There are many dulcimer festivals occurring all across the United States and abroad. Here, we provide a comprehensive list of all major past dulcimer festivals.
For a current list of known dulcimer festivals, click here.
2023
Dulcimer U Winter Weekend
January 5-8, 2023
Lake Junaluska, NC
Dulcimoon
January 13-15, 2023
Virtual
QuaranTUNE 9.0
February 2-5, 2023
Virtual
Central Florida Dulcimer (Mt. Dora Dulcimer Festival)
February 9-11, 2023
The First Baptist Church of Mount Dora
1000 East First Ave. Mt. Dora, Florida 32757
The Mt. Dora Dulcimer Festival sports nationally known instructors for their workshop and a jam-packed schedule full of workshops, vendors, and socials.
Florida Gulf Coast Dulcimer Retreat
February 23-26, 2023
Homosassa, FL
Southern Strings Dulcimer Festival
February 24-25, 2023
Petal, MS
To register, contact Janise Edmiston at janise@edmiston.org or text 601-433-2596
Mountain Dulcimer Music Fest
March 3-5, 2023
Latham, NY
Castaway Music Cruise
March 4-8, 2023
Homosassa, FL
4 Equidistant Dulcimer Day
March 11, 2023
Virtual
24th Annual Workshop for Hammered and Mountain Dulcimer
March 18, 2023
Kansas City, MO
To register, please contact: Linda G. Thomas
Hymnfest
March 18, 2023
Blairsville, GA
To register, please contact: mandytyner.com
Ohio Valley Gathering
March 24-26, 2023
Clarksville, IN
Buckeye Dulcimer Festival
April 19-23, 2023
Ashley, OH
Pocono Dulcimer Festival
April 28-29, 2023
Stroudsburg, PA
Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival
May 6, 2023
Winston-Salem, NC
The Orchestra Symposium
May 29-June 2, 2023
Laurel Springs, NC
QuaranTUNE Dulcimer Festival 10.0
June 1-4, 2023
Virtual
Gebhard Woods Dulcimer & Traditional Music Festival
June 11-12, 2023
Morris, IL
Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamps
June 11-17, 2023 (Old Time and Traditional Week)
June 18-24, 2023 (Bluegrass Week)
Maryville, TN
Kentucky Music Week
June 25-30, 2023
Shepherdsville, KY
11th Annual Dulcimer Week in the Wallowas
July 2-8, 2023
Lake Wallowa, OR
Ozark Roots Festival
July 13-15, 2023
Mountain View, AR
ODPC FunFest
July 13-15, 2023
Evart, MI
Harps and Hammers
August 4-6, 2023
Montrose, CO
For more details about this event, please email: robinfreed@harpsandhammers.com
Gateway Dulcimer Festival
August 3-5, 2023
Fairview Heights, IL
Dulcimer Daze
August 11-13, 2023
Dover, VT
Upper Potomac Fall Dulcimer Retreat
September 8-10, 2023
Shepherdstown, WV
QuaranTUNE Dulcimer Festival 11.0
September 28-October 1, 2023
Virtual
Black Mountain Music Festival
October 14-19, 2023
Black Mountain, NC
North-East Ohio Hammered Dulcimer Weekend
November 3-5, 2023
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
2022
47th Eagle Creek Festival
September 17, 2022
Indianapolis, IN
50th Walnut Valley Festival
September 14-18, 2022
Winfield, KS
Homer Ledford Dulcimer Festival
TBD – Likely August, 2022
Winchester, KY
Redwood Dulcimer Day
August 19-20, 2022
Virtual/Online
Gateway Dulcimer Music Festival
August 5-7, 2022
Four Points by Sheraton Conference Center
Fairview Heights, IL
9am – 11pm daily. Instructional classes for mountain and hammered dulcimer players, autoharp, and ukulele with jamming , vendors, and evening concerts by the instructors.
Ozark Roots Dulcimer Festival
TBD – Likely July, 2022
Mountain View, AR
Dulcimer U Summer Week
TBD – Likely July, 2022
Cullowhee, NC
Dutchland DulciZOOM Gathering
Cancelled for 2022, but will be scheduled for July, 2023!
Virtual/Online
The Original Dulcimer Players Club (ODPC) FunFest
July 14-16, 2022
Evart, MI
A three day, outdoor, family-friendly traditional acoustic music festival. Workshops for all types of instruments and all levels. Evening concerts. Open jamming. Camping. For more info, please visit our website and find us on Facebook. Located at the Osceola County Fairgrounds in Evart, Michigan.
