Croeso/welcome! to the Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation (MLMEF), an Oregon non-profit corporation, recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) public charity. MLMEF was organized to raise public awareness of Welsh heritage in North America, to celebrate Welsh-American culture and preserve its works and to foster and encourage art and creativity in the Welsh tradition.
An Eisteddfod [eye-STETH-vod] is a Welsh performing arts festival, held in Wales since at least the 12th Century when bards competed for the favor of the Lord Rhys at his court in Cardigan. Today, the National Eisteddfod of Wales celebrates dance, poetry, music, theater, prose and visual arts. Eisteddfoddau are held all over the world, wherever Welsh people settled.
The Meriwether Lewis Memorial Eisteddfod Foundation organizes the West Coast Eisteddfod, a modern eisteddfod for the west coast of North America. The West Coast Eisteddfod includes live events and on-line events and competitions on AmeriCymru, a Welsh social network. The MLMEF is partnering with A Raven Above Press to bring you the 2011 WEST COAST EISTEDDFOD: Welsh Festival of Arts, which this year includes art competitions, film festival, outdoor marketplace and much more and will be presented in Los Angeles, California September 23-25, 2011 at the Barnsdall Art Park in Hollywood. To learn more about this festival, see the West Coast Eisteddfod page.