Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts in Virginia has changed its name to Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, by an Act of Congress. The bill (H.R. 2440) passed the House and the Senate (S. 202), and was signed into law by the president on August 21.
Representative Tom Davis (R-VA), with Representatives Jim Moran (D-VA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA) as cosigners, sponsored the bill in the House. Senator John Warner (R-VA) sponsored the name change legislation in the Senate, with support from Senator George Allen (R-VA). The legislation also had the support of the family of Catherine Filene Shouse, Wolf Trap’s founder, and the National Park Service. Wolf Trap is jointly managed by the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and the National Park Service.
"This name change fully reflects our role as America's only National Park for the Performing Arts and we are grateful to the members of both Houses of Congress for recognizing the value, as well as the current and potential impact of Wolf Trap on the nation’s cultural landscape," said Terrence D. Jones, president and CEO of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. "We hope the immediate impact of this name change will be an increase in public awareness of this cultural treasure."
It was an Act of Congress in 1966 that established Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts, as a result of a generous gift from Catherine Filene Shouse. Shouse provided her farmland and funds to construct the first Filene Center, a 7,000- seat amphitheater that attracts more than a half million people to performances every summer. Today, Wolf Trap is home to two venues — the 7,028-seat Filene Center-America's National Park for the Performing Arts, and The Barns of Wolf Trap, which operate year-round.
