Catoctin Colorfest

Last updated
Catoctin Colorfest
3-29-Colorfest-2013-1.jpg
A photo of Catoctin Colorfest 2013 taken near the front entrance to the town park.
BeginsSecond Saturday in October
EndsSecond Sunday in October
FrequencyAnnually
Location(s)Thurmont, Maryland
Years active61
FounderDuncan Burchard, John Brown
Most recent12–13 October 2024
Next event11–12 October 2025
Attendance125,000 [1]
Organised byColorfest, Inc.
Website Catoctin Colorfest

Catoctin Colorfest is an annual arts and crafts festival in Thurmont, Maryland. Every year about 125,000 people attend, making it one of the largest festivals of its kind on the east coast of the United States. [1] In 2005 Colorfest was recognized as one of the top 35 arts and craft shows in the United States by Sunshine Artists Magazine. [2] In 2013 about 250 vendors participated in Colorfest. [3] The event is free to attend, but parking costs a fee. The festival takes place the second weekend of October each year. [4] [5] During Colorfest a free shuttlebus service is provided to get to and from the parking areas. [6] [7] The event takes the entire year to plan. [8]

Contents

History

Colorfest began in 1963 as a nature walk, but would eventually become a juried arts and crafts festival. [9] [10] The walk was originally organized by either Duncan Burchard, a local naturalist, [11] [12] or John Brown, another Thurmont local. [4] Between 1968 and 1971 the other festivities were added to the walk, which now drew in 30,000 people. In the year 1973 craftspeople, who set up their stands at the carnival grounds and in the community park, were invited to the festival for the first time. The 1973 event was planned by the Catoctin Mountain Tourist Council with the help of volunteers. In 1974 officers were elected for the first time to organise Colorfest. By 1975 the event was drawing in over 75,000 people. The year 1976 was notable for a bad flood on Saturday, which according to American Towns, almost ruined the event. The rain stopped on Sunday and the event was a success in the end. [11]

In 1979 Beverly Zienda was elected president of the Colorfest, a job she would hold for 29 years until her death in 2008 when she died from breast cancer. Her husband is quoted as saying that, "she was practically running that Colorfest from her hospital bed." [13] [14] In November 1977 Colorfest held their inaugural Catoctin Colorfest dinner meeting. [2] In 1980 craftspeople were invited to set up their stands in the area in front of Thurmont Middle School. By 1988 over 350 vendors participated in Colorfest. [11] In 2008 the festival began to offer recycling bins for the first time. [15] As of 2013 the president of the Colorfest committee is Carol Robertson who took up the position after Beverly Zienda's death. [4] [14]

2020 saw the COVID-19 pandemic as grounds for cancellation. The 58th was deferred to 2021.

Fundraising

In 1983 Colorfest became successful enough that the Colorfest committee turned a profit. Every year since then they have donated the proceeds of the event to local organisations. [2] Much of the money raised from parking and vendor fees is used to support local scholarships and projects with over $140,000 having been given out in Scholarships to graduates of Catoctin High School. Colorfest weekend is one of the biggest fundraising weekend for many charities in the area. Colorfest Inc. regularly donates to the local Guardian Hose Fire Company, Frederick County Public Libraries, and the Frederick Food Bank. The Frederick Food Bank received $13,000 from Colorfest Inc. between 2011 and 2013. [4] [5] A number of churches, along with the Thurmont Community Ambulance Company, consider Colorfest to be their biggest fundraiser of the year. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick County, Maryland</span> County in Maryland, United States

Frederick County is a county located in Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 271,717. The county seat is Frederick. The county is part of the Capital region of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Dora, Florida</span> City in the state of Florida, United States

Mount Dora is a city in Lake County, Florida. It is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee, Florida, metropolitan statistical area. Founded in 1880, Mount Dora is known for its small-town southern charm. It has many antique shops in the downtown area. The downtown area overlooks Lake Dora. Mount Dora is home to one of three freshwater lighthouses in Florida. It hosts many monthly festivals and is known as the "Festival City". As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 16,341.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thurmont, Maryland</span> Town in Maryland

Thurmont is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,935 at the 2020 census. The town is located in the northern part of Frederick County, approximately ten miles from the Pennsylvania border, along U.S. Highway 15. It is very close to Cunningham Falls State Park and Catoctin Mountain Park, the latter of which contains the presidential retreat of Camp David. Thurmont is also home to Catoctin Colorfest, an arts and crafts festival that draws in about 125,000 people each autumn.

