Teacher and performer Ed Huey of Natchitoches has been named honorary co-chair of this weekend’s Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival.

The 38th annual Natchitoches-Northwestern Folk Festival will be held July 14-15 in Prather Coliseum on the Northwestern State University campus. Festival hours are 4:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Tickets are available at the door for $6 for Friday night, $10 for all day Saturday or $6 for Saturday after 5 p.m.

The 2017 Festival theme “Keeping Tradition Alive!” celebrating the ways in which outstanding artists young and old are tapping into the power and artistry of the old ways, revitalizing and reimagining tradition as they make it their own.

The Festival will feature live Cajun, zydeco, folk, bluegrass, Texas swing, blues, country, rhythm and blues music and more along with crafts, food and informative narrative sessions.

Huey is a teacher and performer of American roots music specializing in early blues guitar and harmonica styles. He is a Northwestern State University graduate in vocal music education and a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga master’s graduate in vocal performance. His versatile education also includes studies at Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, West Virginia, in blues guitar and harmonica.

During his 25-year career as Choral Director at The Baylor School in Chattanooga, Huey was twice honored by the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts as an Outstanding Music Educator. He served as artistic director of the Chattanooga Girls’ Choir and received international recognition when the choir won in Bournemouth. Huey received a Lyndhurst Foundation Grant and gathered field recordings of Mississippi Delta bluesmen. He was recently honored by the Lt. Governor of Louisiana and the Louisiana Folklife Commission as a Louisiana Tradition Bearer sustaining the distinct culture and contributing to the rich diversity of living traditions. Huey continues to learn, teach harmonica and perform. He plays harmonica and sings with Cane Mutiny, the Snake Doctors blues duo with John Litzenberg, and harmonica with the Hardrick Rivers Revue.

Huey will also be one of five artisans and musicians who will be inducted into
the Hall of Master Folk Artists at Northwestern State University Saturday, July 15 as part Folk Festival. The 2017 inductees are: Barbara Franklin of Baton Rouge, Ganey “Pop” Hymes, Huey and Sammy Nix of Natchitoches and Steve Riley of Mamou.

The formal induction will be part of the Folk Festival’s official welcoming ceremonies at 11:15 a.m. in Prather Coliseum.

For more information about the Festival, contact the Louisiana Folklife Center at folklife@nsula.edu or (318) 357-4332.