Tartu Folk brings together the folklore communities of Tartumaa and Europe to create new friendships, share knowledge and keep alive the song, dance and instrumental music heritage and folk‑costume traditions of different regions. The festival focuses on interaction between people, making music together, dancing and sharing tradition with both participants and the audience. 

This year's most distant guests arrive from 1,900 kilometres away, from the Faroe Islands. The youth association Ung í Dansi belongs under the folk‑dance organisation Sláið Ring and deals with keeping old circle dances alive, accompanied by fairy‑tale‑like ballads. 

From Lithuania, the youth group Dolija of Vilnius Žvėrynas Gymnasium arrives at the festival; it stands out for strong awareness of tradition in both music and dance and has participated in Tartu Folk before. Latvia is represented by one of the country's oldest folklore communities, Skandinieki, led by the musician Julgī Stalte, who has Livonian roots. 

The festival also introduces the cultural landscape of Estonia's islands. This year the festival includes the Muhu folklore group Uijee, awarded the title of folklore group of the year. The folklore club Maatasa, the organiser of the festival, performs traditional songs, dances and instrumental tunes of South Estonia. 

The festival begins on Thursday, late in the evening of 12 November, with folk songs on the bank of the Emajõgi River. 

On Friday, 13 November, community parties take place in Tartu and Tartumaa, where the festival's guest groups and local traditional‑culture collectives perform. At the Tartu community party, young traditional musicians from Tartu and South Estonia meet this year. 

On Saturday, 14 November, the main day of Tartu Folk takes place at the Vanemuine Concert Hall. At the gala concert, the festival's guest groups perform, with presentations inspired by the traditional songs, dances and instrumental tunes of their home regions. 

While folklore communities present their tradition as authentically as possible, the folk‑dance groups participating in the gala show how tradition has inspired contemporary choreographers and musicians. The choreographers' works are performed by the folk‑dance ensemble Tarbatu of the Estonian University of Life Sciences, the folk‑dance group Vassakule of the Defense Forces Academy, and the folk‑dance group Pistandi of the Tartu Applied Health Sciences University. 

After the gala concert, an international dance club follows, where it is possible to learn traditional dances of the Faroe Islands, Lithuania, Latvia, and Muhu and South Estonia according to the instructions of the main performers. Communities from across Estonia are also visiting, and one can dance, for example, to the Näppepildurid from Tapa or to the Tartu Udmurt ensemble Jumšan Gur; dances of the northern coast are introduced by the dance society Pikne.

At the café stage, small ensembles of traditional musicians can be heard at the same time, among them Susanna Viktoria and Tuvimärulihärrad. The evening ends with an ethno‑disco, led this year by Eveliina and Mitja Pilke from Finland. 

On Sunday, 15 November, the festival's final concert takes place under the bridge area of the Estonian National Museum. Performing are the festival's main guests Ung í Dansi from the Faroe Islands, Skandinieki from Latvia, Dolija from Lithuania, Uijee from Muhu and Maatasa from Tartu. 

The theme of this year's final concert is mythological beings, through whom the supernatural characters of different peoples and the stories connected with them are introduced. The concert is hosted by Tuule Pihlap and Kaarel Pogga.

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