Indiana Dulcimer Festival
July 8-10, 2022
Woodburn, IN
Dulcimer Week in the Wallowas
July 3-9, 2022
Wallowa Lake, OR
Focused on the mountain dulcimer, Dulcimer Week offers morning classes and electives from beginner to advanced, plus evening jams, open mic, staff concert, and July 4th fireworks at the lake. Students have time off each day to rest, practice, or explore the area.
Kentucky Music Week
June 19-24, 2022
1070 Bloomfield Road
Bardstown, KY 40004
Kentucky Music Week offers a full five days of instruction in a wide variety of traditional arts including all levels of fretted dulcimer and hammered dulcimer, classes in ukulele, guitar, banjo, fiddle, autoharp, penny whistle, vocal classes, old-time craft classes, and much, much more! Over 150 class choices are offered this year with something for everyone at this Kentucky dulcimer festival!
Gebhard Woods Festival
June 11-12, 2022
Goold Park, Morris, IL
Concerts, workshops, vendors, jamming and old-time dancing are the order of the day in Morris, just 65 miles from Chicago. Concerts and workshops, held both days, with breakfast and lunch available.
The Crooked Road Dulcimer Festival
May 26-29, 2022 (no festival in 2021)
Ferrum College, Ferrum VA
This is a 3 day festival jam-packed with workshops, mini-concerts and jams. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is available on Friday and Saturday, with breakfast only on Sunday. Festival goers are housed in Dyer Hall and Clark Hall, Ferrum College’s residence facilities. Each room has its own bathroom. Rooms are double occupancy, private rooms are available.
Dulcimers at Halsway
May 23-27, 2022
Crowcombe, Somerset, UK
Hammered Dulcimer Rendezvous
May 19-22, 2022
Sandy, OR
Berea Traditional Mountain Dulcimer Gathering
May 19-20, 2022
Berea College, Berea, KY
Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering
May 13-15, 2022
Virtual/Online
The Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering is a weekend of hands-on workshops on mountain and hammer dulcimers, plus faculty concerts. Classes are aimed at all levels of players, from complete novice to advanced musicians. Local and national music educators, with many decades of teaching experience, bring their skill and knowledge for a fun and engaging gathering. Featuring Wendy Songe, Steve Eulberg, DJ Hamouris, Dusty Thorburn, and more.
Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering
May 13-15, 2022
Virtual/Online
Autoharps and Dulcimers Too!
May 13-15, 2022
Olivebridge, NY
49th Annual Southern Appalachian Dulcimer Association Festival
May 1-7, 2022
McCalla, AL
Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival
TBD – Likely May, 2022
Winston-Salem, NC
Buckeye Dulcimer Festival
April 27-May 1, 2022
Ashley, OH
Pocono DulcimerFest
April 22-23, 2022
Virtual/Online
Held with separate workshops on the mountain and hammered dulcimer and a final concert on Saturday night. Lunch can be purchased at the venue, with dinner on your own. There are 3 hotels in East Stroudsburg fairly close to the venue.
Menucha Dulcimer Festival
April 18-21, 2022
Corbett, Oregon (In-Person)
Join us for 3 days of music-making at the Menucha Retreat and Conference Center. Menucha’s mission is enriching lives through hospitality, learning, reflection and renewal.
Upper Potomac Spring Dulcimer Fest
March 25-27, 2022
Virtual/Online
Palestine Old Time Music and Dulcimer Festival
March 24-26, 2022
Palestine, TX
Mid-Winter Mountain Dulcimer Festival
March 5, 2022
Shelby, NC
Mountain Dulcimer Music Fest
March 4-6, 2022
Latham, NY
Castaway Music Cruise
February 28-March 5, 2022
Tampa, FL
Central Florida Dulcimer & Autohop Festival (Mt. Dora Dulcimer Festival)
February 10-12, 2022 (no festival in 2021)
The First Baptist Church of Mount Dora
1000 East First Ave. Mt. Dora, Florida 32757
The Mt. Dora Dulcimer Festivals sports nationally known instructors for their workshop and a jam-packed schedule full of workshops, vendors, and socials.
