New Jersey Folk Festival Program Book 2013 Apr. 2013 | Page 2

Dear Friends,
There is nothing quite like that goose bump-inducing moments when you look out onto dew-kissed
field of the Eagleton Mansion on that fateful morning every April, thinking: “Wow, I did this”. Soon
Woodlawn will be teeming with festivalgoers; sitting on the grass listening to the singer-songwriter
contest winners perform, taking part in a jam session, wandering up and down the craft aisle of one
hundred vendors, waiting for a pony ride, or sampling foods from Jamaica to Wisconsin to everywhere
in between. But now, right now in this moment, all is quiet. An entire year of planning, prepping, and
publicizing has come down to the next nine hours.

I spent a tremendous amount of time amongst the Douglass pines during my childhood, specifically
attending the Festival on the last Saturday of every April. As it was such an integral aspect of my
childhood, I always felt that working with the Festival should be a part of my collegiate experience. I
have been on the student staff of the Folk Festival for the past three years since my first year at the the
University, and it is by far the most rewarding expereince of my undergraduate career.
Established in 1975, the New Jersey Folk Festival is the oldest continuously run folk festival in the State
of New Jersey. The mission of the Festival is to preserve and protect the music, traditions, and arts that
make New Jersey and Rutgers so richly diverse with culture. We, as a staff of fourteen undergraduates,
are responsible for continuing the Festival’s mission of celebrating the diverse multicultural and
indigenous folk life of the state. Our team began work in the fall and worked tirelessly throughout the
spring semester under the direction of our Founder and Executive Director Dr. Angus Kress Gillespie
and Associate Director Erin Clarke in order to put the Festival together.
Each year the Festival highlights the traditions, culture, food, crafts and music from a specific heritage
or nation. This year we are proud to celebrate the Garifuna culture. The Garinagu are the descendants of
Carib, Arawak, and West African people, exiled by the British from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent
to Central America. Today, Garifuna people live in Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and the
island of Roatan. In the United States, there are diaspora communities of Garinagu in New Jersey, among
other regions.
We are proud to honor Reverend George Ramon Castillo as our Lifetime Achievement Award winner.
Author of “My Life Between the Cross and the Bars”, he has dedicated over 20 years of his life as Prison
Chaplain for the Federal Bureau of Prisons to the incarcerated, their families, and the staff responsible
for the care and keeping of federal prisoners. No other federal prison Chaplain has written about the
day-to-day experiences of the religious community in prison.
The Festival represents the nexus between the Jersey roots and the global reach of that our University
strives to promote. For me, it represents my biggest contribution to Rutgers; connecting childhood
memories with my collegiate endeavors. For all the stress, late nights, and crisis control that come with
the job, they’re all worth it for those few quiet moments of tranquility Festival morning.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Festival staff and volunteers who make this event
possible every year. I am truly grateful to you all.
Please come back and visit us April 26th of next year as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the New
Jersey Folk Festival and the 350th anniversary of the Garden State!

Gabrielle Rossi
Festival Manager 2013