Mission Folk Music Festival

Now it its 38th year, the Mission Folk Music Festival (MFMF) has grown from a small, one-day event to an international 3-day festival known and respected far and wide.

The festival was formed in 1988 by founding artistic director Francis Xavier Edwards and some musical friends who wanted more opportunities to play music for an audience, and felt that a unique, small-town music festival with a global vision of excellence and a program of eclectic, diverse music was the way forward. The first festival was a one-day event held in Fraser River Heritage Park.

Since its founding, the MFMF has grown into a cultural jewel in the Fraser Valley, and one of the finest music festivals in the country.

Now an annual weekend-long event in late July, the festival not only showcases emerging and well-established local and B.C.-based musicians, it brings both popular and rarely heard artists from across Canada, North America, and around the world to the region.

The MFMF has day-time stages and an evening main stage that present concerts and collaborative workshops, and offers audiences the chance to participate themselves, including an invitation to sing in the Festival Choir. There are activities for wee folks, food trucks, a beer garden, artisan market, onsite camping and other amenities, as well.

The festival is presented in the beauty of Fraser River Heritage Park, just east of Mission, within the unceded traditional territory of the Leq’a:mel, Kwantlen, and Matsqui First Nations, among the Stó:lō peoples. The park has scenic views of the Fraser River and Valley, on-site camping, easy parking, and shaded areas.  

Michelle Demers Shaevitz has been the festival’s artistic and executive director since 2017. The festival is a whole-of-community effort, managed and presented by a small staff and contractors along with a committed and experienced team of dvolunteer coordinators and 300 to 400 community members - all eager to welcome folks to Mission. 

In addition to producing the annual festival, the MFMF team is active in the Mission and area community year-round, presenting and partnering in concerts and events. Dedicated to supporting local artists and to presenting some of the world’s great music to local audiences, it continues to play a vital role in the Fraser Valley culture.