BANGOR, ME (CelebrityAccess) — After an eighteen-year run, organizers for the American Folk Festival on Tuesday said that the 2019 edition of the event would be its last.
According to the Bangor Daily News, festival board chair Nicole Gogan announced the decision to pull the plug on the event for next year and that the festival organization will dissolve by the end of the year.
“Our board made the incredibly difficult decision to discontinue this festival,” Gogan said. “The decision to close was not made hastily and was difficult for every person involved. This is a financial decision. The Board of Directors saw no clear path forward that could responsibly be taken. This is a tough, but responsible decision.”
The festival, which at its height, featured five stages of music across three days, offers free admission and relies on corporate funding, grants, and donations to support programming. However, Gogan said in the press release that funding for the event in recent years has dwindled.
Gogan told News Center Maine that the festival cost between $600,000 to $1,000,000 to stage, and dwindling financial support has meant fewer artists on the lineup.
The fest originally began as the National Folk Festival when the touring event landed in Bangor for several years. When it moved on to Michigan, the American Folk Fest took its place.
