Starting on Saturday and running until next Friday, there will be almost 700 events in nearly 40 venues to help entertain the thousands of visitors to the festival.
After last year's resounding success the organisers are confident of another successful festival.
Graham Pirt of Whitby Folk Week said he was very pleased with the way advance ticket sales had gone with numbers up on last year.
"We hope the current economic climate doesn't affect those that come for the odd day without buying a season ticket," he said.
This year's invited dance teams come from the length and breadth of the country and include Hammersmith Morris Men, Hexamshire Lasses, Persephone from Bradford, Rockhopper Morris from Oxfordshire as well as other sword and morris teams.
The organisers are particularly pleased to have been able to persuade Bacup Britannia Coconut Dancers to perform too.
This dance tradition is unique, with blackened faces, turbans, feathers and coconuts – blocks of wood attached to their hands with which they enhance the rhythms of the dance.
After last year's disappointing weather everyone has their fingers crossed for sunshine to help those who want to watch the dancing in the streets.
However, should the sunshine fail again then there are a host of events indoors including dances, concerts and workshops which anyone can attend.
Mr Pirt hopes many more residents in Whitby will look to see if there is something they would like to come and see.
He said "We are trying to involve the town much more and we are sure there are some events they will enjoy if they give it a go."
Some of the main folk dance bands in the country are assembled for the dances which take place mainly in the two main halls at the Whitby Pavilion.
Bands include Peeping Tom, considered by many to be the top ceilidh band in the country, 422, a dance and concert band who won the BBCYoung Folk Award, Folkus Pocus, Pigeon English and Flying Clouds.
Festival goers will soon learn the dances under the expert guidance of callers such as Martyn Harvey and Roger Watson.
With a rich array of performers the festival is using the Pavilion Theatre all week as well as the regular venues around town.
And Mr Pirt said organisers are particularly pleased to be able to welcome the Coyne Brothers, a group of three brothers hailed as outstanding musicians from Ireland.
However, their performances are very rare as one lives in America and the other two in different area's of Ireland and Whitby Folk Week will be a unique opportunity for people to see them perform.
Eliza Carthy, the patron of the festival, will also be performing as well as leading a Queen-themed ceilidh following the success of last year's ABBA celidih.
One of the concerts this year features members of the Newcastle University Folk Degree Course with many excellent musicians and singers promising to be some of the stars of the future.