The Lowell Folk Festival is the longest-running and second-largest free folk festival in the United States, held across downtown Lowell, Massachusetts on the last full weekend of July. It grew out of Lowell's three years hosting the National Folk Festival (1987-1989) and has run annually since 1990. Programming spans traditional music, dance, craft demonstrations, street parades, dance parties and foods from around the world on multiple outdoor stages. It is produced by six partners including the City of Lowell, Lowell National Historical Park and the National Council for the Traditional Arts, and draws over 100,000 visitors.