Shepley Spring Festival

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Cath
Date: 05 Mar 07 - 06:35 PM

So let me tell you again.

I did not start this story.

I do not know who did.

The story runs for 4 days with several people putting in their comments, mainly suggesting that it could be true and none saying that it isn't.

I am not 'worried by it' but I am concerned about its possible effects if it is true. I am not 'happy for people to keep repeating it' - I have no control over what people write and apart from yourself and one other I do not know who has been writing.

After 4 days I put my comments in because it could have implications for us, if it is true, as some people 'may' have signed contracts with that agreement and we have them booked too - so whose booking stands?

I'm sorry Dave but you are the one who is keeping this going by constantly asking me to explain myself which I think I have done more than adequately and I think this should stop. I'm sure you aren't doing the Shepley organisers any favours by this.

No one from Shepley is going to say whether it happens or not and I am going to assume that those we have booked who are also booked at Shepley are going to have fun at two festivals just 4 miles apart, never mind 40. We most certainly aren't bothered about the proximity - we do not have a problem

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Folkiedave
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 05:29 AM

Cath I am not asking you to explain yourself.

I am just asking why you want to keep banging on about a clause which you do not know exists apart from the fact that someone posted it on here as a "ridiculous" rumour.

It remains a rumour, it isn't ridiculous.

But as you say:

"I've been reading about the exclusion clause with interest.

Where it does bother me......

But how do you enforce it?

I didn't start this story and I don't know who did"

oh yes and

"we do not have a problem"

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: GUEST,PC...
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 07:40 AM

I read with interest..I would'nt blame the festival organisers slapping an embargo on artists [who would be getting advertised freely at the festivals/sponsors expense] to a time restriction on playing near to the location within a given time scale..I have often had my fingers burnt' so to speak, as the artist/s have played over the other side of the big hills thus reducing the audience who might by a ticket..When one learns the hard way its the only course of action to take, to restrict the artist/s performance location...I certainly would'nt put the Peat Bogs on at all for at least six months..and why should the festival organisers risk the potential audience an opportunity to see the same act say in Huddersfield thus reducing the potential ticket purchaser for the festival.If the artists want to perform at the event and does not like the terms and conditions they dont perform or dont get paid for breaking an agreemant.....We have had to do this with some acts and more often than not they come and play....no big deal..

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Alio
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 02:33 PM

Anyway, back to Shepley!! I still want to know who's going to be at the Craft Fair (apart from you Dave!) - will Doldrums be there? I need a new skirt!!

Ali

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Folkiedave
Date: 06 Mar 07 - 04:35 PM

I do hope so, Denny is a great friend of mine.

If anyone sees her around perhaps they could mention it?

Dave

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: GUEST,local
Date: 07 Mar 07 - 07:27 PM

So who does anyone want to see?
Sheelanagig sound pretty amazing:
www.sheelanagig.co.uk

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Alio
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 02:54 PM

Roy Bailey, Tams and Coope, Shona Kipling and Damian O'Kane, Bill Whaley and dDve Fletcher - and definitely the Peatbog Faeries. I've never seen them live, but they sound amazing on the album.
Ali

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: GUEST,local
Date: 08 Mar 07 - 07:49 PM

Couldn't agree with you more Alio (although I'm not actually that fond of Roy Bailey (hides from Folk Police)even though he is the patron of the festival!)

Peatbogs are excellent live, seen them a few times, though not for a while.

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Soldier boy
Date: 10 Mar 07 - 10:45 AM

The web site encourages the 'FRINGE' element to the festival in the local pubs etc but the adjacent campsite is only available to full weekend ticket holders.
This means that non ticket holders would have to use other campsites that are miles away. Why is this so?

The organisers have done a sterling job in organising such a brilliant line up of artists and events on a green field site and I really do wish them every success for this new festival.
I makes me feel quite proud that so much effort,creativity and sheer determinatin is being invested to put the folk scene very much on the map in my belived homeland.

My only gripe is that the all important 'Fringe' element of festivals are once again treated as second class citizens and are left out in the cold.
I do believe that if the Shepley community (business and social) are to get any benefit at all from having this festival on their doorstep then you really must encourage and include (not exclude)
fringe festival goers.
Whilst they may not contribute much to the coffers of the festival as a commercial enterprise they do contribute greatly to the adjoining host community in terms of revenue and in breathing life,colour, entertainment and atmosphere into the community over the weekend of the festival.

Once you achieve this, any festival will always find that they are welcome and fully supported by the local area to run subsequent festivals in the future and will quickly forget any temporary inconvenience of extra traffic, noise and rubbish etc.

So PLEASE don't make the mistake of so many other folk festivals by turning your back on the 'fringe'. They may not want to attend lots of concerts etc or may not be able to afford a full weekend ticket but they do have so much to offer and contribute to the overall well-being and future stability of the festival.

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Folkiedave
Date: 12 Mar 07 - 04:23 AM

First of all my experience is that those who cannot afford a full weekend ticket seem to have plenty of money for beer. I am not sure what they contribute to the overall well-being of a festival. Certainly it isn't money so it isn't the financial well-being.

