This may have been the first Gainsborough FOLK festival, but it is certainly not the first Gainsborough festival. There's an Old Time festival in February run by the Friends Of American Old Time Song And Dance. Its a cracking festival with lots of good guests from the US and the UK, lots of workshops (Banjo, Guitar, Fiddle, Dance), lots of sessions with a LOT of very talented musicians - in the last three years we've had Bruce Molsky, Bob Carlin, The Konnarock Kritters, Dwight Diller & Dave Bing, Kate Lissauer, Tom Paley and the New Deal String Band, The Reed Island Rounders and the Rough Deal String Band.
I'll fill in the details of the next one when I get them.
Cheers
Ray