In 1978, Hetti Jackson and Marlene Jackson, our founders, approached the Rotary Club of Kentville with the intention of starting a music festival. As a result the Kings County Music Festival was formed. The Festival was incorporated on December 31st, 1993.

The official adoption of the name Annapolis Valley Music Festival occurred in 1995 due to the fact that it better reflected the area being served by the festival. The educational eligibility for the festival was now extended to Kings, Hants and Annapolis counties in recognition of the fact that we are the closest festival for students in those areas.

In 1999 the Annapolis Valley Music Festival became a registered charity organization run by volunteers. Together they provided a platform to promote young classical musicians, and others, in the performing arts in both a non-competitive, and competitive, music festival for all ages.
The AVMF is one of seven local festivals in the province, all of which are eligible to send entrants to the annual Nova Scotia Provincial Music Festival. In turn, the Provincial Music Festival provides eligibility to perform in the National Festival. All this came from an idea from two passionate music educators and we couldn’t be happier , as for the past 44 years we have been devoted to producing a festival that is both financially responsible and showcases excellence in performance.

We are indebted to all who are involved in helping us to produce our annual festival. We wish to thank our donors, our teachers, students and their families, the adjudicators, secretaries and site managers, our registrars, program and syllabus coordinators, MC’s and our community for giving us the opportunity to showcase the talent we are so fortunate to have in the Annapolis Valley.