2017 Montana Folk Festival
Donation protected
Due to the tremendous crowd of supporters who have made themselves known through their support for our efforts to pay the bills for the 2016 festival (gofundme.com/mffraindance) we are moving forward to organize and present the Montana Folk Festival in Butte July 7-9, 2017. This will be the 10th presentation of this festival in Butte.
Mainstreet Uptown Butte is the non-profit that has wrangled this major event since it began as the National Folk Festival in 2008. We have studied at the side of our partners, the National Council for the Traditional Arts and taken great strides in reducing costs by assuming more and more of the event's responsibilities.
Still, to maintain the quality of a festival of this caliber, we are facing $650,000 in expenses for the coming year.
We are very lucky to have major sponsors who have signed on to help lift this load in the coming year including the local government, the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation and others, but we still have to raise our share ($100,000) to fill the gap between sponsor support and individual contributions to help us pay the many bills that result.
These bills start coming in almost immediately when we commit to going forward. These include fees, travel and lodging for performers, artists and others. We have to arrange for tents, golf carts, sound and staging, and other major expenses and many smaller ones too like making sure we have enough tables and chairs for the comfort of our attendees.
We have to arrange for media ads and other marketing materials that invite attendees from throughout Montana, the Northwest and beyond.
Luckily we have a core group of hundreds of volunteers and others who are ready to work throughout the winter and spring to assemble the many moving parts that make this event hum and sing.
Over the last decade, the festival has become an economic engine and cultural magnet that has made us proud to say we have a role in bringing it to life each year.
We will try to be as creative with the resources we gather to express our appreciation for our supporters large and small.
For starters, as we have done since 2008, admission will remain free to all music, dance and art performances, markets, and workshops.
All contributions, too, are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Please join this beautiful crowd and help us make the 2017 Montana Folk Festival the best one yet.
For details, visit www.montanafolkfestival.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mtfolkfest
.
Mainstreet Uptown Butte is the non-profit that has wrangled this major event since it began as the National Folk Festival in 2008. We have studied at the side of our partners, the National Council for the Traditional Arts and taken great strides in reducing costs by assuming more and more of the event's responsibilities.
Still, to maintain the quality of a festival of this caliber, we are facing $650,000 in expenses for the coming year.
We are very lucky to have major sponsors who have signed on to help lift this load in the coming year including the local government, the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation and others, but we still have to raise our share ($100,000) to fill the gap between sponsor support and individual contributions to help us pay the many bills that result.
These bills start coming in almost immediately when we commit to going forward. These include fees, travel and lodging for performers, artists and others. We have to arrange for tents, golf carts, sound and staging, and other major expenses and many smaller ones too like making sure we have enough tables and chairs for the comfort of our attendees.
We have to arrange for media ads and other marketing materials that invite attendees from throughout Montana, the Northwest and beyond.
Luckily we have a core group of hundreds of volunteers and others who are ready to work throughout the winter and spring to assemble the many moving parts that make this event hum and sing.
Over the last decade, the festival has become an economic engine and cultural magnet that has made us proud to say we have a role in bringing it to life each year.
We will try to be as creative with the resources we gather to express our appreciation for our supporters large and small.
For starters, as we have done since 2008, admission will remain free to all music, dance and art performances, markets, and workshops.
All contributions, too, are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Please join this beautiful crowd and help us make the 2017 Montana Folk Festival the best one yet.
For details, visit www.montanafolkfestival.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mtfolkfest
.
Organizer
George Everett
Organizer
Butte, MT