36th Folk Ball Festival 

Live and in person

January 23-25, 2026

Memorial Union

800 Langdon St  53715

Featuring Lee Otterholt

Folk Ball 2027 will be January 22-24, 2027

Click here to Register! 

Please Register by January 9th to reserve a spot at the group dinner.

Hotel and Parking Information

Featured Teacher: Lee Otterholt

Great Hall Dance Parties with: Yid Vicious Klezmer, Orkestar Sloboda, Szászka, Izvor Orchestra, Orkestar Bez Ime, and Special Guest Band Bulgarika.

Preliminary Schedule

Friday

7:30 - Midnight: Dance Party — DB Polka Express, Slobodo, Yid Vicious

Saturday

10:00 Great Hall: Lee Otterholt (dances of 'Balkans & Beyond')

12:00 Brownbag (TBD)

01:00 

Great Hall: English Country  (caller: Mady Newfield music: Rare Privilege (Maria Terres & Amy McFarland))

Old Madison: Singing (Natalie Nowytski)

Festival: Tanchaz (teachers: Matt & Mita music: Szaszka)

03:00 

Great Hall: Lee Otterholt  (dances of 'Balkans & Beyond')

Old Madison: FolkBall 101  (Michael Kuharski)

Festival: BalFolk (Bob Walser)

5:00 - 7:00: Buffet Dinner

7:00 - Midnight: Dance Party — Izvor, Szaszka, Bulgarika, Orkestar Bez Ime

Also connect with us on Facebook.

Send inquires to info@madfolkball.org or call (608) 571-4389.

Folk Ball is funded entirely by your generous donations.  Come and go freely, but please give as you can.  Help keep this an open celebration for everyone!  Make one full-weekend donation or give at each event you attend.  We suggest the following levels:

Full weekend             $ 150.00

Evening parties         $ 30.00 each

Workshops                $ 20.00 each

Review                       $ 20.00

Brown Bag                 $0

Virtual attendance   $ 15.00 per party

Donations can be made online here.  In addition, The Information Table in Great Hall will accept accept cash, checks, or credit cards.  Checks should be made out to Narodno International Dancers Incorporated.  If you are interested in paying ahead of time, but offline, please e-mail info@madfolkdance.org. Thank you!

Advanced dinner reservations are no longer available online, but a limited number of dinner tickets will be available for purchase at the event on a first-come, first-served basis. Please stop by the information desk when you arrive for details.

Narodno International Dancers Incorporated is a 501(c)3 and donations to it are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.  

Audio Engineering by Lonya Nenashev of Red Square Audio

SPONSORSHIP & SUPPORT

Organization:  Wisconsin Folk Arts Association

                      Madison Folk Dance Club

Academic:   UW Center for Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures

Financial:     Nancy Yugo Memorial Fund

Promotion: WORT 89.9 Community-Sponsored Radio