The Lowell Folk Festival is the second largest free folk festival in the United States. Only Seattle's Northwest Folklife is larger, both in attendance and number of performance stages. It is made up of three days of traditional music, dance, craft demonstrations, street parades, dance parties and ethnic foods. All of this is presented on six outdoor stages throughout the city of Lowell, Massachusetts. It is one of many festivals in the U.S. that originated from the National Folk Festival. Lowell hosted the event from 1987 to 1989, and the locals continued this festival starting in 1990. It is held from Friday through Sunday on the last full weekend of July each year.