Business as usual for Tenterden Folk Festival 2007:

Business as usual for

Despite the sudden closure of The Eight Bells, one of the Festival’s favourite venues, it will be business as usual for Tenterden Folk Festival 2007. The 15^th Tenterden Folk Festival will take place over the weekend of Friday 5^th to Sunday 7^th October 2007 and is already looking very exciting.

We have received offers of help to relocate the events which would have normally taken place in the Bells and concerts will be moved to the Tenterden Club, The Sinden Theatre and the White Lion Saddlery, while sing-a-rounds and sessions will be moved to the Vine Inn and the Woolpack Hotel. All the usual events will continue to be held in these venues as well as The William Caxton, The Leisure Centre, The Town Hall, K&ES Railway, the coach park and the High Street, so there could end up being even more events than usual.

The emphasis of the guest list continues to be on traditional English folk song, music and dance with a good selection of Morris dancers already confirmed as well as Appalachian and Scottish dancers and the list will continue to grow for some time yet. We are also hoping to have Irish and Slovakian dancers to add to the cultural diversity of the popular outdoor dance displays. The guest list also includes musicians from The Gambia, Andes and Latin-American, the USA and Wales. The English contingent represents all areas of the country from Cornwall to Kent and from Wiltshire to Yorkshire. More guests will be added as funding is confirmed.

Tenterden Town Council, Ashford Borough Council and Kent County Council have already confirmed their continued support for the Festival, as have various local businesses and organisations and we are still seeking support and sponsorship. Several local hotels are offering special rates for the Festival weekend and the hotels, public houses and bed and breakfast establishments are already taking bookings. A town centre camp site will also be available.

Bookings are also already coming in for the craft fair in the Town Hall, the stalls in the High Street and the musical instrument and folk sales stalls in the Woolpack Barn.

We are also working on a special souvenir programme to celebrate 15years of folk music in Tenterden, so there are opportunities for businesses to book advertisements in the programme which will be distributed free through Tourist Information Centres, Libraries, folk venues, clubs and festivals and sent to subscribers to Around Kent Folk magazine, festival ticket holders and many others. We expect to distribute at least 4,000 copies of the programme.

Details of the Festival are now gradually being released and also posted on our website at www.tenterdenfolkfestival.org.uk

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Join the postal mailing list by sending a s.a.e. to Tenterden Folk Festival 2007 (mailing list), 15 Repton Manor Road, Ashford, Kent, TN23 3HA.

Last updated 31^st March 2007