Living Our Traditions

The Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Arts Society (NLFAS) is a charitable organization located in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada whose mandate is the promotion and preservation of the traditional folk arts of the province. Active since 1966, the organization presents educational and cultural events that provide artists with the opportunity to showcase their work and that engage our youth and the general public in the transmission of our intangible cultural heritage.

Our two longest running events, Folk Night at the Ship Pub and the Annual Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Festival are rites of passage for up and coming folk and traditional musicians, and beloved by seasoned performers.

The Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Arts Society thanks our sponsors who help make the Folk Festival and Folk Night possible.

Upcoming Events

Nuit Francophone at the Ship

Nuit Francophone at the Ship

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La NL Folk Arts Society et le Réseau culturel francophone de TNL présentent :Nuit francophone en direct avec Laura Penney (1e partie) et Fred et les Clous Tordus (2e partie)

Join the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Arts Society and our community partner, Réseau culturel francophone de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, to hear the live music of Laua Penney and Fred et les Clous Tordus.

Join the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Arts Society and our community partner, Réseau culturel francophone de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, to hear the live music of Laua Penney and Fred et les Clous Tordus.

Dec 06

The Ship Pub

Nuit Francophone at the Ship
Dec 06

Nuit Francophone at the Ship

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The Ship Pub

La NL Folk Arts Society et le Réseau culturel francophone de TNL présentent :Nuit francophone en direct avec Laura Penney (1e partie) et Fred et les Clous Tordus (2e partie)

Join the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Arts Society and our community partner, Réseau culturel francophone de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, to hear the live music of Laua Penney and Fred et les Clous Tordus.

Join the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Arts Society and our community partner, Réseau culturel francophone de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, to hear the live music of Laua Penney and Fred et les Clous Tordus.

High Fiddlety (Vol. 1)

High Fiddlety (Vol. 1)

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An extra folked up Folk Night at the Ship with a High Fiddlety fiddle fest and featuring Duane Andrews, Kelly Russell, Maria Cherwick and Isaac Andrews Power! This will be a tour de force of the wide world of fiddling styles and influences that you do not want to miss! And yes…there will be Emile tunes. Guaranteed.

Starts at 9 sharp and the show will be one mighty long set with a tune session to close the night! Open to all hands after the show!

Dec 13

The Ship Pub

High Fiddlety (Vol. 1)
Dec 13

High Fiddlety (Vol. 1)

-

The Ship Pub

An extra folked up Folk Night at the Ship with a High Fiddlety fiddle fest and featuring Duane Andrews, Kelly Russell, Maria Cherwick and Isaac Andrews Power! This will be a tour de force of the wide world of fiddling styles and influences that you do not want to miss! And yes…there will be Emile tunes. Guaranteed.

Starts at 9 sharp and the show will be one mighty long set with a tune session to close the night! Open to all hands after the show!

More info

The Annual Holiday Wassail

The Annual Holiday Wassail

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The Wassail returns for another year with the usual cast of characters, mummers, fiddlers, young artists, hobby horses, holiday singalongs and yes, even a drop of wassail on the break!

This years guests include Anita Best, The STEP Fiddlers, Dave Paddon, the Brunettes, the Soundbone Folksong Choir, the Navigators, Alex Taylor, Rosemary Lawton and Brad Tuck, and longtime Wassail resident troupe, the Mummers and the Paupers!

Due to the intricacies of the venue, the intermission will be a little different this year but you will be able to get your Wassail on, guaranteed. Please note the new venue for the Wassail is Wesley United on Patrick St.

Doors open at 1:30 and the merriment starts at 2:00 sharp! We look forward to closing the year in our regular and festive style with you all!

Please note that there are limited free tickets available for youth under 12. Anyone purchasing the live stream option, please note that you only need to purchase one ticket to stream on a single device, and more information regarding accessing the live stream will be emailed to you in the coming weeks.

Dec 17

Wesley United Church

The Annual Holiday Wassail
Dec 17

The Annual Holiday Wassail

-

Wesley United Church

The Wassail returns for another year with the usual cast of characters, mummers, fiddlers, young artists, hobby horses, holiday singalongs and yes, even a drop of wassail on the break!

This years guests include Anita Best, The STEP Fiddlers, Dave Paddon, the Brunettes, the Soundbone Folksong Choir, the Navigators, Alex Taylor, Rosemary Lawton and Brad Tuck, and longtime Wassail resident troupe, the Mummers and the Paupers!

Due to the intricacies of the venue, the intermission will be a little different this year but you will be able to get your Wassail on, guaranteed. Please note the new venue for the Wassail is Wesley United on Patrick St.

