Some festivals are very succesful (in terms of ticket sales/artistic merit)with no fringe whatsoever. There seems to be little fringe at Warwick and Bromyard for example and they have been great festivals when I have been to them. Brampton Live! has had terrific artists over the years, reduced prices for kids and youths with activities for them, etc. Sells out each year. No fringe at all when I went a couple of years ago. And it was hardly a sterile event.

The fact is that there is rarely a festival fringe (F and M years excepted) without a festival. And Cllr makes all the correct points that someone has to buy a season ticket and visit concerts etc. otherwise festival do not happen. Some festivals pay people (if only in kind with a season ticket for example) to ensure sessions happen in particular pubs and are organised.

Many festivals do supply Children´s entertainment within a ticket and many also have workshops for the slightly older child escaping from parents. These have got bigger and better over the years at many festivals and introduced many a young person to folk music.

There are people who love to see the great acts of the folk world live and on stage - Vin Garbutt being a great example of that sort of thing - as folk clubs seem to be replaced by sessions. But my own tastes also include Susanna Seivane and Kepa Junkera for example, I am unlikley to be able to see them anywhere except at major festivals.

Can I just go back to the orginal poster who said he had been "compering fringe events". I am wondering (having not been to Beverley for a number of years) how come fringe events need compering? I can understand people organising sing arounds to enasure people get a chance to perform - but "compering?" and "fringe" are not normally words I would associate together.

As for festivals appearing cliquey to people, of course they are. But so long as complaints are few/non existent, does it matter? I´ll be going to Bradfield Traditional Music Festival in August. (Blatant plug). To my own tastes it is superb. Just the kind of music I like. How do you make that particular festival non-cliquey? And would you want to?