The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #72970   Message #1263150
Posted By: Red and White Rabbit
03-Sep-04 - 01:44 AM
Thread Name: children's music at folk festivals
Subject: RE: children's music at folk festivals
Hi do lots of children's sessions and usually have a reasonable turn out but its partly do to the advertising, a great part due to what they are offereing and the rest is down to personality and hard work!
Here are some things you need to consider

1. where abouts is the children's event and is it a creche type event where parents can leave kids or do they have to stay? If they have to stay then it is more difficult to get kids involved because parents want to do their own thing at festivals. I have done both sessions and if parents stay I dont allow them to sit back and be bored but drag them into helping ( usually kicking and screaming but they tend to enjoy it!)

2.The event organiser should be able to judge the group he/she has got and think on their feet if it looks like things are not of interest they should be able to quickly change to something else. If the kids have a good time word quickly spreads and the following day or year you have more

I run different types of workshop throughout the day at a weekend festival that kids can dip in and out of music, storytelling games craft and a have a go session where I n=bring loads of instruments along so the kids can just have a go at playing different things that usually are out of bounds because they are expensive instruments - flutes, clarinets, guitars, didgeridoos, whistles mandolins, violins, accordian, melodeon etc etc - the parents love this session as it gives them a chance to try out things too

AT whitby each year I also help run a whistle workshop for children and a clog dancing workshop for children. I take the real little ones aged from about 2 up to 7 and my partner takes the older ones this year I had up to 15 little ones learning whistle and we had roughly 10 little ones learning clog over all 30+ kids learning whistle and clog.

I think you need to look at how you measure success - if you only have 3 kids there and they enjoy it then it is a successful event!

sue