Town based folk festivals also provide an excellent opportunity for those who are not "Folkies" to discover folk music. One evening at Whitby this year, I was sat next to a couple from Bristol who, although they did not consider themselves as folkies had come to Whitby for their holidays during folk week because they enjoyed the events and the atmosphere. I also met someone who had just happened to have come to Whitby that week, had discovered the festival was on and was thoroughly enjoying himself.

These examples show that, contrary to Conrad's assertion, folk festivals do attract people to folk music and are not excluding them.