About the Organization behind the Takoma Park Folk Festival

The Takoma Park Folk Festival, Inc. is a Maryland nonprofit organization with 501(c )(3) status.

Photo: Face Painting Fun at the Festival TPFF, Inc. is supported in part by grants from the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County; and the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of Maryland and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Since its inception in 1978, the Takoma Park Folk Festival has been a community affair, organized by volunteers from the Takoma Park area. The Takoma Park Folk Festival continues to be an event by and for the community of Takoma Park, and its all-volunteer organizing committee and performers maintain the legacy of founder Sam Abbott.

For more on the history of the Takoma Park Folk Festival...

• Homegrown and Proud of It
26 years of music, dance & fun

• A Return to Roots:
Takoma Park Folk Festival and
the Takoma Theatre, Together Again

• Festival Celebrates 20 Years
Reprinted from 1997

Sam Abbott, founder of the Takoma Park Folk Festival, artist, activist, organizer, and Mayor (1980-1986) showed us that one person can make a huge difference. That first year, 1978, a one-stage festival was held at Takoma Park Middle School, and it raised about $1,100 to help keep the Takoma Theatre out of the hands of a developer. Since that time, the festival has grown in size and stature, but it's remained true to its roots as a celebration by and for Takoma Park citizens: The Festival for the Folk of Takoma Park. (Click here for more on the history of the Takoma Park Folk Festival.)

Local organizations that support youth and youth activities are Festival beneficiaries. Parents and supervisors of these organizations, as well as children, serve as volunteers on Festival day to earn the funds, which are distributed after the Festival, to help support specific projects cited in their proposals. We are grateful for their efforts, as well as the efforts of all those who work so hard to make the Festival a success.