The all-star jam at the Fourth Annual Folly Fundraiser pose together at the end of the night on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The Fourth Annual Folly Fundraiser was held at the Timber Frame Folly, located at 301 Big Oak Drive in Shepherdstown, on Saturday.

The fundraiser featured the music of two bands — The Living Fossils and Infusion — throughout the day, followed by an all-star jam at the end of the night. It was organized by local musician T.V. Dave, who has been involved with Timber Frame Folly since the property’s owner, Bradley Sanders, established it 31 years ago.

“For a good 10-15 years it was very, very active here. Then with COVID, people weren’t coming out to events and nothing was happening here. It was feeling kind of ghost-y,” Dave said. “During that time, the floor rotted out and it needed to be replaced. The fundraiser exists so that we can put in a proper floor and not have to keep on repairing it.”

At the beginning of July the flooring was replaced, so it would be safe to use during the events scheduled there over the next few months. This repair work was only a temporary measure, according to Sanders, as long-term, a concrete floor will need to be poured in its place.

“We’re going to pour a concrete floor, I think. It would be so nice, not having to replace the floor every few years,” Sanders said. “Whenever it rains, all of the water flows down the slope to the folly and behind it. So it wears out the floor pretty quickly. We want to have a permanent floor that we don’t have to worry about as much, but good floors are expensive.”

Fourth Annual Folly Fundraiser attendees chat and take in the live music together at the Timber Frame Folly on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

He noted that the issue has happened so consistently that performers have find ways to add an extra measure of safety when using the space, such as by rolling out a sturdy carpet across it.

“We have scheduled stuff until the middle of September. After that season, probably in the fall or the spring, we would like to replace it,” Sanders said. “Dave decided to pick up and do this, because it needed to be done, and I’m so thankful for that!”

The estimated cost of the project — $7,500 — would be less of a problem for a business, but as the Timber Frame Folly is a community space that does not make any profit off of its performers, raising the funds for the project depends solely on fundraisers like this one and on online donations, which can be given at gofund.me/eee433ad.

For Martinsburg resident Anne Eden, attending the fundraiser was an opportunity for her to support a community space she has personally benefitted from over the years.

“All the most fun events are here,” Eden said, mentioning she has attended a number of concerts at the folly. “It’s a most beloved community space.”

Music lovers from throughout the community gather together to raise funds for the Timber Frame Folly on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

Other attendees, like Shepherdstown resident Lauren Chapalee and her two daughters, found themselves falling in love with the Timber Frame Folly at the fundraiser — the first concert they had attended in the space.

“When we first came, my oldest daughter said she wasn’t going to dance around with the other people — and now, here she is,” Chapalee said, motioning to her daughter, who was dancing with a new friend by the stage. “It’s such a cool place and such a rare thing, to be in a space with such a multigenerational crowd. There are babies and tweens and parents and single 20-somethings and grandparents — it’s rare to see such a crowd. And it makes it feel all the more welcoming to be here, because of that.”

T.V. Dave, center, leads the all-star jam at the end of the night at the Fourth Annual Folly Fundraiser on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston