Vancouver Folk Song Society
A Vancouver nonprofit that promotes participatory folk singing, traditional music, and community music-making.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Vancouver Folk Song Society (VFSS) is a nonprofit music organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia, dedicated to the singing, study, preservation, and enjoyment of folk music. Founded in 1959 as the Folk Song Circle, it grew from a small group of friends who met regularly to share traditional songs. The early group included Al Cox, Phil Thomas, Rolf Ingelsrud, and Hilda Thomas. For many years its meetings were held at the YMCA on Alma Street, leading to the informal name “Alma Y Folk Circle.” The society’s central distinguishing feature is participation rather than performance. Although the VFSS has occasionally presented concerts by established folk musicians, including Roy Bailey and Kevin Burke, it is primarily a setting where members and visitors sing, play, teach, listen, and contribute on relatively equal terms. Its activities emphasize informal group music-making rather than a conventional concert model in which professional performers face a passive audience. Songs are commonly shared through group singing, repeated choruses, harmonies, and oral transmission. The VFSS has traditionally maintained a strong interest in ballads and songs from Canada, the United States, and the British Isles. Its musical scope is broader than that core repertoire, however, and has included instrumental music and folk traditions from other parts of the world. Many events are acoustic, without microphones or amplification, and unaccompanied singing is an important part of the society’s culture. The atmosphere is generally intended to be welcoming and supportive, encouraging participants of different levels of experience to join in. The organization has operated through a variety of formats over its history. It meets twice monthly for music events at the Friends Meeting House in south Vancouver and holds an annual folk music retreat outside the city. In the 1970s it expanded beyond regular gatherings through publishing and broadcasting. It issued the periodical Come All Ye from 1972 to 1977 and The Canada Folk Bulletin from 1978 to 1980. Beginning in 1975, it also produced the Folk Circle radio program for CFRO-FM, continuing through the latter part of the decade. From 1977 onward, the society operated the Green Cove Coffee House for several years. Community engagement has been another recurring aspect of the VFSS. Members have participated in or supported peace rallies, labour strikes, and other political or social events. The intensity of this involvement has varied with contemporary politics and member interests, but social awareness has remained a continuing thread in the society’s history. The organization has also supported specialized forms of traditional singing. The Shanty Crew, an offshoot active from 1984 to 2004, performed maritime work songs at the Vancouver Maritime Museum, the Richmond Tall Ships Festival, Vancouver’s Cityfest, and Seattle’s Folklife Festival. The group recorded Blow the Man Down: Tall Ships in the Fraser, a CD accompanied by historical notes on local maritime history. In 2009, VFSS members formed The Lazy Jacks to continue this maritime singing tradition. The society established the vanfolksongs YouTube channel in 2011 to share videos recorded at its events. It marked its sixtieth anniversary in 2019. The VFSS remains primarily a community-based folk music institution: its value lies less in commercial recordings or star-driven programming than in maintaining opportunities for people to sing and make music together.
History
The Vancouver Folk Song Society originated in 1959 when a group of friends in Vancouver began meeting to sing folk songs and exchange traditional music. The founding group included Al Cox, Phil Thomas, Rolf Ingelsrud, and Hilda Thomas. Initially known as the Folk Song Circle, and informally for many years as the Alma Y Folk Circle because of its meetings at the YMCA on Alma Street, the organization developed around a principle of shared participation. Its purpose was not primarily to create a stage for professional performers, but to give ordinary singers and instrumentalists a place to contribute directly to the music. That participatory orientation has remained the defining feature of the society. Its repertoire has traditionally included ballads and songs from Canada, the United States, and the British Isles, while also accommodating instrumental music and folk traditions from a wider range of cultures. Events are commonly acoustic and may include substantial a cappella singing. Rather than treating the audience as passive, the society encourages people to join choruses, harmonize, introduce songs, and learn through collective practice. This approach creates a social environment based on encouragement and shared enjoyment rather than technical competition. The VFSS has occasionally presented concerts by notable folk artists, including Roy Bailey and Kevin Burke, but concert presentation has remained secondary to community music-making. Over time, the organization established a recurring program of meetings, including twice-monthly events at the Friends Meeting House in south Vancouver, as well as an annual folk music retreat outside the city. These activities have provided continuity while allowing the society’s repertoire and membership to evolve. During the 1970s the organization broadened its activities. It published Come All Ye from 1972 to 1977 and The Canada Folk Bulletin from 1978 to 1980. It also produced the Folk Circle radio program for CFRO-FM beginning in 1975 and continuing into the latter part of the decade. For several years from 1977 onward, the society operated the Green Cove Coffee House. These projects extended the organization’s role from a meeting-based singing society into publishing, broadcasting, and local cultural programming. Social and political engagement has also appeared throughout the society’s history. Members have been involved in peace rallies, labour strikes, and related public events. The prominence of this activity has changed according to political circumstances and the interests of participants, but the organization has retained a recurring connection between folk music, community life, and social consciousness. The society’s interest in participatory traditional music has supported specialized projects. The Shanty Crew operated as a VFSS offshoot from 1984 until 2004, performing sailors’ work songs at the Vancouver Maritime Museum, the Richmond Tall Ships Festival, Vancouver’s Cityfest, and Seattle’s Folklife Festival. It recorded Blow the Man Down: Tall Ships in the Fraser, a CD that included detailed historical notes on local maritime history. In 2009, VFSS members formed The Lazy Jacks as a new shanty group continuing that maritime singing tradition. The organization adopted online video distribution in 2011 by establishing the vanfolksongs YouTube channel for footage recorded at its events. It celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in 2019. The VFSS continues to represent a durable model of local folk culture in which preservation, education, performance, and social connection are combined through active participation.
