the best of Americana food at offer: she goes for the mac and cheese, I enjoy the fried chicken. It was something new for our Haitian friends.

Friday to Saturday we were busy at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, working full-time at the Folklife area. Every year, a theme that directs the state folklorist’s deep dive into the state’s traditional culture. This year, the multi-year quest into the five elements continued with Earth. I don’t know the full extent of tradition bearers that were documented, several brought interesting displays at the tent and told their stories on the stage.

Earth. Ralph Callander and David Freundlich, representing the South Florida Woodturner’s Guild set up their lathe and worked away in a corner of the tent.

Daniel Tommie, a member of the Seminole Tribe of Florida brought a dugout canoe that he’d started just for the festival. No, it was not finished over the three days there.

Danny Sylvester, who operates Renaissance Park in Mariana in the Florida panhandle had a rich display of old farm and other implements (https://www.facebook.com/RenParkLHM/?paipv=0&eav=AfZ–IgefK_E-RchbApoDaVY-AU9QFVVqekJm-oI8VIvlVmWUOj-B7Qd8yU4K1SUCdo&_rdr). He spoke about growing up in the very segregated region.

The fruit of the earth, quinoa, was presented by Ana Chipana, from Bolivia now, Tamarac, Florida (https://www.globalissues.org/news/2013/04/30/16437). Both on the stage and at her display area she cooked more quinoa than I knew existed in several different ways. Many festivals goers (and we working in the area, too) enjoyed her cooking!

Other participants in the Folklife Area represented the apprenticeship program supported by the Florida Folklife Program. This brings us to Miss Liliane Louis. She has participated in the Festival for more years than anyone can remember, by herself or bringing the people who informally learned Haitian traditional culture at her side, including storytelling, cooking, and folk medicine, as she says it, “Healing with Leaves.”

Other apprenticeship teams included  the amazing Mayan weaving by Concepción Poou Coy Tharin. Last year Concepción was honored with the 2023 Folk Heritage Award for her continued work as a weaver. Read here for more about the Folklife area and Festival – https://www.floridastateparks.org/index.php/parks-and-trails/stephen-foster-folk-culture-center-state-park/florida-folk-festival/folklife-area.

Then, of course, there’s the setting. The historic Suwanee River flows through the Park. This year the water was high, though lots of attendees jumped in and cooled off in the quick flowing waters, including Daughter.

I could not resist snapping some photos of dancers from the Raymi Dance School, a Peruvian group from Clermont, FL that was performing at another of the many stages located around the park (https://raymidanceschool.org/).

Who knows who we’ll see next year at the 73rd Florida Folk Festival