"The Whitby Week that Dick pointed out early is a folk festival, but it is a traditional British folk festival. There are also many people that would reject "contemporary folk" as well."

The Whitby Folk Festival is a festival of folk - in its broadest sense. There may be those who prefer to ignore that fact, or who try to ignore what is going on all over the town - people playing all types of music (not just "folk") and enjoying themselves. It is a fantastic festival, richer because of the acceptance of a very wide variety of music and "folk" music. The places I go to there aren't characterised by characters analysing their butts off about definitions. I'll go so far as to say the "traditionalists" are very much in the minority in the Whitby Folk Week - but they will respond in that statement in their own inimitable way.