The following from the Dorset Evening Echo 10 April 2003

May dates announced for second Weymouth festival.

STAGE SET FOR FEAST OF FOLK

Organisers are preparing for one of the largest festivals of folk to take place on the South Coast. The second Weymouth Folk Festival will take place in and around the town for three days in early May and the signs are that it will be even more successful than last year's event.

Local musicians such as Ken Watkins and The Yetties will be rubbing shoulders with international names including headliners The Oyster Band, guitar maestro Martin Simpson from Kentucky and Alexander Korbalov from Russia.

The Pavilion will be completely turned over to the festival, which runs from Friday, may 9, until Saturday, May 11, and various venues in the town will also be used.

Performers will be entertaining in five pubs – The White Hart, The Dorothy, Cove Inn on Portland, The Black Dog – as well as outside the Pavilion complex and at Brewers Quay.

There will also be a procession involving more than 25 sides of Morris dancers, Appalachian clog dancers and musicians.

Organiser Bob Kirkpatrick said: "We put last year' festival together in pretty short order and have had a year to plan this one, so I think it will be a tremendous success. "We are expecting dance teams from all over the South West including the Channel Islands and Bristol and we are expecting it to be the biggest festival outside Sidmouth and Wimborne."

He continued: "There will also be a fair mix of music, which is good. "We are not confining ourselves to just one type, but are covering the whole spectrum including some bluegrass." Co-organiser Karen Brown said: "We think that Weymouth is the ideal location for a folk festival because there is so much for families to do here. " There is the beach and the town centre and places to camp in the area – everything you need, really. "There is the potential for this to grow into something really big."

One of the highlights will be a craft fair in the Pavilion's Ocean Room on Sunday, May 11, featuring items handcrafted by traditional methods.

For full details of festival events and ticket details, call 01305 783 225.

Note that there is no mention here at all of Weymouth and PORTLAND Borough Council's organisation, funding or involvement…….. I wonder why? As there was a photo with the Council owned and run Pavilion Theatre in the background.

But there is mention of our Portland event at the Cove. I will be there all week-end at the best festival venue, the one that supports folk music all year round - and I hope to see you there too.

matt.pitman@dorsetecho.co.uk
has contacted me and has asked for my comments. Perhaps you could supply him with some of yours?