The Westheimer Street Festival was a community street fair held bi-annually in Houston, Texas, United States from approximately 1971 to 2004. The festival underwent name and management changes afterwards. By 2009 the street festival was absorbed into what is currently now known as the Free Press Summer Fest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eeyore's Birthday Party</span> Annual festival in Austin, Texas, USA

Eeyore's Birthday Party is a day-long festival taking place annually in Austin, Texas since 1963. It typically occurs on the last Saturday of April in Austin's Pease District Park. It includes live music, food and drink vending which benefit local non-profit organizations, attendees in colorful costumes, and very large drum circles. The event is frequented by children and families, with specific events presented for them by the event organizers. The festival is named in honor of Eeyore, a character in A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brighton Pride</span> Annual LGBTQ+ event in Brighton and Hove, England

Brighton and Hove Pride is an annual LGBT pride event held in the city of Brighton and Hove, England, organised by Brighton Pride, a community interest company (CIC) which promotes equality and diversity, and advances education to eliminate discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBTQ) community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heritage Days</span>

Heritage Days is an annual three-day arts, crafts and entertainment street festival held in downtown Rogersville, Tennessee during the second full weekend of October. The harvest- and history-themed festival began in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 15 in Maryland</span> Part of the U.S. Highway System in Maryland

U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Walterboro, South Carolina, north to Painted Post, New York. In Maryland, the highway runs 37.85 miles (60.91 km) from the Virginia state line at the Potomac River in Point of Rocks north to the Pennsylvania state line near Emmitsburg. Known for most of its length as Catoctin Mountain Highway, US 15 is the primary north–south highway of Frederick County. The highway connects the county seat of Frederick with Point of Rocks, Leesburg, Virginia, and Charles Town, West Virginia, to the south and with Thurmont, Emmitsburg, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to the north. US 15 is an expressway throughout the state except for the portion south of MD 28. The highway is a freeway along its concurrency with US 340 and through Frederick, where the highway meets US 40 and Interstate 70 (I-70). US 15 has a business route through Emmitsburg.

Applefest is a yearly village-wide food, entertainment and crafts fair, taking place in several towns in Canada, the United States and England.

The Hagerstown and Frederick Railway, now defunct, was an American railroad of central Maryland built in the 19th and 20th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland Route 77</span> State highway in Maryland, US

Maryland Route 77 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs 20.74 miles (33.38 km) from MD 64 in Smithsburg east to MD 194 in Keymar. MD 77 is the main east–west highway of northern Frederick County. The state highway connects Thurmont with eastern Washington County via Foxville, which lies between South Mountain and Catoctin Mountain near Catoctin Mountain Park and Cunningham Falls State Park. MD 77 links Thurmont with western Carroll County through the communities of Graceham, Rocky Ridge, and Detour in the Monocacy River valley. MD 77 was constructed from Thurmont east to Detour in the 1920s and early 1930s. A disjoint section of MD 77 was built between Cavetown and Foxville in the late 1930s. The portions of the modern highway between Foxville and Thurmont and from Detour to Keymar were county highways until they were designated part of MD 77 in 1956. MD 77's western terminus was moved east to MD 64 in Smithsburg in 1960.

Issaquah Salmon Days is a festival held in Issaquah, Washington that celebrates the return of the salmon. The main features of the event are a parade, live music, and a market for artisans to sell their wares and food. The purpose of the event is to celebrate the end of the salmon run, where salmon return to their birth river to lay eggs. The first festival was in 1970 and has continued annually since its founding. In 2006, the festival's economic impact was estimated at 1.5 million dollars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland Route 806</span> State highway in Maryland, United States

