NL Folk Art Society has announced that due to a loss of core funding from Arts NL, it will likely not be able to host the Folk Festival again next year.
According to NL Folk Art Society Board president Julie Vogt the organization was denied a four-year-grant that it typically relies on to partially fund the festival.
In an interview with the Muse, Vogt says that Arts NL is not to blame: “It wasn’t them, it was us, we made our bed now we have to lie in it.”
Vogt says the grant was denied on the basis of lack of financial sustainability, board governance, strategic planning, and public sector engagement. According to Vogt, the organization cannot apply for this funding again until 2029.
Last years festival had brought a big name to St. John’s: Emmy Lou Harris, who performed to a sold out crowd. Vogt says that despite this, ticket sales the other two nights of the festival were not enough to make up for costs.
In a statement Vogt said that “This was not the outcome we had envisioned.”
“We had bold plans for a 50th Annual NL Folk Festival that would blow the roof off this province over five days.”
“But we simply can’t do it alone, and we cannot continue to ask our staff and volunteers to carry the full weight of this work without the resources to support them,” said Vogt.
This years festival will be going ahead July 11th-13th and includes headliners Matt Anderson, Serena Ryder, and the Irish Descendants.
The Muse has reached out to Arts NL for comment.
