The National Folk Festival has come and gone, and was well-appreciated during its three-year stay. After the Michigan Festival’s recent flop, the Folk Festival was a new and exciting replacement, bringing thousands of visitors and excellent musical performances.

Sadly, the festival is moving on next year to Bangor, Maine. The good news is that East Lansing is thinking of turning the event into a folk tradition with its own version of the festival. A regional folk festival is a great idea.

Considering the enormous success of the national festival.

With luck, the city might be able to use the momentum of the current festival to bring in big acts, possibly combined with some local flavor.

Many of the National Folk Festival’s fans from the Midwest might not be so keen on traveling to Maine next summer, so a regional festival has the chance to bring out a lot of folks looking for the same music they enjoyed for the last few summers.

Plus, the food and other refreshments are great.