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Folklife Festival returns for 47th year

SEATTLE — For the 47th year, The Northwest Folklife Festival returns to Seattle Center for Memorial Day Weekend.

Its return comes after the festival’s future became unclear last year due to funding concerns.

Community support since last summer has kept the festival going.

It’s still one of the largest free folk festivals in the country with more than 6,000 performers on 26 stages.

All the performers will be donating their time for free, and organizers say they hope the visitors who turn up will donate money to the festival.

Festival organizers say less than 20 percent of attendees pay the suggested donation – about $10 per person or $20 per family -- when entering the event.

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So there were fears the festival would either have to end or they would have to start charging admission.

Organizers told KIRO 7 Friday that they were able to get enough support – especially in grants --  from the community to keep it going the way it has been, for now.

"As we have had different features, it had attracted different parts of the community to seek us out as a community resource,” said Reese Tanimura with the festival.

This year, the goal is to raise close to $360,000 to offset the rise in production costs and eliminate the need to cut staff, which they have done in the past.

There is also more than 600 people volunteering at the festival.

If you want to attend, it starts Friday morning at Seattle Center at 11 a.m. and runs through Memorial Day weekend until Monday night.