Doors open at 1:30 and the merriment starts at 2:00 sharp! We look forward to closing the year in our regular and festive style with you all!

Please note that there are limited free tickets available for youth under 12. Anyone purchasing the live stream option, please note that you only need to purchase one ticket to stream on a single device, and more information regarding accessing the live stream will be emailed to you in the coming weeks.

More info

Latest News

2023 NewFound Talent Contest
2023 NewFound Talent Contest

Posted on: May 8, 2023

*** This application is now CLOSED! Thank you to our all applicants. You should be hearing from us by Friday,…

#NLFOLK
🎶TONIGHT on The Broadside...🎶

💻Join Pamela Morgan, Ruth Lawrence, and Petrina Bromley as they give us a sneak peek for their new show "SONG SEEKERS: The Greenleaf and Mansfield Story" LIVE on our Facebook and YouTube at 8pm NST.💻

🎟SONG SEEKERS weaves the narrative of Greenleaf and Mansfield's adventures with performances of classic folk songs from our province's esteemed canon. The show runs from Dec 7-9 at The Majestic Theatre - Tickets on sale now!🎟

#nlfolk
🎤Our favourite Folk Night takeovers is BACK!🎤

🌙This Wednesday, Join the Newfoundland & Labrador Folk Arts Society and our community partner, Réseau culturel francophone de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, to hear the live music of Laua Penney and Fred et les Clous Tordus at Nuit Francophone!🌙

🎟Music starts at 9pm sharp, $10 at the door!🎟

#nlfolk #nllivemusic #nlliveshow #livefrenchmusic
HEY FRIENDS!

☃️Want to give your business or service a little promotional boost for the holiday season?☕

❄️Well, LUCKY YOU! We are currently accepting ads for our Holiday Wassail program!❄️ 

✨Prices and specs are in the graphic so be sure to specify yer needs when you email tamsyn.russell@nlfolk.com to claim your ad space!✨

The deadline is December 10th, talk soon!👋

#holidaywassail #nlfolk
🎻It's that time again, folks. Tune session time!🎻

✨Join our session host, the one and only carolebestvater, on November 29th at 9pm at The Ship✨

#folknight #nlfolk #tunesession #nltradmusic #nllivemusic
🌈We are still REELING (ha. get it? yeah, yeah, bad joke.. anyways...) from LOCAL FOLQ!

🎶Want to see more shows highlighting local Queer music and art? Donate to the FolQ Fund on our website!

✨This #ThrowbackThursday is brought to you by some super cool footage from the talented Katelyn Forward Photography and the talented Dan Trouble!

#FolQfund #localfolq #nlfolk
🎻We're getting extra folked up on December 13th for Folk Night at the Ship with a High Fiddlety fiddle fest featuring Duane Andrews, Kelly Russell, Maria Cherwick and Isaac Andrews Power!🎻

🍻Bows, beer, and all kinds fo music and fun!🍻

🎟Tickets are on sale NOW on our website (link in the bio!)

🎶Starts at 9 sharp and the show will be one mighty long set with a tune session to close the night!🎶

#nlfolk #nlfolkmusic #nltradmusic #nlliveevents
🎶Tickets for Crooked Stovepipe at the rcaatlspuhall  might be sold out, BUT you can still enjoy the show cozied up on your couch for a fraction of the cost✨

🎟Get live stream tickets for tomorrows bluegrass showdown NOW in the link in our bio!💻

stantec 

#nlfolk
🎤Baraka's sound and spirit are sure to tug on the heartstrings of everyone who hears him sing!

🌊Tune into The Broadside livestream this Monday, November 20th at 8PM NST For the clever lyrics and infectious melodies of Baraka, brought to you by Tombolo Multicultural Festival NL 🌊

💻Watch for FREE on Facebook and YouTube!💻

brkwav 

#nlfolk
✨Weaving together stories, songs, and fiddle tunes - it's Sherry Ryan & Maria Cherwick at Folk Night!✨

🎶Blending folk-pop sensibility with country and Irish-Newfoundland roots, Sherry affirms her place as one of Atlantic Canada’s best-loved singer-songwriters. accompanied by violinist and fiddler Maria Cherwick, whose career spans from symphony orchestras, to touring internationally with her Ukrainian speed-folk band, The Kubasonics.🎶

🎤Swing by The Ship Pub on Wednesday, November 22nd for some gorgeous bluesy country stylings, plus an appearance from Sooky Couch Girls on the break!🎤

🌙9pm sharp with a door fee of $10!🌙

#NLFolk
Our first time playing at thenewfoundlanddistilleryco in Clarke's Beach this Saturday! #singersongwriters #nlfolk #woolysamoyed #folkduo #musicnl #clarkesbeach