Fresno has been selected to host the inaugural Great Valley Gathering, a free three-day festival celebrating the cultural traditions and communities of California’s Central Valley.

The Alliance for California Traditional Arts will present the festival Oct. 2-4 at Courthouse Park, 1100 Van Ness Ave., in collaboration with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

The event will feature traditional music, dance, crafts, foodways, Native cultural practices, community conversations, storytelling, and other activities highlighting traditions from the Tulare Basin to the Sacramento Valley.

Fresno was selected as part of the Smithsonian’s “Of the People” initiative, a national program tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary. The Great Valley Gathering is one of approximately 40 gatherings across the United States selected to participate.

“The Great Valley Gathering is a festival of the people, by the people, and for the people of the Central Valley. That is the idea of cultural democracy, where every person has a right to create, shape, and share their own cultural meaning,” said Amy Kitchener, executive director of ACTA and festival director.

The festival will begin at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, with food and performances. An opening ceremony is scheduled for 5:15 p.m., followed by an evening concert featuring three bands performing regional Mexican music.

Fresno’s Fashawn to Perform

Programming will run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday across four stages and additional activity areas. The day will conclude with the Great Valley Cypher, featuring Fresno hip-hop artist Fashawn and guests from multiple genres.

Sunday programming will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Valley Roots Stage will feature music and dance, including Indigenous Mixtec chilena band Los Hijos de San Juan, Armenian musician and National Heritage Fellow Richard Hagopian, and Laotian ensemble Sieng-Khaen-Lao, led by National Heritage Fellow Bounxeung Synanonh.

Other areas will offer participatory dance and music, community conversations, Native language and cultural traditions, basket weaving, storytelling, acorn food traditions, food demonstrations, and crafts.

The Hands on Heritage area will feature artisans including lowrider engravers and painters, cowboy boot makers, and Hmong textile artists.

Festivalgoers also will be able to record what they consider their own “self-evident truths” at the Smithsonian’s “We Hold These Truths” booth. The recordings will be archived at the Smithsonian.

“Against a culture of isolated consumption — solitary meals, curated feeds, watching life on screens — the Great Valley Gathering offers a way to come together,” Kitchener said.

The Great Valley Gathering is free and open to the public all three days. Additional programming and event details are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

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