LOWELL, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The 38th annual Lowell Folk Festival, held over the weekend, attracted a diverse crowd from New England and beyond.
The free event featured traditional music, dance, arts and crafts, and a mix of foods from different cultures.
Big crowds attended the festival all three days.
Festival organizers said the festival brings people to the city's downtown area, generating interest in Lowell's rich history.
Rev. Ginger Solaqua of St. Anne's Episcopal Church, one of the festival's performance sites, said she appreciates the added interest in her 201-year-old church.
"We heard a lot of people say that they walk by the church every day or they've driven by the church a million times and they've never been in," she said. "They actually thought it was a museum and never realized it's an actual living community."
St. Anne's was just one of many places in and around downtown Lowell that got additional exposure from people attending the festival.
"It was really fun to spend the day outside on the church lawn welcoming people not just from all over the state but from Connecticut, from Rhode Island, from all over. They come to downtown Lowell, and they leave with a big smile," Solaqua said.
Festival organizers said Lowell is one of the largest free folk festivals in the country.
WBZ NewsRadio's Carl Stevens (@CarlWBZ) reports.