... just an addendum, from the NW Folklife web page here (I missed this in my first reading). "There are no headliners and all of the performers play for free". And "Visitors from all over the world come to Seattle Center to take part in the weekend's activities, but the focus remains local--all performers hail from communities in the Northwest. The Folklife Festival is a truly Northwest experience, our diversity and our commonality told through music and dance". However, that seems at odds with much of what I observe - there are 'headliners,' not all perform for free, nor are all performers from the Pacific Northwest region.

S. in Seattle