“Folk” is much more than a title slapped in front of music or artwork. Pry into the word “folk” with a good pair of mental pliers and you’ll find the stories of our contemporaries and ancestors’ lives. You’ll find the stories of your hometown and cities far away. These stories are told through mediums such as folklore, folk music and folk art. And this folklife is celebrated at festivals across the world in cities big and small, from the South Indian Folk Festival of Kerala in Thrissur, India, to the University of Chicago Folk Festival in Chicago. These folk festivals are full of everything from the sounds of strumming guitars, to the spoken words of local poets.