Radost Folk Ensemble

07/20/2026

Welcome to our newest company member, Jimothy!

07/16/2026

One of our important founding members, Scott Nagel, passed away on Monday. Anyone who saw Scott onstage remembers his full commitment to the performance. He held nothing back, and set the bar for the rest of us by showing his passion for dancing and connecting with the audience. But there's more: all of us love dancing and cherish folklore, but who is willing to put the time in to apply to festivals, write grants and press releases, book shows, etc.? Scott did all of that for the first 20 years of Radost. And that was before email! So many of those good old memories, the opportunities for road trips and concerts, that we celebrated recently at our 50th Anniversary concert, were orchestrated by Scott seeing to all the details. With gratitude, we remember Scott Nagel.

Scott Nagel oversaw the Folklife Festival's growing pains and the broadening of its scope from Northwest offerings into music and food from all over the globe.

06/20/2026

Happy birthday Linda Folkers! May the year ahead be filled with this much joy.

05/24/2026

Former Radost artistic director Penny Orloff died on Tuesday, May 19 after a traffic accident. Penny was our artistic director in the early 2000s, and a generous supporter ever after. Penny was a can-do dream big kind of person. As a Juilliard trained opera singer, she expected more of us as vocalists and performers. She produced our Heirloom CD. She did her best to meet our needs in big and small ways, whether writing grants and getting us more shows to bringing a spread of snacks to every rehearsal. She recognized that we were a special kind of multigenerational community and organized a gallery showing of our baby quilts. We have lost a dear friend.

04/30/2026

Happy International Dance Day!