Where: City centre, Oxford
£: Weekend tickets cost £62 (£57 concessions), day tickets cost from £28. Tickets for individual events are also available. Some events are free.
What is it?
The Folk Weekend: Oxford is a community-based, volunteer-run festival, which is now in its fifth year. This year’s event takes place from Friday 15th to Sunday 17th April 2016 in the city centre.
The Folk Weekend is known for the strong representation of Oxfordshire’s folk groups, young performers, and emerging acoustic talent. The festival is a hidden gem in the annual festival calendar, with unique opportunities to see top quality performers in intimate and beautiful settings around Oxford city centre.
Folk legend Martin Carthy will be the main headline artist, and will be joined by artists including power-duo Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman, and the acclaimed singer-songwriter Emily Portman, who will perform with her trio.
Folk Weekend: Oxford has been championing inclusivity in the arts for some time, and on Saturday 16th April will hold its first ‘Special Saturday’ in a bid to encourage people with Special Needs and their families to attend the festival.
There will be hands-on music-making with Pete Ord’s Inclusive music-making workshop in St Columba’s Church Hall. Pete will be exploring some of the different ways that technology can be used to help people with Special Needs enjoy making music, using equipment such as Soundbeam, SKOOG, iPads, and talking tiles.
There will also be plenty of free events during the festival for everyone to enjoy. Displays of Morris dancing will be rampant throughout the city centre all weekend. There are free concerts on Saturday and Sunday in Blackwell’s bookshop, and the Pitt Rivers Museum will be hosting two days of free family events, including craft, music, and dance workshops.
More info: www.folkweekendoxford.co.uk