Ellender, are you sure you wouldn't be happier off-loading?

Being serious, it's the attendance of knowledgeable enthusiasts like yourself that makes the workshops so worthwhile and that convinces us that strong, honest songs speak more directly to the heart than some of the pap that the official programme of CC promotes.

(For those not in the know, The Ballad Workshops were first offered in January 2010 when Celtic Connections Festival had very little of recognisable traditional song on offer. The response was such that the workshops continued to the point where we have now successfully presented 11 teaching workshops and 2 guest events -- with Sheila Stewart and Ray Fisher -- and recently were unwillingly forced to cancel our latest guest event with Tom Spiers when north-east Scotland was under several feet of snow.)

Our intention is to continue with the same pattern -- learning , sharing and proffering supportive feedback, whilst promoting examples of good traditional performers in our guest events.
And it would be wonderful if the other people who shared our enthusiasm were acknowledged as valid "consumers" by the festival administrators, so that we might imagine a sizeable traditional section in future CC programmes!