Kaustinen Folk Music Festival (Finnish: Kaustisen kansanmusiikkijuhlat), celebrated yearly in July in Kaustinen, Finland, is the biggest folk music and dance festival in the Nordic countries. It was first celebrated in 1968.
In its first year, the festival expected 6,000 visitors. The number was over three times the estimate, though. Nowadays the festival lasts nine days and is visited by over 100,000 people. There are over 3,000 performers from Finland and other countries every year.
The festival has a different country theme every year (2003 Greece, 2004 multicultural Canada, 2005 Hungary, 2006 Italy, 2007 Russia). Every year the festival nominates the Master Folk Musician, the Ensemble of the Year, and Festival Ensembles amongst prominent Finnish folk musicians.
In 2006 Hyperborea were nominated as band of the year at the festival.
Famous quotes containing the words folk, music and/or festival:
““I have usually found that there was method in his madness.”
“Some folk might say there was madness in his method.””
—Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)
“Truly fertile Music, the only kind that will move us, that we shall truly appreciate, will be a Music conducive to Dream, which banishes all reason and analysis. One must not wish first to understand and then to feel. Art does not tolerate Reason.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the festival of unleavened bread, at the festival of weeks, and at the festival of booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed; all shall give as they are able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Deuteronomy 16:16,17.