Colorado Dulcimer Festival
February 4-5, 2022
3601 West Belleview Ave., Littleton, CO
This dulcimer festival provides an opportunity for players of both the hammered and mountain dulcimers to learn, listen, and share a magical musical experience in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Discounted rates available at Comfort Suites in Lakewood, CO. An evening concert rounds out both days of the festival.
2021
31st North Georgia Foothills Dulcimer Association Fall Festival
November 18-20, 2021
Lodge of the Unicoi State Park resort in Helen, GA
Workshops will be taught for both mountain and hammered dulcimer. Ukulele ones will be added for extra fun because Hawaiian dulcimer instructor Ehukai Teves will be there as well as his wife, the very well known Lois Hornbostel. The other instructors are Joe Collins, Matthew Dickerson, Nancy Galambush, Judy and Rick House, Anne Lough, Jim Miller, Michael Shull, Rick Thum, and Mary Lynn van Deventer. In addition, there will be faculty concerts Thursday and Friday nights; a student/faculty band playing for a contra dance Saturday night; jamming all over the place day and night; vendor, luthier, and swap tables; and a Sunday morning gathering. You can eat and stay at the Lodge or at the many motels/hotels and restaurants in nearby Alpine Helen. Cabins and camping sites are available in addition to the lodge rooms.
The Stephen Foster State Park Dulcimer Retreat
November 13, 2021
Online (the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park is not yet open for indoor gatherings)
A weekend of fun and fellowship along with workshops, jam sessions and evening concerts. The Stephen Foster State Park Dulcimer Retreat will be hosted by dulcimer master, David Beede. The retreat will offer in-depth instruction and techniques on the mountain dulcimer and hammered dulcimer instruments. Traditional music is celebrated with workshops offered for beginning, intermediate and advanced students, taught by nationally recognized instructors. Registration begins October 1 for this one day event on Saturday, November 13
11th Annual New Mexico Dulcimer Festival (Stay at Home!)
October 15 – 16, 2021
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Departing from our normal 2-day in-person festival with a host of different activities, one day online (stay at home) festival including Zoom webcam mountain and hammered dulcimer workshops throughout the day and a prerecorded evening concert by our teaching staff.
Mountain dulcimer: Lance Frodsham (Vancouver, WA), Butch Ross (Signal Mountain, TN), Irma Reeder (Albuquerque, NM). Hammered dulcimer: Joshua Messick (Black Mountain, NC), Katie Moritz (Yorkville, IL), Karen Alley (Winnipeg, Canada), Scott Reeder (Albuquerque, NM)
Sponsors: AppleMtnMusic.com, City of Albuquerque Urban Enhancement Trust Fund, and the Music Guild of New Mexico.
The Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival
October 1-3, 2021
Online Festival
Online festival for 2021. Featuring the extraordinary Cristian Huet from France and National Champion Grant Olson on mountain dulcimer, the elegant MiMi Hashizume from Japan, and legendary third-generation player Bill Robinson on hammered dulcimer. More than 80 workshops for all levels of players, embracing traditional, contemporary, and international music. Three concerts, vendors, and as much of a being-there social vibe as we can create online.
Ouibache Music Festival
September 24-25, 2021
Tippecanoe County Amphitheater
4449 State Road 43 North
West Lafayette, IN 47906
The Ouibache Music Festival is a roots music festival that takes place the last full weekend in September at the beautiful Tippecanoe County Amphitheater in West Lafayette, Indiana. Musicians from all over the world will gather to play tunes, share stories, and commune with one another. The laid back attitude of the festival allows musicians of all types and skill levels to take time away from the daily routine of life and just enjoy the sweetness of playing a guitar or singing a song.
Gateway Dulcimer Music Festival
August 6-8, 2021
Four Points by Sheraton Conference Center
Fairview Heights, IL
Featuring Mike Anderson, Joe Collins and Lorinda Jones on Mountain Dulcimer. Janis Huff, Rick Thum and Mark Alan Wade on Hammer Dulcimer; Debbie Porter on Mountain Dulcimer & Ukulele; Karen Daniels on Autoharp and Danny Shepherd on Percussion Instruments. Concerts Friday and Saturday 7 pm.
Original Dulcimer Players Club Funfest
July 15-17, 2021
Osceola County Fairgrounds, Evart, MI
The ODPC Funfest is billed as the largest gathering of hammered dulcimer players in the world. In addition to the dulcimer, all acoustic instruments are welcome at the festival. This is a camping event. Bring your tent. Food and drink are available from vendors.
