Sponsor the Young Tradition Festival!

About Young Tradition Festival

The Young Tradition Festival takes place May 9 & 10 in Burlington, VT. 

The Festival:

  • Provides youth with a venue to perform, alongside their peers, mentors and professional musicians.

  • Inspires youth who are not yet participating in traditional music and dance to engage with those art forms. 

  • Brings high-caliber musical performances from a range of cultural backgrounds to the community more broadly.

The Young Tradition Festival  is one of several Living Traditions programs run by Vermont Folklife to support Vermonters as they practice and pass on traditional art forms that are vital and relevant to  their communities. These programs encourage youth to explore, learn, and perform traditional music and dance.

2025 Schedule of Events:

Friday: May 9th

  • Performances for Burlington school students and residents at a local retirement community

  • Community Potluck, and dance leader round table - Contois Auditorium

  • Community Dance Party, featuring a medley of dance traditions–including Bosnian, Burundian, Tibetian, and Nepali–taught by local dance leaders. - Contois Auditorium

Saturday, May 10th

Who will see your logo/business name?

Young Tradition Festival’s Audience:

We anticipate a total of 3,500 to 4000 people participating in events between performers and audience members, of whom 800-1000 will be youth. Our Student/Mentor Showcase takes place at the Burlington Farmers Market, which plays host to 10,000+ on a busy day. The audience for Friday and Saturday night’s programming at Contois Auditorium will feature lovers of traditional music and dance, including members of the local Bosnian, Burundian, Tibetan, and Nepali communities. Our audience includes everyone  from families with small children to retirees. Students at a local school and residents at a local retirement home will also receive performances, in association with the festival.

Our Digital Reach:

  • Vermont Folklife’s website averages ~3000 unique views a month.

  • The Vermont Folklife Newsletter lands in 2600 inboxes a month. 

  • Vermont Folklife has 3,800 Facebook followers, and Young Tradition Vermont has 2,100.

  • Vermont Folklife has 2,200 Instagram followers, and Young Tradition Vermont has 400.

Sponsorship Levels

$150 - Friend Level Sponsorship

As a friend of the festival, you’ll cover the stipend and administrative costs of one of our Saturday morning student/mentor showcase acts, in which young performers perform a short set together with a teacher or mentor at the Burlington Farmers Market.

For our Friend Level sponsors we will:

  • List your name on the Young Tradition Festival web page (vtfolklife.org/YTFest)

  • Share your name/logo (and tag you, if applicable) on our Facebook and Instagram pages

  • Display your name in our list of sponsors at all Festival events, and include your name on any printed festival materials, such as programs.

  • Provide you free admission to Festival events

  • Send you a poster you can display to share with customers/clients that you are supporting youth involvement in traditional music, and helping to foster strong arts community in Vermont. 

$250 - Community Level Sponsorship

As a community level sponsor, you support us creating community events within the Young Tradition Festival, such as our Community Dance Party Friday night. You’ll also help cover the costs of having Festival performers share their music in local community spaces, such as schools and retirement communities.

For our Community Level sponsors we will will do all of the above, and also:

  • Share your logo in any Vermont Folklife E-Newsletters and Young Tradition Vermont Email Updates that includes updates about the the festival (expect this to happen 1-3 times)

$500 and up - All-Festival Level Sponsorship

All-Festival Sponsors help make every part of the festival possible, from covering venue costs and staff time, to buying snacks for our wonderful performers!

For our All-Festival Level sponsors we will will do all of the above, and also:

  • Thank you from the stage at Festival performances

  • Include your logo on the Young Tradition Festival poster* (*If received by March 1st)

Vermont Folklife is a 501(c )3 organization (EIN = 22-2550951). We certify that this gift is tax deductible to the full extent of the law and that no goods or services were provided in exchange for this donation. 

Checks can be made out to Vermont Folklife, 88 Main St. Middlebury VT 05753, with “Young Tradition Fest Sponsor” in the memo line.

Please email ytv@vtfolklife.org if you would like to receive an invoice prior to payment.