The Malta Council for Culture and the Arts recently announced the Malta Mediterranean Folk Festival to be held on 6 June at Gharghur and on 9-10 June at Argotti Gardens, Floriana. It will be dedicated to folk singer Frans Baldacchino l-Budaj. This festival is a follow-up of the Malta Folk Singing Festival which has been organised for the past nine years.

The festival will present Maltese folk singing or ghana in its sub-genres: l-ghana spirtu pront (extemporised singing), the most highly developed form revolving round values at the core of Maltese society though singing appears to be focusing on insignificant and banal facts; l-ghana tal-fatt (ballad singing), and 3. l-ghana la Bormliza or l-ghana fil-gholi (singing in high register) sung by two singers (though it could also be sung solo). There is also another genre of oral poetry, handed-down songs, popularly called l-ghana tal-banju (folk singing at the washing fountain), the singing of which is still a living tradition.

The organising committee is also organising a handcrafts exhibition for all artisans and members of the general public to be held in Argotti Gardens, Floriana during the days of the festival. Moreover, the participation of Mediterranean folk groups feature also this year.

This year the organising committee in collaboration with the Koperattiva Kulturali Universitarja is also organising two sessions of Sicilian folk dance workshops on Friday 8 June (5-7.30pm) and Saturday 9 (10am-12.30pm) at the Mediterranean Institute Theatrical Programme (MITP), St Christopher Street, Valletta. It is open to the general public and include leaders of folk dancing groups. Both workshops are free of charge. The workshops will be run by professional folk music teachers and dancers from Messina.