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Wimborne Folk Festival
Aug. 21st, 2012 05:56 pm Wimborne Folk Festival - the event that got me into morris dancing many years ago - has reached the end of the line.
I've attended every year since I first discovered it, danced, listened to music, soaked up the atmosphere, collected for it and always enjoyed it.
I'm not really surprised the organisers decided to call it a day, the event has been on a financial knife-edge for years. It's very popular, pulls enormous numbers of people into the town, but gets very little financial support. The thing that's really pissed off the committee (some of whom are friends of mine) is that there are fringe events that make big money running beer tents and the like on private land, that donate no money at all towards the costs of the festival.
Thirty two years is a long time for volunteers to maintain an annual festival. Have chaired several conventions, I'm well aware of the amount of work that goes into organising a large event, how much goes on behind the scenes, and how much the general public underestimate the costs involved.
As a family, we've supported the festival with more than words. We've gone out every year for the last fifteen years or so and put major effort into the street collection. We know (because the committee told us) that the Festival would have folded several years ago without that effort.
There are people talking about trying to save the festival. Whether people will come forward, I don't know. Whether they'll come forward and then change their minds when they realise the financial liability, I don't know either. I'm noting some really daft comments on Facebook: "I'm not aware of any attempt to ask the pubs for money" is probably the best so far. (Just how the commenter expects to be aware of every letter and phone call is a mystery to me.) http://www.facebook.com/SAVEWimborneFolkFestival Though, to be fair, there are many people who clearly want the event to continue and want to help in some way.
Is it something I'd try and get involved in? I don't know at present. (I can see something else on the horizon that may grab my free time first, so I'm holding off from saying anything. I'm reminding myself how stressed out I get from con-running, but also remembering the buzz when an event goes really well.)
I've attended every year since I first discovered it, danced, listened to music, soaked up the atmosphere, collected for it and always enjoyed it.
I'm not really surprised the organisers decided to call it a day, the event has been on a financial knife-edge for years. It's very popular, pulls enormous numbers of people into the town, but gets very little financial support. The thing that's really pissed off the committee (some of whom are friends of mine) is that there are fringe events that make big money running beer tents and the like on private land, that donate no money at all towards the costs of the festival.
Thirty two years is a long time for volunteers to maintain an annual festival. Have chaired several conventions, I'm well aware of the amount of work that goes into organising a large event, how much goes on behind the scenes, and how much the general public underestimate the costs involved.
As a family, we've supported the festival with more than words. We've gone out every year for the last fifteen years or so and put major effort into the street collection. We know (because the committee told us) that the Festival would have folded several years ago without that effort.
There are people talking about trying to save the festival. Whether people will come forward, I don't know. Whether they'll come forward and then change their minds when they realise the financial liability, I don't know either. I'm noting some really daft comments on Facebook: "I'm not aware of any attempt to ask the pubs for money" is probably the best so far. (Just how the commenter expects to be aware of every letter and phone call is a mystery to me.) http://www.facebook.com/SAVEWimborneFolkFestival Though, to be fair, there are many people who clearly want the event to continue and want to help in some way.
Is it something I'd try and get involved in? I don't know at present. (I can see something else on the horizon that may grab my free time first, so I'm holding off from saying anything. I'm reminding myself how stressed out I get from con-running, but also remembering the buzz when an event goes really well.)
