SALISBURY, Md. - The City of Salisbury has announced that the Maryland Folk Festival will not be held this year due to reported funding challenges.
In a press release on Wednesday, Salisbury officials said they had determined it was not possible to produce the 2026 festival at previous levels of quality in years before.
"Folk fest kind of had a different feeling to it ... felt like it might be like our festival," Alex Scott, owner of Brick Room, said. "To see it go after a few short years is disappointing."
The announcement follows a difficult sponsorship and grant cycle, officials said.
“This was not an easy decision,” said Caroline O’Hare, Events & Culture Manager for the City of Salisbury. “The folk festival has become a meaningful tradition for our community—bringing people together through music, dance, food, and shared experiences. We are incredibly proud of what has been built over the years.”
Officials say the Maryland Folk Festival has drawn tens of thousands of attendees to downtown Salisbury since its transition from the National Folk Festival.
"I feel really sad that there is not a place now for people who are really enjoying learning about and experiencing all these different kinds of music and arts," former Folk Fest performer Veronica Tomanek said.
Salisbury officials say they are taking the time to reflect.
“Our goal is to continue building meaningful experiences for our community in new and thoughtful ways,” O’Hare said. "We’re already beginning conversations around future community-centered programming and exploring what a new event in Fall 2027 could look like for Salisbury.”
Mike Dunn, President of the Greater Salisbury Committee, has seen the event through many iterations over the years.
"It was tough to sustain the level of sponsorship and philanthropic support that is, you know, the heartbeat and the backbone of the Maryland Folk Festival," Dunn said.
City officials say the Salisbury Arts, Business, and Culture Department will share more information as future programming is planned.
