Due to the ongoing threats posed to us all by the spread of COVID-19, the 2020 Montana Folk Festival has been postponed until a date to be determined later in 2021.
The decision was made considering the guidelines for public gatherings set by federal, state and local authorities and from growing concerns for the health and welfare of our friends, neighbors, and community.
The Montana Folk Festival is a regional festival and through our wide-reaching marketing, we invite attendees from surrounding states and Canada and across the globe from many locations where the coronavirus is raging through the populations.
The Montana Folk Festival began during the Great Recession in 2008 and we are proud to have weathered that national emergency but this pandemic dwarfs that challenge.
Mainstreet Uptown Butte, the lead non-profit that has organized the festival for the past 12 years is proud that this would have been the 13th presentation of the festival in Butte, Montana.
Most of our volunteers and service providers are employers or employees of Southwest Montana businesses, and we are keenly aware of the economic impact our event has on our local economy. While postponing the festival will reduce financial opportunities for area businesses and citizens, we believe the health and safety of everyone take precedence and this is the right decision at this time.
Until a vaccine is widely distributed and starts to have a dramatic impact, physical distancing is one of the only effective weapons we have against the spread of the coronavirus. Unfortunately, it is the antithesis of our primary goal when we present this festival — to bring people together from far and wide for three days of collective joy.
Our love and gratitude go out to the thousands who have continued to join us each summer in Butte. Your health and safety are at the heart of the process to decide to postpone this year’s event. For all who were making plans to join us in Butte, we hope that you will join us again when we return.
The Montana Folk Festival Executive Committee and our partners with the Butte-Silver Bow County government share a deep appreciation for all who continue to support us. While we continue to hibernate the event, we hope that everyone will use the downtime to reflect on the meaning and outcomes of this event for our community and to Montana and we will get busy planning a bigger and better festival when it is safe for it to return.
We look forward to seeing you in Butte! Until then, stay tuned on our Facebook page and web site and stay healthy!