What I mean by the fringe is holding events that are likely to attract the local community - for example Shepley Spring Festival have a concert with the Shepley Brass Band and Bolsterstone Male Voice Choir. It is being held in the local church with the local community choir.

I also mean going into schools with artists booked for the festival - who teach the young pupils aspects of folk music and then give them chance to perform at the festival itself. It gives means the parents come too. Shepley does that too.

I note the Shepley has a number of top-class dance teams. These are being hosted by two local pubs who will also welcome singers and musicians. That is a fringe in my books.

Apart from sitting around with your mates in the pub and being colourful as you move from one pub to another what do you mean by the fringe?

Apart from cheap or free camping within walking distance of the pubs you are being colourful in that is.

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Alio
Date: 12 Mar 07 - 02:10 PM

Whitby do something smiliar I believe? You can get on the main campsite if you hold a week festival ticket, but otherwise you have to camp some distance away.
I know what you're saying Soldier Boy, but it would be equally unfair if it were the other way round, wouldn't it? Perhaps it should be "first come, first served"? But then it could be mayhem with people milling around?
I don't know what the answer is, but I do know that if I'd paid the price of a weekend ticket (and often the money's hard to find) then maybe I would expect to get some kind of preferential treatment. On the other hand, the fringe events / atmosphere are vital to a festival.
Ali

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Folkiedave
Date: 12 Mar 07 - 02:31 PM

So here we have the basis of Soldier Boy's complaint.

There isn't fringe at Shepley Festival.

There is.

Support from the locals will not be forthcoming without a bunch of people sat in pubs and being colourful as they move from one pub to the other.

Well support from locals was in place well before the festival even started.

There is no camping without a season ticket.

err.........that's it?

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Mar 07 - 04:14 PM

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 12 Mar 07 - 04:16 PM

Alio, Moor and Coast have put on a campsite at Whitby for, I think, the last two years with the specific aim of catering for those not able or prepared to buy a week ticket.

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Soldier boy
Date: 12 Mar 07 - 06:40 PM

Thanks Alio and Guest,guest. I fully agree with you Alio, preferential treatment should go to weekend ticket holders ,of course. I don't dispute that for one minute.
All I was trying to say was that it would also be nice if consideration and accomodation for camping could also be provided for fringe goers who too often seem to be left out in the cold.

Of course if that is not practical because of limited camping space, I accept that and priority must go to ticket holders.
If however a field nearby could be commisioned for fringe goers with a few portaloos that would be wonderful and I am sure that they would be happy to pay £5-10 per night for the privilege.
All of which helps to bring additional revenue to the festival.

I guess in my own way I am trying to carry a banner for 'the fringe' because for some reason they seem to be treated as a kind of underclass nowadays and I don't understand why.
What we must never lose sight of I hope is that it is exactly 'the fringe' that spawned the great folk artists that now take top billing at our festivals. Where else did many start out to learn their craft and hone their skills?

Bye the way, my, and I am sure, most others interpretation of 'The Fringe' is the hoards of musicians and singers that attend most festivals and roam the pubs etc to find a welcoming haven in which to play/sing to their hearts content.
Folkiedave on the other hand seems to have a different perspective on what constitutes the fringe. In his view it is brass bands, male voice choirs and childrens workshops with a few morris sides thrown for good measure. All very nice but, sorry Folkiedave, this is not 'fringe' in my book.

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: nutty
Date: 12 Mar 07 - 07:24 PM

I feel that it is unfortunate that Shepley has been singled out for doing something that is common to many festivals.

I also feel that it is unfortunate that Soldier Boy and other complainers can't find a constructive way of supporting such festivals.

The Moor and Coast site for Whitby week is totally independent of the Festival Committee but is provided by folkies who actually live in the area. Perhaps Soldier Boy and his ilk should be considering this solution.

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Folkiedave
Date: 12 Mar 07 - 07:27 PM

As I have tried to point out to you - conveniently ignored - the Shepley Fringe Festival has a fringe.

Remarkably, they have done their best to hide it by putting it under "Fringe" on their website. Go look.

This is a post of yours:

Too many festival organisers choose to ignore this at their peril and then wonder why their green field site festival struggles to be welcomed and accepted by the the local community the following year,when they only remember the inconvenience of lots of extra traffic,noise and litter

Well what the festival organisers of Shepley did was meet with the local community and ask them how they would feel about a folk festival before finalising their plans.

Then they have organised events with the community's involvement which include their children working with the artists for the festival to produce a showcase concert on the Saturday. They also include a community choir which has been rehearsing for a while.

That's what they have done to be accepted by the local community.

What a shame you feel it necessary to denigrate this involvement.

So let me try this again - there is a fringe at Shepley Spring Festival. It involves local pubs welcoming folk musicians. Sorry Soldier Boy but I thought that is what you wanted.

There is an involvement with the local community and the local community has been involved in its planning together with the festival. Forgive me for repetition but I thought that is what you were recommending.

There isn't cheap camping for those not buying season tickets.

I'd say you have got two out of three. Live with it.

