About Us
The Western Canadian Hungarian Folk Festival (WCHFF) was formed in 1979, when the first WCHFF was hosted in Vancouver, BC. Since that date, the festival has grown from the five founding dance ensembles to include as many as fourteen Hungarian folk groups from across western Canada’s four provinces: BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
Our annual festival, which takes place on the Thanksgiving long weekend in October, has been hosted by Hungarian folk groups in every major city of western Canada: Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Lethbridge, Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Vancouver, and Victoria. In 2023, we are proud to mark our 45th annual festival event.
Since its inception, the WCHFF philosophy has been Participation and Education, not Competition. The goals remain true to this philosophy:
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Presenting an annual showcase of Hungarian folk arts groups from across western Canada, including children’s, teens’ and adult performing ensembles
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Providing opportunities for the public to learn from professional guest artists from Hungary via workshops in Hungarian folk dance, folk music, folk singing, and folk crafts
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Promoting Hungarian folk arts performance and presentation across Canada
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Encouraging public interaction with, and participation in, Hungarian folk arts in general
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Educating Canadians about the rich and diverse Hungarian folk culture
In future, the goal of WCHFF Society is to provide an annual scholarship for youth and young adult Hungarian folk artists
(in folk dance, folk music, or folk singing) to pursue further education in their discipline. Anyone interested in contributing to the WCHFFS Scholarship Fund is very welcome to do so!
In 2012, to further support the ongoing activities of the WCHFF, the Western Canadian Hungarian Folk Festival Society was formed as a registered and incorporated non-profit society under the Province of Alberta Societies Act.