folk culture
Magyar Csipke
The American Hungarian Folklore Centrum (AHFC) was established in 1978 for the purpose of disseminating Hungarian folk culture within the scholarly and public life of North America. This goal is accomplished through the organization of community folklore events, exhibitions, performances and programs to preserve and maintain folk traditions. All programs of the AHFC are bilingual and participation form the general public is one of the most important goals, although some of the programs are organized within the American Hungarian communities. AHFC organizes cultural exhibitions within the surroundings of the American Hungarian Museum, Passaic, New Jersey, folk music and folkdance festivals called the PONTOZO, folkdonce and folk music teaching camp named the Hungarian Folkdance and Folk Music Symposium. Furthermore, on regular basis AHFC organizes performing tours for Hungarian folk artists from Europe. These groups perform in the communities as well as for the general public. AHFC works with other organizations who seek to maintain and present Hungarian folk culture in North America, These include many performing groups and Hungarian community organizations, cultural and civic organizations. The Centrum also maintains relationships with organizations such as the Library of Congress, National Endowments for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities and local non-profit agencies. During its existence AHFC has organized hundreds of events to achieve the above stated goals.