Inter Varsity Folk Dance Festival

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The Inter Varsity Folk Dance Festival (IVFDF) is the longest running folk festival in the UK.

It differs from many other festivals in that it moves location every year, being hosted and organised by student folk societies. The fact that it is run almost entirely by current students is another large factor that differentiates it from many other folk events. However, it can also be expected to attract ex-students and random folkies, descending on the host university for a fantastic weekend of music, dance, song and sleep deprivation. The festival is always run in either the last weekend in February or the first weekend in March; the next festival is due to occur in Edinburgh from the 2nd to the 4th March 2007.

[edit] History

The festival was started in 1951 and took place at the University of Leeds. Since then it has been roaming UK universities from the north (St Andrews in Scotland) to the south (Exeter in Devon):

2009 is happening in Exeter, between the 27th February and the 1st March 2009. Booking of the venues is now confirmed and contracts exchanged! What organisation! Everything back on one site, including sleeping, food and all the late night sessions.
2008 will see a return to Sheffield. The festival will run between 29th Feb to the 2nd March.
In 2007 the venue will move up north to Edinburgh University from the 2nd-4th of March where much craziness seems likely to ensue as the committee has apparently got its hands on a consignment of squeaking Haggises, as well as booking fantastic bands like Peeping Tom and John Dipper. The 2007 website is found at [1] and the main site, which should be updated soon, is [2]. UPDATE It was great fun! The committee did a fantastic job, despite some earlier worries about not having stewards and loads of people turned up (over 400 tickets sold apparently!). The haggises were a great success. SQUEAK, SQUEAK!
In 2006 it was held on the 24th-26th of February by Cambridge University with a committee made up of students and ex-students belonging to the universities' three folk orientated societies (Gog Magog Molly, The Round and The Strathspey and Reel Society). Because Cambridge does not really have a single big students union building they decided to hire a local school to accommodate the 1000+ attendees. It was a fantastic weekend, with workshops held in various rooms, including the gym and sports hall, sessions in the library and common room, and sleeping in the maths classrooms. Loads of dance teams turned up, including Stone the Crows, Black Swan Rapper, and Pig Dyke Molly as well as the usual complement of university-based teams from all over the country.
2005 IVFDF festival occurred in Norwich. It snowed for a large part of the weekend but it was still a great festival. It was notable that despite a very small committee and drafting in help from Cambridge, everything ran very smoothly.
2004, Exeter
2003, Sheffield
2002, St. Andrews
2001, Cambridge
2000, Glasgow
1999, Exeter
1998, Sheffield
1997, Cambridge - Held mainly at Anglia Polytechnic University and venues around the city. Believe it or not, their first attempt!
1996, Edinburgh
1995, Exeter
1994, Manchester - Lots of tram riding, if you were a morris team
1993, Sheffield
1992, East Anglia
1991, Nottingham
1990, Newcastle upon Tyne
1989, Exeter
1988, Edinburgh
1987, Reading
1986, Manchester
1985, Southampton - It's not supposed to snow this late, and this far South. But it did. Many people from further North were almost stranded!
1984, Sheffield
1983, Nottingham
1982, Reading
1981, Leeds - A very good festival, but the closest IVFDF ever got to going bankrupt
1980, Durham
1979, East Anglia
1978, Southampton
1977, Manchester
1976, Edinburgh
1975, London
1974, Oxford
1973, Liverpool
1972, Durham
1971, Nottingham
1970, Reading - IVFDF extended to a 2-day festival as someone had the idea of arranging a ceilidh for those who where staying overnight on Friday
1969, Strathclyde - Glasgow, again, but under a different name
1968, Hull
1967, Exeter - Their first attempt... of many
1966, Liverpool
1965, Newcastle
1964, Sheffield
1963, London
1962, Manchester
1961, Leeds
1960, Glasgow
1959, Nottingham
1958, London
1957, Bristol
1956, Manchester
1955, Birmingham
1954, Edinburgh
1953, Sheffield
1952, Newcastle
1951, Leeds - The very first one of all. Only one day, and not yet called IVFDF, but still the start of it all.

[edit] Mascots

Society mascots are a big part of the festival, and those which can be seen being carried around include Cuthbert (Snake, Cambridge), Nessie (Loch Ness Monster, Edinburgh), Floyd (Pig, Exeter), Russell (Ceilidh Monster, Sheffield) and Don (Elephant, Warwick). Mascot ransoming is now banned at IVFDF after several people sustained bumps and bruises after a particularly rowdy festival!