Thanks for posting this, U Smell Smoke; I've been trying to post about it all day but have been having trouble posting.
I asked on the SDC Facebook page about World Fest's "final year." They said that it is indeed the final year, but that whatever they're planning to replace it with would be something I would like (I had gone on a bit about how much I loved World Fest).
If we're lucky, this will be more of a re-branding the way Kids Fest/Star-Spangled Summer was. Maybe they're gonna re-brand it as a "World's Fair"? I know we've talked at length about "World's Fair" themes in threads about Grand Exposition.
OMG, I would be SO into a Mark Twain Fest! Heck, I'd be interested in all of those listed. Like, maybe weekend-long fests?