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Folkiedave
Date: 12 Mar 07 - 07:38 PM

Of course that should read "Shepley Spring Festival"

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: BB
Date: 13 Mar 07 - 02:36 PM

"What we must never lose sight of I hope is that it is exactly 'the fringe' that spawned the great folk artists that now take top billing at our festivals. Where else did many start out to learn their craft and hone their skills?"

In folk clubs mostly. I'm not convinced at all that 'the fringe' of any festival has produced the great folk artists.

Barbara

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Mrs.Duck
Date: 13 Mar 07 - 02:45 PM

Folkiedave said 'But it looks to me as if the organisers are not doing anything to associate the festival with Holmfirth and if you didn't know from elsewhere that the organisers were people who were involved in the old Holmfirth Festival then there is nothing to connect the two.
Until today I might not have argued except that my daughter brought a flyer home from school which reads
"The organisers of the old Holmfirth Festival are bringing all their years of experience and expertise to present you with a new, bigger and better festival at a new home in the village of Shepley, 'The very heart of the Yorkshire Pennines'.
Not very ambiguous is it!

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Folkiedave
Date: 13 Mar 07 - 03:45 PM

No it isn't and it was a flyer last summer done to introduce the people of the area to the new festival. It is out of date.

Quoting that is like quoting an early festival flyer that does not yet have a complete list of artists and saying "They haven't got many people booked".

The Shepley Spring Festival website makes no reference.

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: GUEST,Guest - Beatrice
Date: 14 Mar 07 - 10:19 AM

If I have been reading correctly, Soldier Boy isn't asking for cheap camping - he's asking for SOME camping, for which he has suggested a not unreasonable price, for those who are not buying weekend tickets.
He and his chums can go and play to their hearts' content in the two pubs but they have nowhere to lay their weary heads at the end of the day.
Not an unreasonable question is it? Does Folkie Dave has an answer for that as he seems to be the only spokesperson for the organisation?

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: nutty
Date: 14 Mar 07 - 11:11 AM

Sorry Beatrice but I have to disagree with you - I believe that Soldier Boy's request is unreasonable.

It's on a par with wanting to go on holiday but insisting that the hotel you want to stay in accommodates you at a much cheaper rate than everyone else because you won't be having breakfast.

Organisations do not cater for the individual, certainly not if they make their complaints public before approaching them.
(see this thread)

I am not biased for or against Shepley, as I also 'Fringe it' when the opportunity arises but I certainly would not dream of demanding that a festival should accommodate me.

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Folkiedave
Date: 14 Mar 07 - 12:05 PM

I am not a spokesperson for the organisation I am a stallholder at the festival. I kept this well hidden by revealing it at the start of my comments earlier in the thread. I am also referred to on the website.

I also said I was delighted to see sessions and public participation.

As has been pointed out time and time again, there are various sorts of festivals and this one is one which does not allow camping on the official site unless you are a season ticket holder. Similar festivals abound all over the UK.

I do not see why he cannot arrange alternative accommodation.

I do not see why he can't do some stewarding, or join a dance team. He doesn't have to dance, he could even be a musician.

Soldier boy has started identical threads twice now. He has claimed things about Shepley Spring Festival which are clearly not true.

Ask yourself why he wants to do that.

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Mrs.Duck
Date: 14 Mar 07 - 02:30 PM

Dave, the flyers were handed out yesterday!! If they are not accurate then they shouldn't be being distributed. However it would seem that the organisers intended everyone to know that they were associated with Holmfirth and ti imply the festival was moving to a new venue rather than being a completely new venture. I have no vested interest in either but lets not pretend!

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Mar 07 - 02:39 PM

We too receieved the same flyer in the post a couple of weeks ago.

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Alio
Date: 14 Mar 07 - 05:26 PM

You're right, Guest, guest - and for me, Moor and Coast make a festival campsite! Our's wouldn't be the same without them!

And I'm with you on the fringe, Soldier Boy - they give a lot to our festival, particularly the atmosphere in the street. They also provide a lot of funding towards our campsite!! But then our's (Saddleworth) is a particularly large site so I guess we're fortunate - others aren't as lucky, so have to make alternative arrangements, which is where problems start.

I'm not clear what the problem is with the flier? Shepley is being run by the committee that used to present the original, excellent Holmfirth festival, isn't it, and have now moved to a new venue which sounds brilliant. I don't have a problem with that at all. And from the sound of it, it will be bigger and better (without comparing it to the new Holmfirth festival). I think it's a really good idea to let schools know - think I'll put it to our committee!!
Ali

Subject: RE: Shepley Spring Festival
From: Mrs.Duck
Date: 15 Mar 07 - 10:46 AM

I don't have a problem with it either, Ali! I only commented because it was suggested that they weren't making the connection. I hope both festivals do really well.
As for fringe events I do feel they add to the overall feel of a festival. When you have a family to cater for the cost of full weekend tickets plus camping (and lets remember that this is rarely if ever included in the weekend ticket price but charged separately) can be prohibitive. Allocating some camping only space would be useful at any festival and since everyone pays for camping noone is using facilities others have paid for..