December 11, 2025: Dr. Dominick Tartaglia

How to Throw a Folk Festival in 10 Easy Steps
Dr. Dominick Tartaglia, State Folklorist for Florida and Director of the Florida Folklife Program

Zoom registration link: https://tinyurl.com/yr7aek62
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1328276392188102/

Every May, the Florida Folk Festival welcomes thousands of festival goers to White Springs, Florida for one of the nation's longest running celebrations of traditional music and arts. The story of the Florida Folk Festival is also the story of the history of ethnographic fieldwork in Florida and the Florida Folklife Program, housed in the Department of State and Tallahassee. State Folklorist Dom will speak about how he and his partners in other state and private agencies prepare for the Florida Folk Festival, which will chart the history of how Florida became a national powerhouse in studying traditions.

Dr. Dominick Tartaglia is the State Folklorist for Florida and director of the Florida Folklife Program, a position he has held since 2021. Dom is a graduate of Indiana University (2019), where he received his PhD in Folklore with a minor in Anthropology and concentration in Food Studies. He is a co-founder and Creative Director of Wisefolk Productions, LLC. He also teaches in the College at Music at Florida State University.