History of the Fort Armstrong Folk Festival
We invite you to share memories of festivals past. As time passes the history of the festival is being lost. Please send us your memories of the Fort Armstrong Folk Festival.
By the 1980s, the Fort Armstrong Folk Festival was an event anticipated by everyone. The tenth annual festival, held in 1981, included a 10K race and attracted 10,000 visitors. The eleventh annual Festival boasted 90 exhibitors and 75,000 visitors. The 1983 festival featured a miniature circus at the Belmont and a fourth annual fishing contest. The Fort Armstrong Folk Festival had attracted nationwide attention with over 100,000 visitors. From the 500 applicants, only 100 artisans were chosen as exhibitors.
A Civil war exhibit, including a 3/4 scale Napoleon cannon, was included in 1992. The 25th annual festival reached capacity in 1996 with 140 booths. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Moving Wall was the feature of the 1996 Festival.
The Sunshine Artist Magazine, America's premier show and festival magazine, named the Fort Armstrong Folk Festival in the top 200 shows in the United States in 1997. In its 26th year, 139 exhibitors and twelve non-profit booths were included. A historical storyteller was featured, acting out some of his 98 historical stories.
Now in our 35th year we are entering a new chapter in the history of the Fort Armstrong Folk Festival with a new Executive Director/Coordinator, a new outlook, and updated mission statement. We will strive to bring honor and remembrance to Armstrong County's forefathers.
As always, we invite you to participate in the new and exciting events to occur in the future of the Fort Armstrong Folk Festival. Come help us celebrate our history.
Thank you for your support,
Noelle Simmons
Executive Director/ Coordinator, 2006
