The story of the Winnipeg Folk Festival, from the folks who were there

Every July since 1974, Manitoba’s Birds Hill Provincial Park has been home to one of Canada’s most vibrant and storied celebrations of folk music—the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Founding Folks tells the festival’s origin story, from founder Mitch Podolak’s unlikely dream of bringing folk music to prairie stages to how it became one of the most influential Folk Festivals in North America. Through conversations with staff, volunteers, and musicians—including Bruce Cockburn, Tom Jackson, and David Amram—filmmaker Kevin Nikkel offers a nuanced look at community building, explores the relationships between politics and culture, and provides fascinating insight into the lifelong friendships that developed among some of folk music’s most defining figures.

Brought to life by more than ninety photographs, this book is a testament to the vitality of prairie arts and culture. Founding Folks captures the spirit and enthusiasm of those early festival days and preserves this legacy for festival goers, students of culture and history, music enthusiasts, and folkies everywhere.

Kevin Nikkel is an independent filmmaker and educator based in Winnipeg. He is a long-time member of the Winnipeg Film Group. He co-directed the documentary Tales from the Winnipeg Film Group with Dave Barber in 2007.

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