Series 30812
Department of Cultural and Community Engagement. Division of Arts and Museums. Folk Arts Program Southern Utah Folklife Festival records, 1977-1989.
6.50 cubic feet
These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.
Historical Note
See history of the records' creator.
Summary of Records
Scope and Content
The Southern Utah Folklife Festival celebrated the rural pioneer and Native American traditions of Utah's Dixie and the surrounding communities of Washington, Iron, and Kane Counties. The annual festival was presented in Zion National Park's Natural History Center on the weekend following Labor Day. The Southern Utah Folklife Festival was organized as a project of the Utah Arts Council Folk Arts Program and co-sponsored by Dixie College, Zion National Park and various local organizations over the years. This series contains fieldwork and documentation of local participants in many areas including folk belief, crafts, performance traditions and community history.
Materials in this series were assigned a project number by the Folk Arts Program, consisting of a three-letter code, creation year, a letter indicating format, and the numerical order of the materials.
Arrangement
Generally by format, thereunder usually by assigned project number.
Access Restrictions
This series is classified as Public.
Use Restrictions
These records are available for reproduction and use.
Preferred Citation
Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.
Custody History
This collection came into the custody of the Utah State Archives and Records Service in 2010 as part of a massive transfer of records from the Folk Arts Program. In 2023 staff from the Folk Arts Program collaborated with the State Archives to bring better intellectual and physical control over that unaccessioned collection.
Acquisition Information
These records were acquired from the creating agency through established retention schedules.
Processing Information
Archival processing of this collection was done by Elizabeth Setterberg from the Utah Division of Arts and Museums and Carlton Jemmett of the Division of Archives and Records Service between June 2023 and July 2025.
Additional processing of this series was done by Katie McGirt between March and September of 2026.
Indexing Terms
Container List
| Box | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Colored photo slides featuring Southern Utah Folklife Festival for years 1977 - 1988. Ranges from SUF-88-S-0001 to SUF-88-S-0008. |
| 2 | Misc. Southern Utah Folklife Festival documents including participant research, correspondence, brochures, finance for years, black and white photo prints 1977 - 1989. |
| 3 | Southern Utah Folklife Festival media including CD's, cassettes, and tapes. Ranges from SUF-77-T-0020 to SUF-88-T-0559. |
| 4 | 27 16mm film reels from Southern Utah Folk Festival including craft/food demonstrations, location shots, Paiute content, etc. |
| 5 | 6 16mm film reels of Four Performances by Ward Atwood, Giffords, Clifford Jake, and Della Turner. Includes mag track and optical print. |
| 6 | One 16mm film reel of Four Performances. |
| 7 | 7 reels of 16mm film. Labeled "Horsehair original color", "Enterprise Gifford 1 and 2", "Stoneman", "4 SUFF Musicians Onelight", "4 SUFF Musicians Color", "Unlabeled" |
| 8 | 26 reels of 16mm film with misc. shots of festival. 7 reel-to-reels from Hal Cannon. |