Why does this thread seem to be morphing from "What is the future of folk music?" into "How do we attract people to folk music?" I distrust 'evangelists' of all types. I also despise fashion and 'fashionistas'. If folk music has the qualities which many of us believe it to have then discerning people will find it for themselves.
If we feel the we have to sell it in order to make it fashionable, then it will merely turn into yet another form of commercial pop pap. Once that happens it really will be in danger of dying out as soon as it becomes unfashionable and its place is taken by some other musical fad.