The Folkmoot Board of Directors bestowed Rolf Kaufman with the Alan Brown Award amid thunderous applause at Sunday’s farewell performance in Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska. The award is the organization’s most distinguished honor and is given to those who make extraordinary contributions to support Folk-moot in its mission. It has only been given four times in the festival’s 22-year history.

Kaufman has been involved with the festival since its conception in 1983 and during that time has served in every position on the board of directors and has worked in many other areas behind the scenes.

“Rolf’s leadership and guidance has enabled Folkmoot to be recognized nationally and internationally as an outstanding festival of folk music and dance, cultural awareness and cultural exchange. The entire Folkmoot community is forever indebted,” said Folkmoot President Linda Manes during the awards ceremony.

Kaufman’s response was a mixture of surprise, humility, appreciation and humor.

“It’s not often I am speechless, but this is beyond words. I always thought in the past the Alan Brown award was something presented to someone about to retire. I am of retirement age, but I’m not quite ready to leave Folkmoot,” said Kaufman.

Kaufman served this year as Folkmoot’s treasurer and director of group relations, a job that required him to recruit and coordinate the two-week stay of 11 international groups. He did this work as a volunteer when Folkmoot was without an executive director.

“He spent an inordinate amount of time faxing, emailing and calling on the phone at all hours of the night. But we did not have any of the visa problems we’ve had in the past and all our groups showed up. He is the reason we have nearly 400 international guests in the Friendship Center,” said Folkmoot Past President George Escaravage.

The award derives its name from a man who directed a similar festival called Folkmoot in Newcastle, England. Brown was so impressed with Dr. Clinton Border’s vision of creating a similar festival here in Haywood County that he suggested Border use the same festival name.

— By Greg Sessoms