The first Catoctin Colorfest was held in 1963. The first four Colorfest events consisted of nature walks organized by Duncan Burchard, Catoctin Mountain Park naturalist. They attracted approximately 60 people each year. Between 1968 and 1971 the event expanded to include art exhibits, church dinners, orchard tours, and apple butter boiling. Attendance grew each year and by 1971, 30,000 people came to enjoy the festivities.

1973 was the first year that craftspeople were invited to participate. They were located in the Thurmont community park and the carnival grounds. The event was planned by volunteers working under the direction of the Catoctin Mountain Tourist Council. In 1974, the first officers of the Colorfest organization were elected to plan the 1975 event, which drew an estimated 75,000 people. True to bad luck superstition, the 13th Colorfest in 1976 was a near disaster when Frederick County suffered one of the worst floods in history that Saturday. On Sunday, though, the rain stopped, the crowds came, and the show went on.

President Ernest Hall instituted the first annual dinner meeting of Catoctin Colorfest in 1977. It is held in November of each year. That year 30,000 brochures were distributed to advertise our event. A raffle was held to defray the printing costs, with craft prizes donated by our participants. 186 crafts and food stands made up the Colorfest.

A new craft area was added in front of the Thurmont Middle School in 1980 (used until 2006). The brochure was revised under the direction of the new president, Beverly Zienda, to include diagrams of the town and all of the craft areas, making identification and location easier for our many visitors. By the time we reached our 20th year in 1983, the Colorfest had become a very successful event. After all the bills were paid there was some money left over. Our organization agreed that this money should be put back into the community of Thurmont. A donation was made to the town. A scholarship was established at Catoctin High School. Each year following that, we put all of the proceeds of this event back into the community. We have contributed to many worthy projects in recent years - to cite just a few:

• We paid for the rewiring of the small pavilion in the town park;
• We donated money to help cover the cost of paving the back loop of the park;
• We covered the cost of paving the parking lot at East End Park;
• We gave annual donations to all three of our local schools;
• We increased our annual scholarship program to include multiple scholarships for graduating Catoctin High School seniors;
• We supported our historical society;
• We supported our local fire and ambulance companies;
  
• We donated money for new playground equipment in our parks;
• We purchased new Christmas decorations for the Town of Thurmont;
• We paid to have the back loop of the community park wired with electricity;
• We purchased new park benches for use in the town parks;
  
• We donated three trees in the Thurmont Memorial Park in memory of three local U.S. service members who died in Iraq;
• We purchased a new flag pole for the community park ballfield and new flags for the Thurmont Town Office;
  
• We donated to the Thurmont Amvets Auxilliary;
• We donated to our local Boy Scout troop;
• We purchased new Christmas decorations for our Town Square Park;
• We paid to have the Thurmont Town Office meeting room refurbished;
  
• We sponsored Thurmont Movie Night which included a free admission outdoor movie, refreshments, and giveaways; and
  
• This past year, we donated 45 cases of food and supplies to our local food bank in honor of the 45th anniversary of our event.

By the time we reached our 25th anniversary in 1988, we had 350 participants and our event had become well known throughout the United States. Each year we host many chartered buses who have included our event in their regular schedule of trips.

This year, as we celebrate our 45th anniversary under the direction of our president of 29 years, Beverly Zienda, we take pride in the fact that our event has literally put Thurmont on the map. We draw an estimated annual attendance of 100,000-200,000 people. All proceeds from the Colorfest continue to benefit our community in many ways.  We are entirely self-supporting, and we are dedicated to putting all proceeds to work in the community.

We hope hope that you will enjoy your weekend with us, visit the two craft areas at the community park and the activities grounds, and support the people in these two areas who continue to help our community grow.

Please come back again next year on October 10 & 11, 2009, when we will host the 46th annual Catoctin Colorfest.

Colorfest Presidents since the organization was incorporated:

1. John Brown, 1975
2. Steven Newmann, 1976
3. Ernest Hall, 1977 - 1978
4. Thomas Brown, 1979
5. Beverly Zienda, 1980 - present