Lorain Folk Festival – May 1956

Everyone's familiar with Lorain's International Festival that began back in 1967 (which I wrote about here) and is still going strong. But did you know that there was a smaller, predecessor festival that celebrated Lorain's various nationalities with ethnic music, dances, exhibits and culinary delicacies?

It was called the Folk Festival, and in its early days was held at the Ohio National Guard Armory at Oakwood Park in South Lorain. The first one was held on June 13, 1954 and included Polish, Ukrainian and Hungarian folk dances; a performance of Puerto Rican music; a Russian choral group; Scottish bagpipers and dancers from Cleveland; Mexican dancers; a Serbian song and dance show; the Inspirational Chorus of the Second Baptist Church; and American square dancers. The performers numbered 150 and the festival drew a crowd of 500.

Yes, being held in an auditorium, it was pretty small compared to the behemoth that the International Festival grew into at the Sheffield Shopping Center during the 1970s. But the Folk Festival seems to have been sort of a template for what followed. 

Anyway, in May 1956 the Folk Festival was in its third year. Here are some of the ads and clippings from the pages of the Lorain Journal that tell the story of the celebration that spring.

May 25, 1956

May 26, 1956

May 26, 1956

May 26, 1956

It looks like the 1956 edition of the Folk Festival was a success.

May 28, 1956

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The Folk Festival appears to have been held sporadically into the early 1960s. The news coverage surrounding the 1962 edition noted that it was the sixth annual celebration. It continued to be held in South Lorain. The seventh annual festival in 1963, and well as the eighth in 1964, were held at the Hungarian Reformed Hall at E. 31st and Globe. Interestingly, the Lorain Folk Arts Association held a folk festival in November 1967, at Admiral King High School, in association with the YMCA World Fellowship Committee.