Held along the banks of the historic Suwannee River, the Florida Folk Festival has - since its inception in 1953 - been the state's most prestigious cultural event. The purpose of the festival is to celebrate the music, dancing, stories, crafts and food that make Florida unique, and in this spirit, more than 300 nationally-renowned performers grace the festival's stages each year. Festival-goers will be invited to try their hand at playing mandolin, telling 'tall tales', and making pine-needle baskets. They will learn about how to research their family's history and how to call a square dance, and about the importance of native plant and animal species. For food and drink, a huge variety of stalls will turn out collard greens and cornbread, chicken pilau and hoppin' john, shrimp gumbo, gyros and lime fizzes. Visitors to the Sunshine State will be sorely remiss to pass up this ideal opportunity to get to grips with Floridian culture.

Venue: Stephen Foster Folk Culture Centre State Park, White Springs, Florida

Date: 24 - 26 May 2013

Website: www.floridastateparks.org/folkfest