john in hull - At Whitby if you just turn up, there will be plenty happening around the pubs. The Folk Festival will be holding concerts etc. for much of the day. It has been possible in previous years to buy a Day Ticket, allowing you into most events (space allowing), or pay on the door for a single event. I personally find the prices being charged for single events higher than I can afford, and excessive for the length of the actual concerts, but others are welcome to their own opinions.
As has been mentioned, this year the Regatta overlaps with the opening weekend of Whitby. This means that the town will be full of people turning up to see the regatta events and funfair rides. As a result the pubs will be excessively overcrowded, and not enough room for the folkies to do their thing. Accommodation will also be a problem for the same reasons. If this is your first visit, it would probably be easier to turn up after the Weekend. As you are from Hull. I believe that the Hull Shanty Festival is on that Weekend, I know that Les and some others are this year travelling up to Whitby after the Shanty Festival.
Quack!!!
GtD