
Arts for the MASSes
New England Folk Festival 2026
<p>Every April, a hotel in Marlborough, Massachusetts transforms into something magical. We went inside the New England Folk Festival — one of America's longest-running folk festivals — to find out what keeps thousands of people coming back for over 80 years.From Bulgarian folk singing to Celtic Morris dancing, contra dancing to handmade crafts, NEFA is unlike any festival you've ever seen. No paid performers. No year-round staff. Just 1,000 performers, 1,000 attendees, and 300 volunteers who show up every year to keep a tradition alive.In this mini-documentary, we sit down with festival president Jonathan Young and program chair Lynn Noel to explore the hist...


