The late Catherine Filene Shouse founded Wolf Trap through a donation of 100 acres of her Vienna, Virginia farmland (near Washington, DC) to the U.S. Government, as well as funds for construction of a 6,800-seat indoor/outdoor theater. The gift was accepted by an Act of Congress in 1966 and Wolf Trap's larger venue, the Filene Center, opened in 1971. The Filene Center season usually runs from the end of May to the beginning of September with an average of 90 performances each year. Wolf Trap is run through a public/private partnership between the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. The Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, creates and selects programming; develops education programs; handles ticket sales, marketing, publicity, and public relations; and raises funds to support these programs while keeping ticket prices affordable. The National Park Service maintains the grounds and buildings of Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts and provides technical theater assistance for the Filene Center.