National Folk Festival highlighting Eastern Shore traditions

SALISBURY, Md. – The National Folk Festival is less than 24 hours away from opening in downtown Salisbury. It’s a festival that’s bringing upwards of 80,000 people and it’s also giving locals a platform to showcase all the Eastern Shore has to offer.

“We’re coming to the Folk Festival, we’re all excited about this weekend and showing the boat off,” exclaims Captain Stoney Whitelock.

Whitelock and his crew are sailing their way up the Wicomico River bringing a boat full of Eastern Shore tradition with them.

“It was built in Somerset County in 1906 and so we do the math that’s 112-years-old and if you look that good at 112 you’ll be blessed.”

This skipjack is just one of many Delmarva staples hitting the spotlight at the National Folk Festival this weekend.

“So we have artists and tradition bearers across Delmarva and even the other side of the bay that are showcasing Chesapeake traditions,” explains Lora Bottinelli, Executive Director of the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art.

It’s a chance for Maryland and especially Delmarva to show off it’s local culture and traditions from food and musicians to museum demonstrations.

Whitelock adds, “We have a tent here for tomorrow for Skipjack Heritage Incorporated and they’ll have a lot of displays of literature and models and questions to our heritage and history of Deal Island.”

“There’s a food way stage where we have cooks from across the Eastern Shore showcasing Eastern Shore fare including crab cakes, oysters, muskrats, scrapple,” explains Bottinelli.

The National Folk Festival is providing an amazing opportunity for the community to build, grow and showcase all Delmarva has to offer.

“It’s a major economic driver but for most people its really a place to come together to celebrate and be happy about the arts and about culture and what’s better than that?”