Tenterden Folk Festival

Subject: Tenterden Folk Festival
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 Oct 24 - 02:18 AM

I would like to thank the organisers of the Festival for all their past efforts, in particular Alan Castle

Subject: RE: Tenterden Folk Festival
From: DaveRo
Date: 09 Oct 24 - 04:51 AM

Pete Castle is doing a zoom concert on 24th October 24
https://www.tenterdenfolkfestival.com/FF-Zooms/

Pete used to host a folk show on Chiltern Radio.

Can somone correct the thread title?

Subject: RE: Tenterden Folk Festival
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 Oct 24 - 07:37 AM

Alan Castle, was the main organiser not his brother Pete

Subject: RE: Tenterden Folk Festival
From: Vic Smith
Date: 09 Oct 24 - 07:52 AM

Press statement which is being prepared for release, but has been circulated to a bunch of regulars and those closely involved.
Tenterden Folk Festival – The Future

Following a highly successful Tenterden Folk Festival 2024 which took place from Thursday 3rd
to Sunday 6th October we are sad to announce that the Trustees have decide not to continue to
run this ever-popular annual event. This was an exceedingly difficult and emotional decision
and was taken for a variety of reasons which are not all financial and some of which we would
like to explain further.
Firstly, the festival has, for over 30 years, been organised and promoted by the trustees and a
very small voluntary committee of folk enthusiasts and local people. The average age of the
three current trustees is now something over 70 and for a number of years they have been
considering how to hand the festival to a younger generation of folk enthusiast but have not
been able to achieve this, although some excellent and very active new committee members
were successfully recruited over the last few years.
Since the festival started in 1993 the amount of complex and ever-changing rules and
regulations with which the festival has to comply has grown rapidly as the festival grew and
developed and the amount of time the trustees have to devote to it has of course grown in line
with it.
When the festival started in 1993 the total cost was just a couple thousand pounds, but this has
grown to over £50,000. With the Covid pandemic and the economic crisis of the last few years,
more and more time has had to be devoted to fundraising and the availability of grants for arts
and music, especially traditional English folk song, music, dance, and crafts, has plummeted.
After taking appropriate advice, the trustees cannot see this position changing in the next three
or four years. Despite best efforts the trustees have been unable to obtain any long-term
funding or financial guarantees. As a well-respected registered charity of long standing, the
festival cannot take financial risks, which would ultimately become the personal responsibility
of the three trustees, therefore few options remained.
The trustees felt that it was best to go out on a high while the festival is still a thriving popular
event and still entirely solvent and did not want to see it start to decline and struggle hence the
taking of incredibly sad decision at this time.
We are very grateful to everyone who has support Tenterden Folk Festival over the last 30 plus
years especially Tenterden Town Council, Ashford Borough Council and Kent County Council, all
the public houses and venues, all the businesses, trusts and organisations that have sponsored
the festival or advertised in the programme, all our loyal and friendly suppliers, and of course
the town and people of Tenterden.
We would also like to thank all the artisans and traders who have taken part in the craft fair, the
hundreds of Morris sides and folk dancers who have taken part, the guest artists, and all the
singers and musicians as well as everyone who has attended the festival.
Some of our other activities will continue unchanged. There are no plans to stop publishing
Around Kent Folk magazine and the monthly free Tenterden Folk Sessions will continue
unchanged. We may even promote some much smaller one off events around the town such as
barn dances, ceilidhs, or folk music concerts.
Alan Castle, Margaret White and Richard Cartwright
Trustees of Tenterden Folk Day Trust / Tenterden Folk Festival.

