Holiday Folk Fair International, America’s premier multicultural festival and a program of the International Institute of Wisconsin, celebrates the cultural heritage of the people living in southeastern Wisconsin. You can explore the ways music, food, dance, and art weave together a message of welcome.

Celebrate the Culture of Traditional Music

“Traditional Music” encompasses the melodies, lyrics, and instruments used to tell the stories of people within the world’s cultures. It is vital in preserving cultural identity, celebrating life’s moments, and educating others.

Traditional music is a tool for the expression of a culture and its beliefs, history, and values. For example, Irish traditional music describes the history of the country and its people. The lyrics of sean-nós singing speak of the struggles and triumphs of the Irish people, while the instruments of the fiddle, flute, accordion, and pipes express the energy and spirit of the land.

Native American traditional music and chants are used in everyday life, including in ceremonies, during work, in courtship, and as prayers. For example, the Inuit use songs while fishing to appease the spirits of whales, seals, and other food sources.

Finally, traditional music is used as a source of oral storytelling. African drums, for example, are used to tell stories. Many African communities have drumming patterns and rhythms that might recount the history of a tribe, celebrate important events, or pass down oral traditions and legends.

While the world exhibits a wide array of traditional music, sound is a universal form of human expression. Music is a common language that unites us all.

Our strength comes from celebrating similarities and differences. The Holiday Folk Fair International continues to build bridges among cultural communities, groups, and people. For 82 years, it has been a keeper of our world’s living heritage, safeguarding the past, honoring the present, and embracing the future. It provides an opportunity for cultures from all over the world to showcase their traditions, music, dress, and languages that are unique and meaningful to them, that call them together, and that celebrate their stories.