Festival Websites...

Subject: Festival Websites...
From: Abuwood
Date: 12 Sep 03 - 05:38 AM

Is it just me, but I find it really frustrating when you click a festival website link, and find that it has closed down or moved on and left no forwarding address? The best ones, Like Saddleworth, keep their websites open all year, post photos and reviews of last year's event and dates for next year's, adding bookings as they occur. Any web writers out there please note that the site is useful all year, for booking next year's tickets or remenissing of last years fun. What does anyone else think?

Subject: RE: Festival Websites...
From: GUEST,Sooz(at work)
Date: 12 Sep 03 - 08:14 AM

I agree - so our site is year round! Gainsborough Folk Club and Festival Gets confusing though when you have last year in review and next year to look forward to.

Subject: RE: Festival Websites...
From: pattyClink
Date: 12 Sep 03 - 03:08 PM

I think you should write in again once you have borne the burden of running a festival and keeping its website going year round for years on end in addition to living your life and making a living and playing music etc.

Subject: RE: Festival Websites...
From: Harry Basnett
Date: 12 Sep 03 - 03:15 PM

Our webmaster for the Open Door Folk club website, Bernard Cromarty, keeps all past present and future Extravaganza information available at all times.

www.opendoorfolkclub.co.uk

Subject: RE: Festival Websites...
From: GUEST,Peter from Essex
Date: 12 Sep 03 - 04:27 PM

Where festivals are run by volunteers then the site will probably be owned by an individual, using the free web space from their isp, rather than by the festival itself (many smaller festivals probably don't have a corporate status in their own right anyway). If the individual moves on - no more site.

Subject: RE: Festival Websites...
From: open mike
Date: 13 Sep 03 - 04:31 AM

the www.Strawberrymusic.com site is up year round
and has a "XX Days and counting untio the festival"
counter active telling you how long til it happens again!
ticket trading, fotos, line-up notes etc. are on there..

Subject: RE: Festival Websites...
From: Joan from Wigan
Date: 13 Sep 03 - 05:53 AM

A number of festival sites have similar counters of days to the next festival - very helpful. And while I can understand pattyClink's and Peter from Essex's points above, it would be really helpful just to have next year's planned dates up on the site soon after this year's festival has finished, just so's we know it's going to happen again next year!

I have a list of links to, amongst other things, forthcoming festival websites in Folkal Point. Up to now I've concentrated on mostly local (i.e. northwest England) festivals, plus some of the national ones. I'm currently expanding the list to (hopefully) include all the English festivals. I'm working on a timescale of twelve months in advance from now, whenever now happens to be. So once a festival has finished, I'd like to put a link to the website, as long as it includes at least the dates for the next fest. I'm finding it a major job trawling through the same websites time after time, most of which are still giving booking info for the one that's long gone. Most of the festival websites, I find (with a few notable exceptions) only make an effort to update the site in time for the April issue of fRoots magazine (which gives arguably the definitive festival listing for the year). Which is a shame, because a lot of people do like to make plans for the next festival as soon as the current one has finished.

I would echo Abuwood's plea to festival organisers - please, at least put next year's dates on the site.

Subject: RE: Festival Websites...
From: JudeL
Date: 13 Sep 03 - 06:21 AM

While fRoots may well be seen as the largest number of listings the way it is now organised makes it much less useful in terms of planning which festivals to go to. It no longer has what was a very useful option ie that of listing festivals in date order such that you could choose a date and see what events were running. This option, which they discontinued, was a much easier way of clearly seeing what your options were on any given date. The system as it is now you have to look up each festival name individually to find out when it happens. So if for example you want to know what's happening on the 3rd weekend of September you now have to check out EVERY listing for September which takes a very long time to go through page after individual page. As you may be able to tell I am a lot less than impressed with the current incarnation of the site.

Subject: RE: Festival Websites...
From:
Date: 13 Sep 03 - 11:53 AM

Celtic Colours is up all year long. To facilitate communications for potential visitors, and previous visitors to the festival, they have both a Guest-Book AND a Message Forum.

Their line-up is usually announced in the early part of June. Tickets are usually available starting in July. Festival happens from the Thanksgiving weekend of October to the following weekend.

Subject: RE: Festival Websites...
From: Joan from Wigan
Date: 13 Sep 03 - 11:59 AM

JudeL, the fRoots festival list is still in date order: Click here

Subject: RE: Festival Websites...
From: Alio
Date: 13 Sep 03 - 12:03 PM

As Ali says, we do keep our site (Saddleworth) updated, but we do have a member of the committee whose dedicated area is just that. I'm afraid that I wouldn't know where to start, as many of the others would agree. All it needs is for one of us to send him some accurate info, and he does the rest. It's not just about finding the time, but finding someone who's technically capable.I'd never thought about having a Guest Book, so that will be my next suggestion to him!!

Ali

Subject: RE: Festival Websites...
From: pattyClink
Date: 13 Sep 03 - 09:39 PM

Joan, it sounds like they are using the 'roots' deadline as a trigger to put up information. Perhaps you could send around emails saying if you have the dates by such-and-such time you will post it on your site and circulate it elsewhere, etc. You could be the catalyst for getting them to reveal a date sooner.

Subject: RE: Festival Websites...
From: Joan from Wigan
Date: 14 Sep 03 - 06:14 AM

pattyClink, the thought had crossed my mind, and I'll probably end up doing that within the next few weeks. Thanks. Then all we'll have to do is encourage those festivals without websites to get them... Oh for a perfect world!

Joan