Welcome to the pages of the WA Folk Federation.
The WAFF was established in 1970 with the principle aim of promoting Folk Music and Dance in WA and attracting the National Folk Festival to WA which we hosted in 1978 in Fremantle & 1985 at The University of WA. The National Folk Festival, held over the Easter Weekend, is now located in Canberra with a featured state each year.
We became an incorporated body in 1974. We serve the entire state, although predominantly the Perth Metro area, and have done so for more than five decades. The WAFF is working now to reinvigorate itself and redefine its role in promotion of folk performing arts in Western Australia, including music, dance, yarns and poetry. In the coming months we promise many new and exciting developments. Join us as we work to elevate understanding and appreciation for folk music, poetry, dance, and story-telling.
On 24th November 2025 we had our AGM where we voted unanimously for Carmel Charlton and Eric Hancock to become Life Members. This decision was made due to the outstanding effort of running Jackadders Music Club for over 20 years. Also Carmel has a massive portfolio of songs she has written performed and recorded highlighting Western Australia. We felt this was a well deserved accolade.
We also voted in a new committee, which was a bit of a shuffle of personnel. Phil Gray is the new Chairperson, John Ralph is back as Vice Chair, Rob Oats stays on as immediate past chair. Check out the details by clicking on the committee tab.
In 2021 we came together with Hillarys Boat Harbour to present the 2nd Folk on the Water Festival running over the whole weekend 16th & 17th October. We will once again showcased West Australian talent with a diverse array of acoustic styles. For info on the acts click on the tab on this page.
WAFF Affiliated Folk Clubs
WAFF supports new and existing WA Folk Clubs through affiliation. Affiliated clubs can receive benefits though WAFF such as APRA license fees and other assistance. Affiliated clubs are asked to pay WAFF a small membership fee yearly to help cover expenses for club license coverage. WAFF can and sometimes does help with managing clubs and finding performers.
If you would like to start a folk club we are here to help you!
Currently one club is officially run under the banner of the WAFF (Wanneroo Folk Club &) and a number of others are affiliated.
Breaking News: in February 2025 we are starting up a new music club in Guildford called Swan Acoustic. It will be at the Swan Bowling Club, 9 Attfield St, Guildford WA 6055. It will be an acoustic Blackboard style club. It will be run on 3rd Friday each month. We thanks Phil & Yvonne Gray for getting this up and running. For more info email us at wafolk@hotmail.com. We will set up aanother page soon with more details.
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Wanneroo Folk Club (in Warwick) 2nd Friday of the month Dorchester Hall, 2 Dugdale St, Warwick. |
![]() Ken’s Drawing ![]() The combination of Ken’s & Cindy’s drawings ![]() the colourised version |
How our logo/banner came about |