MetroWest’s historic folk scene comes alive again this August with a festival that’s one of a kind.

On Aug. 17, Touchable Stories will be sponsoring a free revival folk festival in Hopkinton honoring the Old Vienna Kaffeehaus. Billed as a “nostalgic journey” through the venue’s history, the event will feature more than a dozen artists and special guests.

“This is a first of its kind event,” said singer/songwriter Barbara Kessler, a Hopkinton resident and host of the event. “It’s been over 25 years since the club closed.”

Notable performers in the lineup include Jim Infantino, Peter Mulvey and Grammy-winning country songwriter Lori McKenna.

Kessler will perform a set of her own during the festival, as will her daughter, Emilia Ali.

Ali is an EDM (electronic dance music) and pop musician who grew up in Hopkinton and graduated from Berklee College of Music. She has performed at Lollapalooza and SXSW (South by Southwest festival), and has more than 600,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

The festival will run from 1-9 p.m. and feature special guests introducing each act. The event is being held at a private location in town, so attendees are asked to reserve tickets online ahead of time (via 0830club.com/ovk), at which point they will be provided the location. There is no cost to attend, but donations are encouraged.

Kessler and other local musicians got their start at OVK, which first opened its doors in 1986. The club was upstairs from the Old Vienna Restaurant, an Austro-Hungarian eatery that once stood on South Street in Westborough.

Newcomers, established local acts and internationally known musicians and artists performed at the 125-seat club for a decade. Headliners included big names like Kris Kristofferson, Arlo Guthrie, Gil Scott-Heron and others.

“My first gig there was opening up for Livingston Taylor,” said Kessler.

OVK’s famed open mic nights drew now well-established folk and singer/songwriter acts like Dar Williams, Martin Sexton and Ellis Paul.

The owners decided to close the club in 1996. Its impact, however, lives on. 

“People still remember the days there,” said Kessler. “It was a nationally known place, but it was a treasure for local singer/songwriter acts.”