Northwest Folklife Festival

Lots to catch the eye at opening day of Folklife Festival

The sun played peek-a-boo in the early hours of this year's Northwest Folklife Festival, but stayed around long enough to give this regular Seattle Center event the feel of an almost-summer revel.

Fest-goers strolling the grounds on Friday, the opening day, included many school groups and parents with young children, all taking in the pleasing sights and sounds of a free gathering where the music is folksy, the vibe multiethnic and the pace relaxed.

Some of the first of the 900 acts to perform at this 40th annual Folklife, which runs through Monday evening, included a marimba band from Seattle's Spruce Street School and a steel-drum ensemble from Columbia River High School in Vancouver, Wash.

As adults responded to a caller's commands during a contra dance in the Fisher Pavilion, a cluster of kindergartners from Zion Preparatory Academy in Seattle stomped and whirled with joyful abandon off to the side.

Members of the Emerald City Trapeze troupe were intently engaged in setting up rigging for their aerial displays near the Center House. During the festival they'll also give brave souls a free lesson in flying through the air with the greatest of ease.

Instruction in strumming on the old banjo and making pop-up puppets was also available at nearby craft booths.

Searching for Tibetan earrings? Vegan chocolate truffles? Monster and imp art? Custom-made brooms? Indonesian walking sticks, with eerie sculpted skulls for handles?

For shoppers, Folklife remains a giant global bazaar. The Zimbabwe Artists Project (ZAP), a nonprofit group that sells colorful textile art crafted by women of Weya, Zimbabwe, has had a popular booth at Folklife for seven years.

"We help rural women in that community become economically self-sufficient," said ZAP outreach coordinator Heather MacKenzie. "I have some of the best conversations with people from all over the place at this event. They really want to know about what we're doing."

Over by a booth hawking jewelry and ethnic clothing, Lisa Poll of Seattle was keeping an eye on her two young children and their "playdate" friend, and enjoying the festival ambience.

"It's great here," said Poll. "It's super fun and just nice to have the sun and the music and the fountain. We've been trying different food, and now we're hitting the crafts."

Though many younger children are participating in Folklife, organizers this year are making a more concerted attempt to reach teens and young adults with such offerings as high-school swing dances and a new Indie Roots music stage.

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