September 25 @ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm A Gathering with Friends of the Festival Friday, September 25, 2026 · 6:00–9:00 PMTucson Chinese Cultural Center · 1288 W. River Rd., TucsonBy invitation only for Friends of the Festival. Not yet a Friend of the Festival? Join today to receive your invitation. AUTUMN MOON EVE will … Read more
As shared by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage by Kirby Ewald In June, the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and Music Unbound signed an agreement that expands beyond the existing Heritage in Motion project. It establishes a framework for joint programming and knowledge exchange, signaling shared, long-term commitment to preserving and elevating cultural … Read more
Why a folklife festival matters right now by Kimi Eisele as published in Borderlore The year I was born, United States soldiers were overseas fighting a strange war in Vietnam. The conflict caused millions of casualties and long-term psychological trauma. In America, it left many with distrust of government and a cynicism toward authority. Americans … Read more
Mohyeddin Abdulaziz on finding belonging and community through sharing his culture at Tucson Meet Yourself As told to Kayleigh Stack in 2022 as part of an oral history project, 50 Years of Tucson Meet Yourself, for which we interviewed long-time participants on their Tucson Meet Yourself experience and how their tenure with the festival impacted … Read more
Phyllis Gracy on the joy and satisfaction of Scandinavian folk dancing at Tucson Meet Yourself As told to Kayleigh Stack in 2022 as part of an oral history project, 50 Years of Tucson Meet Yourself, for which we interviewed long-time participants on their Tucson Meet Yourself experience and how their tenure with the festival impacted … Read more
This summer 2025, the Southwest Folklife Alliance was honored to connect 15 traveling artists from Kazakhstan with heritage-based artists in Southern Arizona. The Kazakhstan Artisan Initiative is the first project of the Kazakhstan Cultural Heritage Fund and supports community-based work and cross-cultural exchange to strengthen cultural sustainability in Kazakhstan. The artists are members of the … Read more