Class News

Angus Gillespie ’64 bids farewell as Director of NJ Folk Festival

January 8, 2020

Note from Tony Lavely, ’64 Class Secretary:

Recently, I was notified by Rutgers University Alumni News that Angus Gillespie was stepping down as Director of the New Jersey Folk Festival. They reported: “As of July 2019, the New Jersey Folk Festival has entered a new era, with the formal transition of leadership from Founding Director Dr. Angus Gillespie to new Executive Director Dr. Carla Cevasco. Dr. Gillespie founded the festival in 1974 with a modest $1300 grant.  For 45 years, the festival has featured arts and performances from ethnic and cultural groups around the state. Today the festival draws an estimated 10,000 attendees and has become a signature event of Rutgers Day.”

This, from Rutgers Department of American Studies:

Angus Gillespie is a folklorist who has studied myths, legends, tales, and ballads found in the United States. His courses in folklore range from historic figures such as Buffalo Bill, Casey Jones, Calamity Jane, and Molly Pitcher to contemporary issues such as urban legends and conspiracy theories. From time to time, Gillespie offers courses in weird folklore where he discusses creatures such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Jersey Devil. His courses in folklife consider physical folklore including architecture, art, craft, cookery, cattle ranching, seafaring, and fence construction.

---

Angus Gillespie is a professor in the department of American Studies at Rutgers University and author of Twin Towers: The Life of New York City’s World Trade Center.