Maryland Route 806 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs a total of 4.05 miles (6.52 km) in two segments from U.S. Route 15 near Catoctin Furnace north to Roddy Creek Road near Thurmont. MD 806A, which has a length of 3.04 miles (4.89 km) from Catoctin Furnace to Thurmont, and MD 806R, which extends 0.55 miles (0.89 km) on the north side of Thurmont, are separated by a section of municipally-maintained road on the south side of Thurmont and a segment of MD 550 north of MD 77. MD 806 is the old alignment of US 15 through Catoctin Furnace and Thurmont. The state highway was originally constructed in the 1910s. MD 806 was assigned to the highway when US 15 bypassed Thurmont in the late 1950s. The state highway became a split route in the late 1980s. There have been several other segments of MD 806 along former sections of US 15 in Frederick County, including portions around Lewistown and south of Frederick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catoctin High School</span> High school in Thurmont, Maryland, United States

Catoctin High School (CHS) is a four-year public high school in Thurmont, Frederick County, Maryland, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">38th G8 summit</span> Meeting of the members of the G-8

The 38th G8 summit was held in Camp David, Maryland, United States, on 18–19 May 2012.

The Curwood Festival is a celebration of the American novelist James Oliver Curwood in Owosso, Michigan. Many of his novels were written in Curwood Castle on the banks of the Shiawassee River.

Broken Arts was a not-for-profit arts group based in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The group was originally formed in July 2009 and hosted its final event in 2018. The organization relied on the dedication of volunteers and had a total of twenty-eight members as of September 11, 2014. Broken Arts specialized in organizing and running events that were all-ages. These events included concerts, craft fairs, public games, workshops, dance nights, art shows, open mics, and festivals

<i>Catoctin Clarion</i> Weekly newspaper published in Mechanicstown, Maryland, US

The Catoctin Clarion was a weekly newspaper published in Thurmont, Maryland, United States, from March 4, 1871, to 1942. The paper was named for the nearby Catoctin Mountain located west of Mechanicstown. Contents included local, state, national and international news briefs; stories from Frederick County history; market news; poetry and literature in "a rare selection of instructive Reading"; letters to the editor, and advertisements, being called a "sprightly sheet of neat appearance... conducted with ability". The paper measured 18 by 24 inches and ran on Thursdays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master Musicians Festival</span>

The Master Musicians Festival is an outdoor two-day music festival held annually in July in Somerset, Kentucky. Established in 1994, the event is organized by an all-volunteer board of directors on the campus of Somerset Community College. The festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission of bringing musical excellence to rural Kentucky, and is funded through grants, donations, sponsorships and ticket sales.

Felt is an online marketplace founded in 2007 for New Zealand-based artists and craftspeople to sell their work.

References

  1. 1 2 Bondeson, Jen (13 October 2013). "Colorfest celebrates 50 years of crafts and community". The Frederick News Post. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Mezo, Ingrid (6 October 2005). "Thurmont gears up for Colorfest". Gazette. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Catoctin Colorfest 50th Anniversary". WFMD. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Nusbaum, Valerie, Randy (October 2013). "Catoctin Colorfest Celebrating 50 Years of Service to the Thurmont Community" (PDF). Catoctin Banner. Retrieved 14 March 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 "46th Annual Thurmont Colorfest Kicks Off This Weekend". WHAG. 8 October 2009. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Catoctin Colorfest in Thurmont". The Baltimore Sun. 12 October 2000. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  7. ↑ Remesch, Karin (11 October 2001). "Catoctin Colorfest Arts and Crafts" . Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  8. ↑ Waters, Ed (9 October 2014). "More than 100,000 visitors expected at Colorfest". Frederick News Post. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "Colorfest". Catoctin Colorfest. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  10. ↑ Halper, Shayna. "Community Celebrates 50 Years of Colorfest". WHAG. Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 "Catoctin Colorfest". American Towns. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  12. ↑ Rada, James Jr. (26 September 2013). "looking back — 1963". The Catoctin Banner. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  13. ↑ Behsudi, Adam (30 November 2008). "Colorfest Organizer Remembered For Her Commitment To Community And Church". WTOP. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  14. 1 2 Hauck, Jeremy (6 December 2008). "Thurmont arts community struck by deaths of Zienda, Mohn". Gazette. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  15. ↑ Gardner, Karen (11 October 2008). "Colorfest colors itself green". WTOP. Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.