<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=03ubaD_1GvLSJIP00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=03ubaD_1GvLSJIP00" width="1280" height="853" ><figcaption>Festival-goers at Comfest in 2018 —&nbsp;Photo by Matt Ellis.</figcaption></figure>One of the city’s most popular and long running summertime festivals could be coming to an end, unless they’re able to come up with a new source of funding. Community Festival (or ComFest for short) announced today that the 2027 event could be their last one, due to budget shortfalls in recent years.“Even though ComFest is still the festival we all know and love, the world around it is changing, and a festival that was primarily sustained by alcohol sales is no longer viable,” stated The ComFest Fundraising Team in an email sent out this morning. “Folks just don’t drink like they used to (which is fine!), but this means ComFest is in a transition period, where it has to adapt or perish.”Every summer since 1972 (except for the 2020 fest, cancelled due to COVID), ComFest has showcased the city’s grassroots underbelly with a variety of local music, food, vendors, political speakers, activists, workshops and more. The festival is free to attend, and free from corporate sponsorships, and it sounds like the organizers want to keep it that way.“It costs roughly $300,000 to run ComFest every year — police and security costs alone nearly doubled this year, while ComFest’s primary source of income has fallen,” continued today’s email announcement. “But we have a plan. If we can get 2,000 people to give $5 a month, we can close our gap and start building back our reserves.”If the goal is met, the extra $120,000 per year would allow the festival to continue normal operations and rebuild their reserves, which are used throughout the year in the form of neighborhood grants. If the goal is not met, then the festival would cease operations after next year’s event and remaining dollars would be distributed out in the form of community grants.ComFest has been ranked by Columbus Underground readers as one of the Top 10 festivals every years in our annual reader survey, most recently clocking in second place in 2025.For more information, or to make a donation, visit comfest.com.</div></body>

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One of the city’s most popular and long running summertime festivals could be coming to an end, unless they’re able to come up with a new source of funding. Community Festival (or ComFest for short) announced today that the 2027 event could be their last one, due to budget shortfalls in recent years.

ComFest Might Shut Down Unless You Can Spare $5?

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One of the city’s most popular and long running summertime festivals could be coming to an end, unless they’re able to come up with a new source of funding

ComFest Might Shut Down Unless You Can Spare $5?

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