The CMA Music Festival is a four-day music festival centered on country music, hosted each June by the Country Music Association (CMA) in Nashville, Tennessee. Beginning in 1972 under the name Fan Fair, the event now draws over 400 artists and celebrities who hold autograph sessions and perform in concerts offered throughout the festival. Half of the proceeds from the festival each year (estimated at US$200,000 in 2001) are donated to charity, while the other half is earmarked by the CMA for "the advancement of country music". History Fan Fair (1972–2003) WSM radio, coordinating with the Country Music Association (CMA), created Fan Fair in 1972 so that fans would refrain from attending the annual radio industry-only convention meant more for disk jockeys and other radio dignitaries that the CMA hosted in the fall. The inaugural Fan Fair was held from April 12–15, 1972, at Nashville's Municipal Auditorium. The inaugural four-day event was attended by 5,000 fans and featured 20 hours of live entertainment and 100 exhibit booths, including autograph booths. The following year, Fan Fair was moved to June in the hope of finding better weather conditions and attracting more visitors—attendance doubled to 10,000 fans. In the third year, Paul McCartney, the first non-country musician in the lineup, was invited to perform, and Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner performed a duet for the last time before dissolving their partnership. By 1982, the festival was moved to the Nashville Fairgrounds, and the All American Country Games competition was added. This event, which raised money for the Tennessee Special Olympics, was canceled in 1989 to add more shows. In 1991, singer Kathy Mattea attended Fan Fair despite being under doctor's orders not to speak or sing, so that her injured vocal cords could heal. She used a computer to type messages for her fans to read as she held "conversations" with them. Garth Brooks decided at the last minute to attend the 25th anniversary of the festival in 1996. He was swarmed with fans, and stayed in his booth signing autographs for 23 hours and 10 minutes without a single break. Fan Fair underwent major changes in 2001. For the first time, the event was held over a long weekend (Thursday, June 14 to Sunday, June 17) instead of during the work week. At the same time, the festival moved from its long-time home at the fairgrounds to several sites clustered in