The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #148792   Message #3459074
Posted By: Mysha
30-Dec-12 - 08:18 AM
Thread Name: Folk Calender UK 2103?
Subject: RE: Folk Calender UK 2103?
Hi,

First impressions:
- There are indeed such folk calenders;
- They show "no shortage" of folk festivals;
- It's wise to check dates, as even with two calenders I find contradictions;
- Lot's of people want to help, and are way ahead of me already.

OK, to catch up with the suggestions and questions:
- I hadn't checked my exact schedule yet, but at the extreme it would be first weekend of July to first weekend of August. On vacations I usually move around with a tent and a bicycle, but since the bicycling is not the focus this time, using other affordable transport or accommodations would be OK, too. I find that in England, washing the landscape usually takes only a few hours, but the fact that the English don't iron it afterwards can indeed slow you don't a bit; I guess some 40 miles a day would be the maximum.
- Helping out, to me, is just a way to experience more of the festival, though I'm not averse to getting an occasional free ticket. In music, I prefer traditional to play the major part, but not to the point where it becomes the norm. In a festival, for me things should blend nicely: Some learning stuff, some singing-around, some concert-listening.
- I'm from Frisia, so I would probably land on the east-coast somewhere. (I wonder if anyone would know where the Anglo-Saxons landed.) Over here, I tend to sing whichever, mostly English, folk I come across. I'm not quite sure of what to sing in the British Isles, though, where most listeners would likely know such songs better than I would.
- I probably would want to go to Durham Folk Party, as I've been there before. Other than that, while I agree that there probably are folk clubs everywhere, I found in the summer you will need to know which ones are not on hiatus.

I hope I caught up with all the questions, this way. I wasn't originally asking for suggestions, but if people do have recommendations I'd be glad to hear them, as I see weekends with less than ten festivals should be considered exceptionally quiet, so some sifting will be required.

Bye
                                                                Mysha