She convinced the founder of the Wolf trap National Park for Performing Arts, Catherine Filene Shouse, to support the festival.
Each year since 1994, the Festival has been the designated fine arts field trip for the entire 5th grade population in Fairfax County Public Schools – resulting in over 13,000 students coming to Wolf Trap during the week to see and meet the featured performers.
[3] The Festival includes not only the featured international performers, but also dozens of Fairfax County and Washington DC metropolitan area arts organizations.
In total, the festival features over 400 area performing and visual artists representing a diverse range of art forms, genres, and cultures.
With the assistance of the community, each year free tickets, gifts, and snacks are provided to nearly 2,000 Washington DC area children and their families who would otherwise be unable to attend.