History

The Home County Folk League was formed in 1974 and has produced an annual festival in Victoria Park in downtown London every year since then.  Home County has also presented other concerts throughout the years, and with its most recent Strategic Plan, formulated in the fall of 2017, will be increasing the scope of these activities.  Our founding festival organizers came up with the name H.O.M.E. County in 1974, as an acronym for Huron, Oxford, Middlesex, Elgin -- the four counties in southwestern Ontario surrounding the city of London and area.  Home County has decided to further serve these counties by taking performance events to them directly.  These events will include concerts and workshops and will feature local artists as much as possible. 

The festival name changed from Home County Folk Festival to Home County Music & Art Festival in 2012 to better reflect a broader musical spectrum as well as an increased emphasis on the original crafters and artisans who line the paths of Victoria Park throughout the weekend.  We feel that this change has increased the profile of the festival and broadened our audience base.  With the hiring, this year, of our new Artistic Director, Tim Fraser, the move to broaden our musical profile while still maintaining a primarily roots music emphasis will continue and expand.  The goal is to not only broaden our musical profile, but also our audience demographic profile.

Home County Music & Art Festival will celebrate its 48th anniversary in 2022, continuing our history as London's longest-running summer festival!