Folk art festival to kick off in Qingdao WCNA

As a grand national cultural gala, the 13th China Folk Art Festival will be held in Qingdao West Coast New Area (Qingdao WCNA) from April 20 to 23 and will provide an audio-visual feast for the public.

The festival will invite 20 first-class art troupes and cover five major categories of activities: an opening ceremony; the Chinese Folk Art Shanhua Award and Excellent Folk Art Performances — the preliminary evaluation of folk songs and dances; an academic seminar; an exhibition on Shandong's handmade crafts; and folk performances.

With the theme of "Striving for a New Journey, Flowers Bloom on the West Coast", the opening ceremony on April 20 will feature Qingdao's folk art and display the colorful charm of traditional Chinese culture.

A series of folk art performances will be staged to boost the cultural connotations in the course of the country's long history. 

The seminar, which will have the theme of "Folk Art Helping Rural Vitalization and Common Prosperity", will discuss issues like the development and inheritance of folk art, the protection and utilization of marine cultural heritage, as well as the training of inheritors.

The exhibition will run from April 20 to 30, displaying peasant paintings that cover diverse folk cultures and profound historical backgrounds. It aims to promote handmade artworks in Shandong and tell the world the stories of the Chinese people.

During the festival, folk artists will also visit Qingdao Qianwan Port and Dazhushan Mountain scenic area to voluntarily perform for local residents, enriching their spiritual and cultural lives.

The festival has been held for 12 sessions in provinces like Liaoning, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Hubei, Guangdong, Gansu, and Jiangxi.

Dancers perform at previous China Folk Art Festival. [Photo/WeChat account: qdxihaianfabu]