In 1988, Dennis Bevington and Pat Burke, two Fort Smith locals, decided that they needed to organise an event that would bring together local musicians, past and present. With a bit of financial support from the town and GNWT they held a small indoor concert and called it the Friendship Festival in honour of the friends that were being brought back together.

The following year Dennis and Pat were joined by George Kurszewski and since then the three of them have overseen the event as the steering committee. Each year they have hired a coordinator to bring it all together along with the invaluable work of the many volunteers .

From the beginning, the Friendship Festival has been about the musicians and the music and encouraging young musicians to get up on stage. It has been embraced by the local community of Fort Smith and by musicians around the North.