The People’s Folklore Festival returns for a third edition, with a diverse programme of talented artists that is bound to entertain and engage. This 3rd edition, in the 3rd decade of our democracy, will be experienced across 3 cities over 30 days under the theme of Contemplating Freedom, with the #wethefolk tagline. 

The Folklore Festival is a multidisciplinary storytelling celebration of South Africa’s myriad cultures and heritages, as well as an opportunity to practice ways of documenting and archiving our rich customs and traditions. 

This year, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town will be the host cities of the fringe festival as it builds to the main festival on the 14th of September, which will take place at the Women’s Jail at Constitution Hill. 

Launching on the 7th of August, the fringe festival looks to expand the Folklore community through collaborative intimacy, resonant conversations and holding space for diversity and inclusivity. 

The festival which had its debut in 2022, was created by the ‘Indelible Storyteller’ Pilani Bubu and had its inception in the music project ‘Folklore Chapter 1’ which drew from the ideas of heritage, traditional folk music and sentiments of community. Bubu says the album was “talking about identity, culture, heritage. Talking about ourselves as people, our value systems… our rituals, our rites of practice”. All themes and ideas that audiences can expect to encounter in this 3rd edition. ‘Folklore Chapter 2’, which was released in 2023 goes on to explore themes of African spirituality. 

Having understood folklore as “those things that are passed down to generations by word of mouth, different art forms, jokes, tales, proverbs, stories, folktales… a myriad of things, not just music”, it was evident to Babu and her community that the true benefactors of folklore, the youth, were not having enough if any intergenerational dialogue. A realisation which began ‘Folklore for Kids’, ‘Folklore Firesides’ and other sharing platforms which eventually led to the festival as it is now. 

Although the festival began from sonic musings it has grown to house multiple disciplines. Inviting festival goers to enjoy orators, scholars, musicians, authors, photographers and theatre makers alike. For the organisers, the multi-disciplinary is a way of respecting the ever-expanding diversity of folklore. Bubu, explaining the importance of storytelling and archiving African history, says “I think folklore has evolved in general because way back then we didn’t have these technologies to be able to archive. More than anything… I think it’s just an intentional sharing of our stories in order to preserve them through whatever medium.” 

With this year’s tagline #wethefolk, referencing the practices of Black liberation inspired by the Congress of the People, the festival exists as a moment of reflection on 3 decades of democracy and Babu invites us to “come and stand together in community, in gentle ways, to

allow the art to hold us, to allow the conversation to happen in a different way, because we’re not fighting, we’re not protesting, we’re coming together to dig deeper into ourselves and where we are now and where we stand.” 

With such a talented bill of artists and thinkers, you certainly will find something for everyone in the family. Some things to look forward to over the 6 weeks are literary panels, poetry and music performances, workshops, exhibitions and film screenings. 

Authors Busisekile Khumalo and Shafinaaz Hassim join literary patron and leader Lorraine Sithole for a discussion on ‘Writing Women in the now’. An evening of Jazz and Theatre can also be expected where Slindile Mthembu will be screening her award-winning play ‘Re-membering IGAMA’, after which the talented experimental sound artist Siya Makuzeni will be joined by her Trombone and Dallsu Ndlazi. 

Curator, researcher and writer Mpumi Mayisa will guide audiences through a folktale and archiving workshop. Felix Dlangamandla will present ‘Marikana Unframed’ marking the 12th anniversary of the massacre. You can also expect a screening of researcher, archivist, and documentarian Sifiso Khanyile’s award-winning documentaries ‘Uprize’, ‘A New Country’ and ‘Behind The Rainbow’. 

The charismatic guitarist Sibusile Xaba, who recently shared the stage with Andre 3000, is another exciting member of this packed roster of talent. You can especially look forward to the irrefutable South African performance icon and orator mam Gcina Mhlope who will be accompanied by Vangile Gantsho and Moafrika wa Mokgathi. Alongside the team from Logan and Friends, Mhlope will also host an Indigenous instruments and performance workshop for kids. These are but a few items on the fringe festival programme. 

The details for the main festival as well as the Cape Town lineup will be announced at the launch event. In the meantime though, Joburg and Pretoria natives can plan to enjoy themselves at venues such as the National School of Arts (NSA) Theatre in Braamfontein, Workshop 17 in Rosebank, the St Lorient Gallery in Brooklyn, Artistry in Sandton and the famed State Theatre in Pretoria. 

You can access the rest of the programme and ticket information on the Folklore Festival website.