Organisers of the all-new Bundanoon Folk Festival this November 24-26 say it's heart-warming to see the village community rally to lend their time and skills to bring the Festival to life. An immersive weekend experience, the Festival will bring a wide variety of live performance styles to our Shire assisted by grant funding through Council's Community Assistance Scheme.
"We are enormously grateful to the hundreds of community members who are getting hands-on with the many tasks entailed in putting on such a large scale event," says Bundanoon Folk Festival's Winsome Hall. "And as a non-profit local organisation, the funding provided by Council's Community Assistance Scheme means our venues will be fit for purpose and have that special Festival feel."
The vision is to build an annual Folk Festival unique to Bundanoon, that connects and showcases the village, supports local businesses, and creates gigs for regional artists along with crowd-pleasing national talent. Among fun live performances will be music, song and spoken word.
"We are grateful that so many embraced the idea of hosting this festival. People are putting their hands up to provide billets, drive buses, dress our venues, and offer their time and skills toward doing whatever's necessary to make it a reality," Winsome says. "It's heart-warming to be part of and connects us around a shared vision and project."
The outdoor opening will be free to all, with a Welcome to Country at 4:15 pm on the Friday. Buy a festival ticket (see the festival website for pricing options) and you can take in as many of the 60 live performances programmed, at a discounted price. "To see our line-up, like Stiff Gins, We Mavericks, Enda Kenny, Equus, Fred Smith, Gallie, The Water Runners and many more, at a single concert, would cost far more than your weekend ticket," Winsome says. "Most will appear at least twice, giving you the chance to catch your favourites at least once over the weekend."
Festival organisers hope to keep the live experience intimate this first year out, sharing the performances across a variety of local venues.
A specialty of folk festivals are the many ways patrons can join in creative workshops as well as instrumental sessions or singing.
"The funding we've received from Council means we can dress our venues to give them that special festive feel and this is something community members are tackling with gusto!" Winsome says. "So many have helped with our orb weaving and lantern making workshops so that our venues look fabulous. We are wowed by their enthusiasm and clever ideas for decoration!"
There is still time to get involved in the excitement of building the festival. "We need around 150 volunteers over the festival weekend, so get in quick to lend a hand and score yourself a free ticket!" Hop onto the Bundanoon Folk Festival website to sign-up , check out the program, buy tickets, and for full festival details.
"It's awesome that we've been able to play a part in helping the village of Bundanoon to get this annual festival and year-round community connector underway and can't wait to take in a gig or two," says Corinne Buxton, Council's Coordinator Community Development.
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