Online volunteer registration opens today for the 82nd National Folk Festival, a FREE, three-day event, launching in downtown Jackson, November 7-9, 2025. This year marks the first of the festival’s three-year residency in Jackson.
With over 800 volunteers needed for the festival to run smoothly, volunteer recruitment is key to the event’s success. Projected attendance is 60,000-80,000 for the 2025 festival.
“I’m incredibly excited to engage the Jackson community through our volunteer program, which will play a vital role in building the kind of civic pride that we want to see,” says Local Festival Manager Thabi Moyo. “This inaugural cohort of volunteers will help shape the tone and spirit of the festival, creating an experience that reflects the warmth and hospitality Mississippi is known for—and I couldn’t be more thrilled to help build a team that understands and embodies that.”
There are dozens of opportunities for all ages to get involved, from Backstage Support to Beverage Sales, Participant Transportation, Bucket Brigade, Merchandise, and more. People may choose what positions they’re interested in as well as their preferred time slots when registering online. Average volunteer shifts are three to four hours, and volunteers may sign up for more than one shift over the course of the weekend. All volunteers will be asked to attend a rally and orientation session; some volunteers will also participate in an additional training session.
Volunteers may sign up individually or with groups of friends or coworkers. The festival is a wonderful place for your family, school, office, church, or community organization to volunteer as a group.
“Volunteering offers a unique opportunity to pull back the curtain and contribute to all the moving parts that make a large-scale national event possible,” continues Moyo. “My hope is that folks come back year after year to be part of it.”
Each volunteer will get a National Folk Festival volunteer t-shirt, receive service hours, and gain a wonderful sense of community pride—PLUS, make new friends and create unforgettable memories!
To learn more and to register, prospective volunteers can visit nationalfolkfestival.com/volunteer, or email Festival Volunteer Coordinators Macy Russell and Courtney Jones at volunteers@nationalfolkfestival.com with any questions.
For more information on the Festival, visit nationalfolkfestival.com. To engage on social media:
- Facebook: facebook.com/NFFJackson
- Instagram: instagram.com/NFFJackson
The National Folk Festival is a partnership of the National Council for the Traditional Arts, the City of Jackson, Visit Jackson, Downtown Jackson Partners, the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership, the Community Foundation for Mississippi, the Mississippi Arts Commission, the Mississippi Humanities Council, Visit Mississippi, and the National Park Service. The festival is FREE to the public.