Online Events
Online SOFA Series Program Schedule and Archives
The SOFA series began in the deep, dark days of the pandemic, and created a “venue” for a wildly varied, endlessly fascinating, and sometimes surprising roster of presentations. It also won the prestigious BAE Award (Best Acronym Ever): Some Other Folk Arts.
50th Anniversary Sofa Series - 2025
More details and links will be posted as they are finalized. These presentations will be recorded and made available in our Music Shop.
- January 15: The Origin Story of the Folk Arts Center
- March 19: Community at the Core of the Folk Arts Center
- Other programs will follow throughout the year.
View the FAC event calendar for more upcoming online events
Access to these and many other past SOFA Series programs can be found in the Music Shop.
SOFA Series Archives
2024
- May 23: Inspirational Women: the Researchers Who Worked with Cecil Sharp (Alex Cumming)
- May 30: The 1914 Lowell Tango Trial (Ruth Evans)
2023
- January 12: Meet the Band with Gogofski
- January 26: The Story of Chinese Writing with Paul Tong & Siu-ching Lui
- February 23: The Wild History of Cocktails with Richard Powers
- March 11: Ukrainian Folk Costumes with Vera Sukhorukova and Oleksii Kryvenko
- September 14: Aloha Thursday with Kumu Hula Kawika Alfiche & Friends
- October 5: For the Love of GuZheng with Master Weishan Liu and Anna Wong
- December 14: The Art of Jewish Papercutting with Rachel Asarnow
2022
- January 6: From the Solstice to Twelfth Night with John Roberts
- January 20: Balkan Costumes with Ron Wixman
- February 10: Chinese Watercolor Brush Painting with Paul Tong and Siu-ching Lui
- February 24: Balkan Romani Music and Dance: Heritage, Profession, Commodity with Carol Silverman
- March 10: Nostalgia Night Through the Magic of Movies with Ahmet Lüleci
- March 24: Ballads Across the Atlantic with John Roberts and Sara Grey
- April 7: More Than Skin Deep: The Significance of Tattoos with Fade Meraki
- April 14: The Music Man: Behind the Accordion with Tom Pixton
- April 30: Direct from Kyiv: Ukrainian Wedding Towels with Vera Sukhorukova
- May 3: Direct from Kyiv: Ukrainian Egg Decorating with Vera Sukhorukova
- May 12: "Can You Stop the Birds from Singing" - Preserving Afghan Music with Louise Pascale
- June 16: Ladarke Workshop with Julia Poirier and Friends
- October 27: Diary of a Dowry: Balkan Textiles from Sheep to Wedding with Miriam Milgram
- December 1: A Musical Evening with Audrey and Ben Jaber
- December 15: Folk Religion and Practices: in Ashkenazi Judaism, Christianity, and Islam with Ron Wixman
2021
January 2021
- January 7: Soups for the Soul with Barbara Model
- January 21: FAC Game Show
February 2021
- February 4: Crafters Panel: Susan Lind-Sinanian (Armenian embroidery), Regina Laskowski (Polish wysinanki), and Liz Levin (Balkan embroidered clothing)
- February 18: Hungarian Cooking with Dénes Takácsy
March 2021
- March 4: Sing-along with Matt and Joan Shear
- March 18: Vävstuga Textiles–A Nordic Journey with Becky Ashenden
April 2021
- April 1: Czech Spring Traditions with Jan Pumpr
- April 8: Wycinanki Workshop(Polish papercuting) with Sue Van Wassenhove (collaboration with the NFO Annual Conference)
- April 22: When Spring Comes to Romania with Dorina Nimigean
May 2021
- May 6: Cook and Kibitz with Barbara Model
- May 20: From Bulgaria to Boston with Nadia Ullman
June 2021
- June 3: From Petroglyphs to Pottery with Ann Schunior
- June 17: Textile Detective: Cultural Clues from Fabric Fragments with Miriam Milgram
July 2021
- July 22: Intangible Beauty: What Dress Traditions Reveal About Self and Identity with Paula Davis
September 2021
- September 9: The Complete History of Square Dancing, Abridged with Tony Parkes
- September 30: The SongCatcher: Olive Dame Campbell with Alex Cumming
October 2021
- October 14: Faith and Folktales: Russian Storytelling Through Image with Laura Garrity-Arquitt of the Museum of Russian Icons
- October 28: FAC Game Show 2.0
November 2021
- November 4: Balkan Women’s Culture with Ron Wixman
- November 18: The Entwining of Bobbin Lace and Dance with Sally Jenkins
December 2021
- December 9: Balkan Singalong with Henry Goldberg
2020
September 2020
- September 10: Dance History of the Ragtime, Jazz, and Swing Eras (rebroadcast) with Richard Powers
- September 17: Georgian Cooking Workshop with Bennett Clifford
- September 24: Estonian Craft Experience with Kathryn Black
October 2020
- October 1: Armenian Puklavah Baking Workshop with Susan Lind-Sinanian
- October 8: Meet the Band: An Evening with Zdravets
- October 15: Salads from What You Have with Barbara Model
- October 22: Beads without End with Martha Forsyth and Pat Iverson
- October 29: Bulgarian Travelogue, Part I with Pierre Neville
November 2020
- November 5: Guy Fawkes Adventure with Susan Worland
- November 12: CanCan, Apache, and Tango Storytelling (reprise) with Richard Powers
- November 19: Bulgarian Travelogue, Part II with Pierre Neville
December 2020
- December 3: Norwegian Cookie Baking with Mary Seim
- December 10: Balkan Sing-along with Henry Goldberg
- December 17: Christmas in Czech Republic with Jan Pumpr