Family Folk Fest

Family Folk Fest is an annual event for families and children of all ages, hosted by the Bob Dylan Center and Woody Guthrie Center. Throughout the festival, families can enjoy live musical performances, storytelling, arts and crafts, writing activities and educational activities that encourage imagination and self-expression.  Local musicians, teaching artists and community partners lead engaging activities that inspire children to create music and art of their own.

Family Folk Fest is a community event that highlights the role music plays in bringing people together, sharing stories and celebrating diverse voices and cultures. Activities are designed to be accessible and engaging for all ages and abilities.

By combining education, music, and hands-on experiences, Family Folk Fest extends the mission of the Woody Guthrie Center and Bob Dylan Center by welcoming both first time visitors and returning families to experience the impact of music and its ability to inspire positive change.

About Nellie McKay

Nellie McKay emerged on the music scene with Get Away from Me to great critical acclaim, and has since released an eclectic bunch of diverse albums, her songs and sound ranging from jazz to pop to indefinable. She's won a Broadway Theatre World Award for Polly Peachum in The Threepenny Opera, starred in off-Broadway's Old Hats, created musical biographies of Barbara Graham, Rachel Carson, Joan Rivers, & Billy Tipton ('Best Concerts of the Year' - The New York Times). As well as acting in the films PS I Love You, Downtown Express, and Widowbird, Nellie provided music for Rumor Has It, Monster-In-Law, Last Holiday, Gasland, Private Life, & PS I Love You. TV appearances include David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Craig Ferguson, The View, and Jimmy Dore, and her music has been heard on Mad Men, Weeds, Boardwalk Empire, Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, and Nurse Jackie. Nellie was nominated for an Ovation Award for her performance in Ethan Coen's A Play is a Poem at the Mark Taper Forum, and she recently finished a run of Coen's Let's Love with the Atlantic Theater Company. She is a recipient of PETA's Humanitarian Award for her dedication to animal rights.

About Not Boxed In: Luis Flores

Not Boxed In is an interactive cardboard art, engineering, and community installation company that proves everyday materials can yield extraordinary experiences. 

​By taking what most people treat as temporary packaging or garbage and turning it into structural, kinetic, and immersive artwork, Not Boxed In bridges the gap between hands-on engineering, play, and high-level visual art.

Why use Cardboard? It isn’t “just a box” — it's a blank canvas. 

It’s affordable, easy to find, and wildly versatile, which means ideas can move fast from your head to your hands. Cardboard invites experimentation without fear: cut it, bend it, layer it, mess it up, rebuild it. It teaches problem-solving, patience, and imagination while keeping creativity accessible to everyone, any age, any socio-economic background. Plus, reusing cardboard gives everyday waste a second life, turning something overlooked into something meaningful. From simple crafts to full-on installations, cardboard proves that creativity isn’t about expensive materials — it’s about vision.

Woody Guthrie wasn't just a singer; he was an advocate for the everyday person, a champion of accessible art, and a believer in using simple tools to make a big impact. Here is how what Woody stood for directly mirrors the mission of "Not Boxed In."

Woody grew up in Oklahoma and spent the Great Depression watching working-class families make a life out of scraps, hand-me-downs, and grit. He famously played a cheap guitar, used whatever paper he could find to draw and write, and believed art didn't belong in elite galleries—it belonged to ordinary people using everyday materials.

By taking "worthless" packaging and transforming it into art, utility, or structural design,  Not Boxed In embodies Guthrie’s spirit of reclaiming everyday materials and creating beauty without needing high-end, corporate-sanctioned supplies. 

A cardboard box is designed to constrain, contain, and standardize. Taking that material and building something outside its original geometry proves that boundaries are flexible. Not Boxed In proves that a humble material isn't "boxed in" by its original purpose, just as people shouldn't be defined by their circumstances.

Upcycling gives a second life to materials that would otherwise end up in landfills, honoring the land by reducing waste and encouraging conscious creation.

About Scraps Design

Scraps Designs is a placemaking design firm based in Tulsa, Oklahoma that uses public art, consulting and education to create connections, people to place, and people to people, and build stronger communities through art and interaction in public spaces. 

The Pop-Up Playscape is a loose parts playset built from reclaimed materials that generates moments of spontaneous creativity, collaboration, and connection in all kinds of communities.

About Rosemary Daugherty

Rosemary Daugherty is a Tulsa based artist and founder of Moonlight Art Factory.  Known for her colorful style,  she loves making art accessible and fun for people of all ages. She regularly brings her creativity into the community through workshops, festivals, and family programming.

She will lead participants in an interactive art activity. 

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