MARFA — The 38th Annual Marfa Lights Festival is at risk of being canceled if the Marfa Chamber of Commerce, the organization that puts on the event, cannot attract more volunteers.
The chamber is seeking at least 10 individuals willing to help organize the festival. If enough people don’t step up to help by June 1, the chamber will likely cancel the 2025 edition of the Marfa Lights. The long-running event — featuring food, vendors, games and live music — is a hometown favorite, traditionally taking place over a weekend in the fall. This year’s fest is tentatively scheduled for Labor Day weekend.
“We definitely want to commit to seeing the festival through, but we need the community’s help to make it happen,” said Chamber Secretary Lindsay Smith. “We’ve got to book entertainment, we have to secure sound folks and a stage and lodging; vendors need to be able to plan. So it’s kind of now or never.”
The chamber, which announced a newly-refreshed board around a year ago, has since had six out of 10 members drop off. The board currently consists of Smith, Rene Cardona Jr., Joe Williams and Kate Calder.
Smith said putting on the Marfa Lights festival is a lot of work, involving coordinating bands, vendors, sound technicians and other volunteers. Considering the chamber board has thinned out and all of the remaining members are active business owners, they need more boots on the ground to see the event come to fruition. “We want to see it happen but the consensus is that the four of us couldn’t pull it off alone,” Smith said.
If you are interested in helping put on the Marfa Lights festival this year, email marfachamberofcommerce@gmail.com before June 1, 2025.