CFP: 2025 Lorefest Folklore Conference

Lorefest is an annual festival combining scholarly research and creative practice inspired by local and “glocal” folklore. It brings together the Texas A&M University student body, their family and friends, and local Bryan/College Station communities culminating in a four-day event. This year, the event will take place October 29–November 1 in College Station, TX.

Lorefest also includes a one-day symposium on Saturday, November 1, 2025, inviting discourse that brings together scholarly research and community interaction, focusing on folklore studies, creative expression, and collaborative opportunities for undergraduates, graduates, faculty, professionals, and anyone with an interest in folklore and the local cultures through which it communicates.

This year’s themes are multiculturalism, animal-themes and motifs, and familial folklore, but the conference is not limited to these themes alone. The organizers are especially interested in presentations that center around performance and practice-as-research. However, any relevant topic will be considered. Some suggested topics include:

• African American Folklore
• Latinx Folklore
• Preservation of Folklore
• Folklore as Creative Inspiration
• Performance Ethnography
• Animal-themed Folklore
• Glocal Folklore
• University-themed Folklore (any university)

Participants should expect 20 minutes for presentations plus a Q&A session as part of the panel. In-person or Zoom presentations can be accommodated. To participate in the 2025 Lorefest folklore conference (symposium), please send an abstract with a maximum of 300 words for papers, panels, or performances to Rich Cooper (rcooper1@tamu.edu) by October 3, 2025. Successful abstract submissions will be announced on October 10, 2025.