Western North Carolina "hosts the world" this summer at the North Carolina International Folk Festival, July 13-26.

Also called Folkmoot USA, this year’s 15th annual event will include 400 talented folk dancers and musicians from eleven countries—Belarus, Belize, Chile, Daghestan, Israel, Macedonia, Monaco, North Cyprus, Philippines, Romania and Togo.

Folkmoot USA programs will be in Waynesville, Maggie Valley, Henderson-ville, Mars Hill, Fletcher, Asheville, Franklin, Sylva, Bryson City, and other mountain communities.

Named a Top 20 Event in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society, Folkmoot USA is a colorful, lively event. Dancers wear authentic costumes step and musicians play unique instruments that have been handed down for centuries.

The Festival opens with a July 17 afternoon parade in Waynesville, NC. Waynesville, population 9,500, swells with more than 20,000 visitors attracted by the international performers as well as by more than 100 crafters and food vendors.