HELP SAVE MULTIFEST: Celebrating 35 Yrs of Multiculturalism

The Multi-Cultural Festival of West Virginia, Inc., aka Multifest, is a non-profit organization located in Charleston, WV, that seeks to enrich, develop, and enhance multiculturalism in the lives of those we serve in our community. Multifest provides a friendly, family-oriented environment, non-violent tolerance, and a safe venue to celebrate cultures for all citizens through art, music, education, ethnic cuisine, health and wellness, and cultural programming. Multifest is governed by a Board of Directors with elected officers and many volunteers.

Therefore, on behalf of the Board of Directors of MULTIFEST, we are reaching out to the community for your financial support to "SAVE MULTIFEST". Due to the DEI issues going on in this country, we have lost several sponsors as well as vendors not participating due to the tariff concerns on products.

In order to have a grand celebration and a successful festival that continues to be free and open to the public, our budget is set at $325,000. However, we are more than 65% short of meeting this goal. We have not been able to completely fill our entertainment slots or line-up for the weekend.

The 30-plus years alone prove Multifest is a viable entity and worthy organization for the City of Charleston, the State of WV, and the region. Multifest plays a very important role in helping people whose lives are affected by the lack of multiculturalism in our community. In addition to the lack of inclusive events, cultural awareness programs, and ethnic entertainment, which Multifest can offer and deliver. Multifest has grown to be the largest multicultural-related and one of the longest-running festivals in the State of West Virginia, attracting more than a million people to the great Capital City.

Our economic impact in 2024 was $6.1M with an attendance of 54,000. With this being our 35th year, we were hoping to attract more than 60,000, which will bring in an even greater economic impact, but we need additional finances for magnificent cultural entertainment to be enjoyed by all.

Can we count on you to help continue this wonderful festival? You can make a dfference by donating today to a great organization for promoting multiculturalism in WV. Any donation, whether grand or small, is much needed and greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

The Multifest Board of Directors

Pastor David Fryson, President

Tamara Eubanks, Executive Director