The first Constitution Square Festival was held at Constitution Square State Historic Site in 1979. The event was held annually on the third weekend in September and featured historical reenactments, crafts, food, and music. In February 2009, the Kentucky Department of Parks announced that the festival would be suspended due to budget cuts prompted by the economic recession. Shortly after the announcement, three community organizations – the Heart of Danville, the Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Community Arts Center – volunteered to coordinate the festival without state funds. These groups gave the festival a more arts-centric focus and renamed it the Constitution Square Arts Festival. The event continued until 2011, but was suspended in 2012.