- 2019
Sixtieth anniversary
[1]The Vancouver Folk Song Society celebrated sixty years of activity.
- 2011
vanfolksongs YouTube channel established
[1]The society created an online channel for videos filmed at its events.
- 2009
The Lazy Jacks formed
[1]VFSS members formed The Lazy Jacks to continue the society’s maritime and shanty-singing tradition.
- 2004
Shanty Crew period ends
[1]The Shanty Crew’s documented period as a VFSS offshoot concluded after approximately two decades.
- 1984
Shanty Crew becomes a VFSS offshoot
[1]The Shanty Crew began a two-decade period of maritime-song performances connected with the society.
- 1978
The Canada Folk Bulletin begins publication
[1]The VFSS followed Come All Ye with The Canada Folk Bulletin, which ran through 1980.
- 1977
Green Cove Coffee House period begins
[1]The organization operated the Green Cove Coffee House for several years from 1977 onward.
- 1975
Folk Circle radio program begins
[1]The VFSS began producing Folk Circle for CFRO-FM, extending its music education and community presence into radio.
- 1972
Publication of Come All Ye begins
[1]The society entered folk publishing with Come All Ye, issued through 1977.
- 1959
Founding as the Folk Song Circle
[1]Vancouver friends began regular gatherings for singing folk songs and sharing traditional music, creating the organization that became the Vancouver Folk Song Society.
Products and positioning
A community-centered, participatory folk music society focused on shared singing and traditional music rather than conventional professional concert presentation.
Community music program · 1959
Participatory folk music meetings
The society’s core offering is its recurring gathering format, in which attendees sing, play instruments, teach songs, and join group arrangements. Events prioritize participation and mutual encouragement over a performer-audience hierarchy. Acoustic presentation and unaccompanied singing are common, with repertoire centered on traditional songs from Canada, the United States, the British Isles, and other folk traditions.
Music retreat
Annual folk music retreat
The VFSS holds an annual retreat outside Vancouver devoted to concentrated folk music participation. The retreat extends the society’s regular meeting model into a longer communal setting where members can sing, share repertoire, and spend sustained time with traditional and contemporary folk material.
Folk music periodical · 1972
Come All Ye
Come All Ye was a periodical published by the Vancouver Folk Song Society from 1972 to 1977. It represented the organization’s effort to document, circulate, and discuss folk music beyond its in-person gatherings.
Folk music periodical · 1978
The Canada Folk Bulletin
The Canada Folk Bulletin followed Come All Ye and was published by the society from 1978 through 1980. It provided another publishing outlet for the VFSS’s folk music community and interests.
Radio program · 1975
Folk Circle
Folk Circle was a radio program produced by the VFSS for CFRO-FM. Beginning in 1975 and continuing through the late 1970s, it extended the society’s folk music activities to a broadcast audience.
Music recording
Blow the Man Down: Tall Ships in the Fraser
Recorded by the Shanty Crew, a VFSS offshoot, this CD documented maritime work songs and included detailed historical notes about local maritime history and the Fraser River context.
Online video channel · 2011
vanfolksongs
Established in 2011, vanfolksongs is the society’s YouTube channel for videos recorded at VFSS events. It provides an online record of the organization’s participatory music culture.
Brand decisions
2011
Launch an online event-video channelProduct launchBackground
Digital video offered the society a way to preserve and share examples of its gatherings beyond physical meetings.
Action taken
The VFSS established the vanfolksongs YouTube channel to publish videos filmed at its events.
Aftermath
The channel created an online archive and public-facing outlet for the society’s participatory music activities.
1975
Expand community programming through radioStrategyBackground
The society had developed beyond informal gatherings into publishing and public folk music activity.
Action taken
It produced the Folk Circle program for CFRO-FM, bringing its repertoire and community-oriented approach to radio.
Aftermath
The program continued through the late 1970s and became part of the society’s broader historical contribution to Vancouver folk culture.
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