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From Head to Toe: Adorn & Protect
These are just some of the craft artists and traditions you will find at this year’s Lowell Folk Festival in the Folk Craft area of Lucy Larcom Park. They craft a variety of gear to progect and...
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Polish rosettes for a crowd
Early on the morning of July 25, just days before this year’s Lowell Folk Festival, members and friends of the Lowell Polish Cultural Committee were at the Dom Polski hall on Lakeview Avenue busy...
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Christmas Tradition in Nonantum: La Befana flies in from Italy
Several years ago, I noticed a hand-crafted sign above the door of a small public library. The building is located in heart of Nonantum, an Italian American neighborhood in Newton, Massachusetts....
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Fried dough, anyone?
Bread may be the staff of life, but fried dough is its treat. Fried dough is often associated with summer fairs and carnivals, where it’s made in vats of hot oil. But this seemingly generic food has...
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Carving Traditions on Display
Come to this summer’s Lowell Folk Festival next weekend and seek out the Folk Craft & Foodways area, which is located in Lucy Larcom Park, not far from Boarding House Park. Under the shade of big...
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Watch Live webcast of National Heritage Fellows Concert
We are coming up on the last week of September, which means it’s time for the annual feting of our country’s National Heritage Fellows. This year’s fellows include former Massachusett’s resident and...
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Children’s paper Lore at the Lowell Folk Festival craft area
Children have traditional ways of playing with each other: telling knock-knock jokes; playing store, tag, or make-believe; posing riddles; playing pranks; and creating playthings out of what is at...
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The art of Polish paper cut design
Susan Urban practices the Polish art of wycinanki (paper cut design). She also makes cut paper dolls wearing costumes from different regions of Poland. Generations of West Springfield school children...
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Mexican Piñatas by Angelica Ortiz
Perhaps you’ve tried breaking open a piñata at a birthday party, but did you know that this paper mache object has roots in religion? The Spanish brought the tradition of piñatas to Mexico, to help...
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Recycling festival T-shirts to make paper!
Drew Matott had an “aha” moment when he first realized paper could be made from old clothes. He and Margaret Mahan have gone on to bring the transformative experience of hand paper making to people...
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