Ozark Roots Dulcimer Week
July 16-18, 2020
Wildflower Bed & Breakfast
106 E. Washington
Mountain View, AR 72560
Workshops, jams, and many other events will be held in the Court Square. This is the first year for this festival. Info at cssmith13364@gmail.com.
Menucha Mountain Dulcimer Fest
April 19-21, 2021 (2022 date not yet announced)
38711 East Historic Columbia River Highway, Corbett, OR
If you can’t make it for the full 3 days, consider just coming for Saturday, a one-day “Dulcimersion” day designed for beginners new to playing the instrument. Breakfast, lunch and dinner available Thursday-Saturday. Overnight housing is included in admission for the full festival.
2019-2020
Ohio Valley Gathering
March 13-15, 2020 (no festival in 2021, will resume in 2022)
Radisson Hotel Louisville North (Clarksville, IN)
There are is plenty of time to socialize and jam through the Fiddle Walk (bring your tiara, feather boas, beads, gloves, the works)! 40 plus vendors will be selling handmade music instruments and related items all weekend. Be sure to talk to the builders, listen to the sounds, try out, and buy new instruments, and ask for help from the luthiers with any dulcimers (or other instruments)! It’s one of the most popping Kentucky dulcimer festivals!
The 21st Annual Mid-Winter Dulcimer Festival
March 7, 2020 (2021 date not yet announced)
LeGrand Center
1800 East Marion Street
Shelby, NC 28150
The 21st Annual Mid-Winter Dulcimer Festival is a one-day mountain dulcimer festival with workshops for every level of player. It features 24 workshops from which participants can choose 4. There are two great concerts and lunch as well!
Southern Strings Dulcimers Festival
February 21-22, 2020 (2021 date not yet announced)
1123 Hwy 42, Petal, MS
This is a 2-day festival held all day on a Friday and Saturday with an open mic performance on Friday night. Workshops on both the ukelele and the dulcimer are offered. Lunch and dinner available both days.
Winter Dulcimer Weekend
January 3-5, 2020 (2021 date not yet announced)
Bardstown Middle School
410 N 5th St, Bardstown, KY 40004
This 3 day Kentucky dulcimer festival features over 9 hours of instruction on the dulcimer and ukulele. The Ramada offers 2 hot breakfast buffets with a lunch and supper buffet on Saturday and a lunch buffet on Sunday.
24th Annual Heartland Dulcimer Fest
November 1-2, 2019 (canceled for 2020, 2021 date not yet released)
First Christian Church, 1811 N. Miles St
Elizabethtown, KY 42701
A fun Kentucky dulcimer festival including a wide range of guest artists and instructors with opportunities to meet and greet. There are also workshops, lunch and dinner options, and instrument rentals.
The Great American Dulcimer Convention
September 27-28, 2019 (canceled for 2020, 2021 date not yet announced)
University of Kentucky’s 4-H Center in Jabez, KY
The Great American Dulcimer Convention has become an annual showcase of old, new, traditional, and cutting edge music for lap and hammered dulcimers at this Kentucky dulcimer festival. Many audience members return every year, so it’s like a family reunion for dulcifolk, as well!
Homer Ledford Dulcimer Festival
August 30-31, 2019 (canceled for 2020, 2021 date not yet announced)
Winchester, KY
The 6th annual Kentucky dulcimer festival features a variety of classes.
Roscoe Village Dulcimer Festival / Coshocton Dulcimer Days Festival
June 14-16, 2019 (not held for 2020, 2021 date not yet released)
Central Ohio Technical College: Montgomery Hall
200 N. Whitewoman St., Coshocton, OH 43812
This is the 44th consecutive year that a dulcimer festival is held in Coshocton, Ohio. The mission of this festival is to preserve a part of our Appalachian heritage by focusing on its music. The main components are the workshops, headliners’ concert, Mid-East Regional Championships, mini-concerts, and jam sessions.
Virginia Beach Dulcimer Gathering
April 13, 2019 (canceled in 2020, 2021 date not yet announced)
691 Princess Anne Rd., Virginia Beach, VA
Tentative light dinner and house concert with a jam on Friday night, April 7. Saturday has workshop classes all day with breaks and lunch at 12:30 pm. The day ends with a concert at 3:30 pm.
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