Wimborne Folk Festival
| Wimborne Minster Folk Festival | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Folk music, folk dance |
| Frequency | Annually in June |
| Location(s) | Wimborne Minster, United Kingdom |
| Inaugurated | 1980 |
| Attendance | Up to 30,000 |
| Website | |
|
www | |
Wimborne Minster Folk Festival formerly known as Wimborne Folk Festival, is an annual festival of English folk music and dance, held in Wimborne Minster in Dorset, England. The name was changed to Wimborne Minster Folk Festival when a new group of organisers took over the festival when the original organisers retired in August 2012 after over 30 years work organising the festival.
Wimborne Folk Festival was originally founded in 1980 and is a traditional festival of folk dance and music. It began as a one-day event, but has since become a weekend-long festival, held annually over Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the second weekend in June. It is one of the largest gathering of dance teams and musicians in the South of England, attracting an audience of up to 30,000 people. Several streets near the ancient Wimborne Minster are closed during the Festival. Attractions include concerts, ceilidhs, workshops, dance displays and street markets.[1]
The climactic scenes of the 2009 film Morris: A Life with Bells On, a mockumentary about morris dancing, were filmed at the Festival.[2]
The 30th anniversary Festival, held from 11 to 13 June 2010, attracted 45 dance sides and an estimated crowd of 20,000 people.[3]
On 19 August 2012, it was announced on the official Wimborne Folk Festival website that, due to a lack of financial support, the 2012 festival that was held in June, would be the last.[4]
In September 2012, a small group of volunteers took the challenge of continuing the festival for 2013 and future years. With the change of organisers, the festival name was changed to Wimborne Minster Folk Festival following the request from the previous organisers.
The festivals in 2013 & 2014 were a huge success under new organisation and have kept the festival legacy alive.
With a handful of new faces joining the committee in August 2014, the festival taking place in June 2015 is looking to be bigger and better than the first two years as Wimborne Minster Folk Festival!
References
- ↑ "Folk festival to attract 30,000". BBC. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
- ↑ Lucy Akhurst (17 January 2009). "I thought Morris dancing was weird ... Now I know it's the most fun you can have with bells on". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
- ↑ Harriet Marsh (14 June 2010). "Dance is a fine thing at Wimborne Folk Festival". Bournemouth Daily Echo. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
- ↑ "Wimborne Folk Festival ends after 32 years". BBC News. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012.