With the greatest of respect, my thinking is anything but muddled and I don't appreciate the implication.
The issue is not one of money, it's one of preference.

I choose not to go to concerts as I prefer to sit and listen to the "unknowns" who make the folk scene what it is; a shared enthusiasm; and one that can be participated in.

It is not "paid for courtesy of those who buy tickets". It is created by those who sit in the pubs and sessions. It is possible ( though never easy) to organise concerts and have an audience turn up and I, along with many others, know this from experience but that doesn't constitute a festival.

The ambience of a weekend depends on those who create the sessions and singarounds; it depends on the venues being prepared to accept this "invasion" ; it depends on the residents in a town/village/community accepting the invasion as they can see how i might add some colour to their weekends.
In short, it does not depend on the concerts.

And..who said it is a truth that "the survival of the festival will depend, and probably does depend, on sponsorship and grants"?

Why go down that road of booking "stars" or making grant applications?

I know of two Irish weekends, both of which were grant and sponsorship assisted, that lost their funding and decided to end things. In both cases, the people who had attended said "I don't think so" and arrangements were made to turn up as in the past. In both cases they now have thriving, albeit slightly smaller, weekends on the go again.
One of them has started re-booking guests, the other, despite being offered new funding, has chosen to stick with the "no guest" setup.

Additionally, I was at a weekend earlier this year in Scotland, organised without guests and with only 2 small venues on the go. Everyone who turned up had a great time. It will be on next year too.

As I said in my initial post, I respect the wishes of those who choose to attend concerts, I simply ask for the same resepct in return.
Accusing me of muddled thinking doesn't exactly engender mutual respect does it?
A