Wimborne Folk Festival No More?

By DomCar | Thursday, November 04, 2010, 10:22

Wimborne Folk Festival faces axe for next year.

Wimborne Folk Festival in danger of being cancelled.

Wimborne Folk Festival could be cancelled next year if vital council funding is cut and I am very, very, very angry that this might actually happen. The festival has been around for 30 years and in that time it has entertained thousands of locals and visitors alike, and was one of the reasons I moved to the area.

The festival is put on at great cost, but some dancers and musicians do perform for free to help keep the cost down. Yet I feel this situation has arisen because of two factors.

The first is the apathetic 2% response festival organisers regularly get when they approach Wimborne traders to help contribute each year. Why should the traders not help fund the festival, as they are the ones with the most to lose? If they were to donate 25% of their festival income each year then the festival wouldn’t be short of money.

Secondly I think the council could help more than they do. The festival puts Wimborne on the map, brings new faces to the area and supports our local businesses. Without the festival the Town would be just another of the many small towns in Dorset. The council need to pledge this money despite where they need to dig or make cuts so they can afford it. The festival is vital to the prosperity of our town and we can’t afford to let it die a death.

Maria Bisp, one of the dance organisers, sums the situation up when she says that if the festival is cancelled next year then there might be no way back. I totally agree with her, we can’t afford to not put on a festival next year, or any year for that matter.

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Comments

That's terrific news, and let's hope the traders make the most of it. It's not like Hereford where they have a darn FUN FAIR in the main streets for days.

By alfiebass at 14:04 on 15/01/11
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Good news, the festival is saved thanks to funding being granted by the council, so it now looks like we'll all be partying again come the summer.

By DomCar at 14:24 on 11/01/11
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I think the point is that the traders haven't supported the festival as they should have, even though they benefit from it year in, year out. If each business paid a small amount towards the festival it would help a great deal. They'll lose out if the festival doesn't go ahead in 2011.

By DomCar at 14:20 on 20/12/10
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Perhaps the folk of Wimborne should go along to Sidmouth and see how it's done. Plenty of drinking, plenty of eating, singing, dancing all over the streets and seafront. The traders seem to do pretty well out of it. I can't believe that after 30 years it's all gone to pot, beyond saving.

By alfiebass at 18:51 on 07/12/10
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It's a real shame that the folk festival has strayed so far from its rooss, I quite agree. But I think realistically gone, are the quaint days of morris men and clog dancers swilled down with some real ale in pewter mugs.
It is just another excuse for the lager louts to be out and make a mess in the streets.

By blacksteff0 at 19:29 on 03/12/10
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