<><><><><><>
The Background
The first “Tenterden Folk Day” took place on Saturday 2nd October 1993 and, according to the
programme, there were 15 billed guests, 13 Morris sides and 18 events. The guests included
some familiar names such as Band of Two, Pete Castle, Lucy Castle, Keith Kendrick, Jez Lowe,
Bing Lyle and Tonbridge Mummers, as well as some less familiar names including “Lo! &
Behold” which was a one off collaboration between Jez, Pete, Lucy and Bing especially for the
event. The dance sides listed are all well-known teams who we mainly still see at Tenterden,
including Bishop Gundulf, East Kent Morris, Kits Coty Morris, Maenads and of course the host
side Woodchurch Morris. The craft fair was an important part of the programme from the
beginning and in 1993 it took place in the Junior and Infant School Halls and was organised by
Linda Robards from Ashford Library. The other Committee members are listed in the programme
as Alan Castle who is still there over 30 years on, Christina Bax (now Fuller) from Ashford
Borough Council, Keith Rundell from Kent Arts and Libraries, Dave Grabham founder of
Woodchurch Morris was the dance co-ordinator and the late Anne Thomas who remained
closely involved until her sad death in 2011. Sponsors of that first folk day are listed as Ashford
Borough Council, Kent County Council, Tenterden Chamber of Commerce and Folk Spots and
the support of Tenterden Town Council and Woodchurch Morris is also noted. The venues for
sing-a-rounds were the Vine and the Eight Bells with the evening concert taking place in the
upstairs room of the Eight Bells, which we still miss!
Tenterden Folk Day Trust was formed in 1994 and registered as a charity with Alan and Dave as
the first Trustees, together with Cllr John Link and Jerry Smith who was the landlord of the Eight
Bells. The Bells was also the home of Tenterden Folk Club. Anne Thomas became a Trustee the
following year as did then Cllr Mike Levy. The second folk day in 1994 actually started on Friday
evening with a Friday Folk Club upstairs in the Eight Bells with John Kirkpatrick topping the bill.
The programme guest list includes such stalwarts as Bob & Kathy Drage, Bo Foakes, Bob
Kenward, Vic and Tina Smith (with The Sussex Pistols) and many more. The festival had already
started to develop and in 1995 there were nearly 30 guests listed including Martyn Wyndham
Read and the late Johnny Collins and a Friday evening sing-a-round was added. By now we were
also holding the Eight Bells folk club twice a month and also running the educational project in
local schools which continues today.
The next big change was in 1998 when the event was re-branded “Tenterden Folk Festival” and
for the first time a few events were added on the Sunday. The guest list was headed by Martin
Carthy who headlined a sellout concert in the Eight Bells. The barn dance band that year was
The Cock and Bull Band, one of the best known bands on the festival circuit. We continued our
policy of including some of the best traditional English singers on the guest list in 1999 when we
booked both The Copper Family and Ian Campbell.
The festival has continued to thrive, develop and grow but the Trust has always remained true to
its original charitable objectives. To preserve and advance public education and appreciation of
traditional and contemporary folk music, song, dance and other related traditions, crafts and
folk arts as a part of the living heritage.
www.tenterdenfolkfestival.org.uk
[e-mail]
Photos of previous festivals are available at https://tenterdenfolk.tumblr.com/

Subject: RE: Tenterden Folk Festival
From: GUEST,Tom Patterson
Date: 09 Oct 24 - 11:03 AM

This is sad news, Tenterden was a great folk festival. Thanks to Alan Castle and everyone else who was involved in making this event such a success for 30 years.

Subject: RE: Tenterden Folk Festival
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 Oct 24 - 05:27 PM

I find this so sad.

Subject: RE: Tenterden Folk Festival
From: GUEST,The Claque
Date: 10 Oct 24 - 08:54 AM

One of the most enjoyable festivals we did.Relaxed,small and comfortable to be at in every way.

Subject: RE: Tenterden Folk Festival
From: GUEST,Jerry
Date: 12 Oct 24 - 06:51 AM

Yes, sad news, but then it’s good to go out on a high. It’s clearly been difficult in recent years to secure suitable venues around the town, with notably the town’s pubs one by one losing interest and pushing the folk activities into their back rooms, annexes, etc. Even so, well done to Alan and his crew for tirelessly organising it all for some many years.

Subject: RE: Tenterden Folk Festival
From: The Sandman
Date: 12 Oct 24 - 07:02 AM

yes they did a great job

Subject: RE: Tenterden Folk Festival
From: GUEST,jim bainbridge
Date: 13 Oct 24 - 05:45 AM

Sorry to hear this, but quite understandable really- I just hope the town is grateful to the organisers for their work- they never forgot the fact that this is community music and involved the whole town in the music, rather than hiding it away in concert halls and marquees.
As a visitor from more northern & western climes, it was always good to experience the 'last knockin's' of summer in a Kentish October!

On my last visit, it was obvious the changes to many of the venues, part of the general decline of the old English pub, must have been making it more difficult all round. I did hear recently that even the lovely old 'Caxton' pub has gone the same way?

Anyway, thanks to all for my few visits - I had a great time

Subject: RE: Tenterden Folk Festival
From: The Sandman
Date: 13 Oct 24 - 06:35 AM

I enjoyed playing with you and the session we had together in nellies was memorable,I agree that this should be community music.

Subject: RE: Tenterden Folk Festival
From: GUEST,Jerry
Date: 13 Oct 24 - 05:49 PM

I think the problem here is that the pubs are now trying to reinvent themselves as restaurants, and your festival punters don’t really fit into that business model. If our pubs are to survive in the current climate, then they have to focus on what makes money, which frankly is diners and not drinkers, and let’s face it, most musicians and singers are very good at nursing just one or two drinks all evening. That’s certainly not a criticism, since there are good reasons for that, but it’s possibly an inescapable truth.

The pubs of Tenterden have served us well in the past, and the Festival sessions and singarounds would often run for twice their scheduled time slot, but it seems those days are gone. I can vividly recall some places being rammed with punters all day, with some difficulty involved in just getting to the bar, but I guess hardly anybody was actually ordering food back then, because all the tables were occupied by singers, musicians and audience anyway. Feel free to prove me wrong…

Subject: RE: Tenterden Folk Festival
From: Vic Smith
Date: 14 Oct 24 - 10:22 AM

Feel free to prove me wrong…
On the contrary, I think that you have hit the nail firmly on the head.