This story has been updated.
An arts festival in far western Kentucky is searching for a new host after its main sponsor decided it could no longer handle the annual event.
The Lower Town Arts & Music Festival is a celebration of the arts, community, and music of western Kentucky that has taken place in Paducah’s historic Lower Town Arts District for more than 15 years. Vendors would peddle their original creations from booths lining some of the neighborhood’s streets. Live music from local and regional artists would play while families feasted upon the variety of festival foods available. In years past, the event has had over 10,000 attendees. Now, festival goers are going to have to wait at least another year before they can return to the event.
Last week, the Yeiser Art Center announced it was cancelling the Lower Town Arts & Music festival three months before it was to kick off. The organization also said it no longer intended on being the event’s main sponsor.
Chad Clark became the board chair for the Yeiser Art Center in December 2024. He said discussions about the possible cancellation of the festival began when Phillip McCabe took over as the art organization’s executive director in late summer of last year.
“He, [McCabe], had started to analyze the financial situation as would be his job,” Clark said. “When I came on the board, it was very apparent that we did not have the money to execute the festival or the human resources.”
The board chair said the Yeiser is in the process of distributing refunds to artists and vendors who have already paid registration fees.
Clark said the board reviewed the previous year’s festival to assess the profitability of the event but said the financial records they had from past years was difficult to interpret.
“Once we started looking at the numbers, we found that the accounting practice wasn’t a standard accounting practice,” he said. “It was hard to come up with an exact number, but we really couldn't understand if it was profitable or not.”
Clark said the decision to cancel the festival was not an easy one for the board and that lots of time was spent considering all possibilities. However, the board members ultimately decided that the Lower Town Arts & Music Festival was too much for their organization to continue handling.
“It got a little too big for an organization of the Yeiser’s size to handle, and we didn't feel that we could do it justice. We think it's a great event, and we understand that the general public just loves it, and we were trying our best to ensure that it continues,” Clark said.
Three members of the Yeiser’s board met with representatives of the Lower Town Neighborhood Association, local businesses owners, lower town residents, and past members of the festival’s leadership team a few days after the cancellation announcement to discuss the future of the arts and music event.
Will Brandon is a former member of the Yeiser Art Center’s board and served for seven years as the event’s co-director. Brandon was present at the meeting and said he and others are optimistic that this is not the end of the Lower Town Arts & Music Festival.
“We're doing everything to keep the integrity, and the festival, and the people that have worked on it largely the same,” Brandon said. “We have all intentions of bringing it back in 2026 with a new host in whatever way possible.”
Brandon said that the Yeiser Art Center for the Arts is no longer affiliated with the festival, which means a new host will be needed if the celebration is to resume next year. He and Seth Murphy, the former music director for the festival, have begun speaking with possible candidates interested in becoming the next host of the festival. Murphy said this isn't new territory for a festival that has switched hands before.
“The festival has changed host organizations in the past. It's been around for longer than just its tenure with the Yeiser,” Murphy said. “This is not a new thing for the festival, and I think it's such a unique and special event that for it to grow, and change and move organizations is normal.”
Brandon and Murphy agree that the Lower Town Arts & Music Festival is a cherished event in their west Kentucky community, and they hope that the same community which brought the event to life is the community that will keep it alive for years to come.
“We know what this event means to the community and to the city as a whole, and so we are doing everything that we can to make sure that the next hosts of the festival understand the importance of the event and what it truly means to the community and that they have the resources to make sure that something like this doesn't happen again,” Brandon said.
The vetting process has already begun by the festival’s stakeholders to find a new sponsor for the event. Brandon said announcements regarding the process will be shared on the Lower Town Art & Music Festival’s Facebook page.
Editor’s note: WKMS has partnered with the Lower Town Arts & Music Festival in previous years.
