The Marion FoxTrot Festival was organized in 1991 as a non-profit organization with the goal of promoting the City of Marion, SC and Historic Marion County. The festival is funded by the City of Marion, Marion County, and private benefactors with the City of Marion acting as its fiscal agent.

The Marion FoxTrot Festival Board of Directors consists of volunteers from throughout the county. Numerous other volunteers join forces with the board of directors in order to accomplish the vast amount of preparation and work that make the festival possible.

The historic and charming county square with its ancient elm trees draped with Spanish moss and beautifully landscaped grounds provides the perfect backdrop for the Marion FoxTrot Festival. Watching over the day's events is the statue of the "Swamp Fox" himself, Revolutionary War General Francis Marion, for whom the county was named.