Its not a very universally familiar organization, unless you are somehow asociated with it. When people talk about The Folk School, the typical response is, huh, what is it? or What is this, is it here? What do they do? Is it a charter school ? I mean, you name it and I have heard it! Do they teach kids arts and crafts? Well yes and so much more.
The truth is that The Folk School is an incredible Fairbanks institution, full of really friendly, talented people from a broad range of backgrounds. It’s a non-profit collective that teaches lots of arts, traditional crafts, outdoor skills of all kinds, building and crafting skills such as carpentry, blacksmithing, tool maintenance, etc. A place like a folk school provides a venue to share what you know and pass lifetimes of knowledge through generations. All are welcome, all ages are welcome and no prerequisites are required unless one is taking an advance segment of a class. The Folk School offers classes and programs for all ages in a wide variety of hands-on disciplines including: traditional crafts, woodworking, fiber arts, boat building, wilderness skills, visual arts, music, farming, gardening, food preservation, log construction, and so much more!
Folk School is open year around, one of the foundational programs of The Folk School is Week in the Woods. This program stemmed from the idea that it is important to know the context of the materials we use in craft. Rather than make an object from materials you purchase in a store, it is far more informative and fun to harvest the materials yourself.
At Week in the Woods (as well as in many other Folk School classes) you learn how to identify, select, and responsibly harvest materials from your surroundings. As you continue to learn your craft, you continue to learn more about the environment. As you become more intimate with your surroundings, you become a better steward of the land.
Most workshops come at a (fair) price, but they offer sliding scales for most of their fees. There’s frequently open-house style craft nights that are free, and a great way to meet new people in a very chill environment.At The Folk School they strive to inspire and empower students of all ages through the process of learning new skills that foster a connection to the land and community in which we live. It is their belief that this kind of education serves to build resilience in a changing world and cultivates stewardship for the natural world around us.
Some interesting class offering are, Introduction to Letterpress printing, Introduction to Whittling, Beginning Woodcut Printmaking, Block porinting on Fabric and many many more.
We are fortunate to have The Folk School in our Community, educating, teaching, creating, and connecting people to land, resources and to each other. There is a sense of achievement when one makes something with their own hands. When a basket is finished, it uplifts the spirits and this sense of accomplishment.
Visit them at Cabin 66, Alaskaland, Fairbanks or at their webiste https://folk.school/