Very good weekend. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to all the organisers.
BUT still very UNHAPPY that morris team members are forced to pay £12 per person for camping over the weekend.
I don't agree with any festival charging morris teams for camping when they provide their services free of charge, have to cover their own travel costs (some from quite a distance around the country) and contribute lots to the atmosphere of a festival and the local economy in spending on drink,food and shopping.
If you got a free weekend ticket to reward all your efforts (which you don't (I think!) all you would get is a free Ceilidh ticket as that is all that is on offer, otherwise,there are some singarounds and playarounds at no more than three pubs/clubs in Durham.
There are no concerts. No line up of artists at this festival.
I'm very sorry to be so negative, this is not like me. I like to praise all the positive aspects of the many festivals that I go to around the country but I am unable to do so on this occasion.
What made matters even worse was that on arrival when I protested (with good humour) that morris teams should'nt have to pay for camping for the reasons that I have stated above I was told by the campsite steward that he was sorry but it was the campsite fees that actually paid for/funded the festival.
When you consider that 66-70% of campers at this weekend were morris team members I hope that you can understand my anger.
This is blatently using morris dancers to screw as milch cows and cover the costs.
This,I believe, is not ethical or fair.
There is very little you can offer morris teams by way of reward/compensation or some kind of thank you for turning up!
Unless you really make the effort to get a proper line up of artists to make this a proper 'folk festival'and offer morris teams a free weekend ticket to reward them as true entertainers,to go some way to cover their costs, I'm afraid that this festival will continue to diminish and die.
And from what I saw this weekend,compared to previous years, it is already sliding fast into oblivion.
Have you not saught funding from the arts council et al so that you can afford to book some proper artists?
I apologise again for being negative but I just feel exasperated at the lack of effort and the lack of consideration for us valient morris dancers who obviously enable you to fund this so called "folk party" mainly on what we pay into your coffers.
For that reason, and I can't speak for the rest of my side, the Slubbing Billys, but I will not be returning to this festival.

Me and my wife are no longer willing to be a milch cow to be squeezed dry to fund what is actually a poor excuse for a 'folk festival'
Which is a great shame because I love coming to Durham.