Session man: I can't apeak for the other posters above, but I generally buy a full ticket for the festivals I'm referring to. That still leaves me time to seek out participatory sessions in the gaps between concerts and workshops, or when I don't particularly want to fill my day with paid-for events. The festival organisers do get my money, and I appreciate it when they take the trouble (as some do) to make sure there is space and time allocated for sessions, possibly even with a professsional musician or two to lead them.

There are people who go to festivals only to attend concerts and to listen passively to whatever else is going on. There are others who only want open sessions and want to pay for as little as possible (and yes, some of them are perhaps freeloading, enjoying the benefits of the presence of musicians would would not be there without the fomal, high-profile conerts etc). But there are also many - perhaps the majority - who pay for their tickets and would like to attend a mixture of formal events and informal sessions. It's not an unreasonable expectation.

Marje