No Free Festival Stays Free by Accident
To all of our Folk Festival Family,
Yesterday, we learned that the Salisbury Folk Festival in Maryland, a sister festival born from the same National Folk Festival tradition as Lowell, will not continue this year.
It’s difficult news.
Events like ours do not disappear because people stop loving them. They disappear when the financial realities of producing large public events become harder to overcome.
That truth felt especially close to home last year when the Lowell Folk Festival faced the sudden loss of federal funding. In that moment, this community showed up. You donated. You volunteered. You invested in our shared story. You reminded us that the Lowell Folk Festival has lasted nearly 40 years because this community has believed that free access to music, culture, food, and shared public celebration matters.
Because of that support, we kept moving forward.
But the truth is simple: no free festival stays free by accident, and sustaining a free festival takes more than momentum. It takes commitment.
The challenges facing free public arts events have not gone away. Pandemic-era relief funding has ended. Costs remain high. Public investment in the arts continues to shrink in many places.
The Lowell Folk Festival is more than a weekend event. For nearly four decades, this festival has belonged to the community. It has introduced generations to new music, new traditions, incredible food, and the simple joy of gathering together in downtown Lowell for something extraordinary. We never want to imagine a world without it.
The Lowell Folk Festival is approaching its 40th anniversary in 2027. That is something worth celebrating, and something worth protecting.
If you believe the Lowell Folk Festival should be here for the next generation, we hope you’ll consider making a gift today.
A gift of $10 is a symbolic ticket to a festival that remains free for everyone. Larger gifts help us go even further.
Some things should stay free.
They stay free because people like you make that possible.
With gratitude,
Lee Viliesis
Lowell Folk Festival Director
