BANGOR, Maine — The Bangor City Council is scheduled to vote Monday on whether or not to terminate an existing agreement with the American Folk Festival and forgive the festival's debt.
In July 2017, Bangor agreed to let the festival use a portion of the Bangor Waterfront. According to the city, the American Folk Festival currently owes $104,000.
After 18 years of attracting thousands of people from across the country to Bangor, organizers say the 2019 American Folk Festival was the last one.
The festival has ceased operations and is now requesting that Bangor agree to terminate the agreement, which runs through October 31, 2021, and forgive any outstanding debt.
The American Folk Festival did not charge admission to patrons but instead relied heavily on donations, corporate sponsorships, and grants.
Organizers said, when the festival had five stages spread across the Bangor waterfront, it cost nearly $1,000,000 in fundraising to put on the event.