VARIABLE weather has not daunted the spirit of patrons at the 2015 National Folk Festival running at Exhibition Park until tomorrow, April 6.

Festival director Pam Merrigan says that “the power of ‘folk’ is in its capacity to connect with and engage people.”

With an estimate of 50,000 people coming through the gates this weekend, there’s ample proof of that engagement.

One of the great things about this popular festival is that once you have your wristband for the day, you can wander in and out of performances at will, sampling everything from high-level international headliners to local buskers, from tango to the blues, from Indigenous singers working in traditional languages to over-the-top Morris dancers.

Even though normally staid-looking EPIC has taken on the appearance of fun at the fair, food stalls, craft an instrument workshops and even a line of polls decorated with the arts of crochet and knitting.

And a tip –The EPIC car park on Flemington Road has doubled its charges since last year, now costing $10, so best enter by the highway near the service station and pay just $3.

2015 National Folk Festival, Exhibition Park. Tickets at the gate or visit folkfestival.org.au