Crook Morris will perform at the festival (Photo: Jan Fialkowski)
When: 13th – 15th July 2018
Where: Ulverston, Cumbria
£: Weekend tickets cost £35 – £145. Tickets for individual events are also available. Some events are free
What is it?
Head to Cumbria for the 20th Furness Tradition Festival, celebrating traditional folk-arts with a weekend of music and dance.
The festival will take place in the town of Ulverston, from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th July, with events including free dance displays, a grand parade and late night fireside storytelling.
This year there will be a pre-festival warm-up music session in the Hope & Anchor on Thursday 12th July. Visitors are welcome to bring along their instruments and join in, or simply listen.
The festival weekend will begin on the Friday night with a gathering in the Coronation Hall, which will feature an evening of music and storytelling performances. There will also be stories around the fire at the Hope and Anchor, in the beer garden.
Hear a tale or two from storyteller Ian Douglas.
On the Saturday there will be a craft fair at the Coronation Hall, a grand parade led by the Cumbria Gaita Band, dance displays and live music at the Market Cross, afternoon pub music sessions, an acoustic concert, and Travellers’ Tales storytelling. There will also be a Big Merry Neet in the evening, where dance, music, song and stories take place across three stages.
The Saturday will also feature the premiere of The Big Blind, a performance combining storytelling and music at the Coronation Hall Supper Room. The event will bring to life an ancient full-bloodied fairy tale for modern audiences, weaving versions from Norway, Scotland, Ireland and India with contemporary Scandinavian folk music.
On the Sunday, there will be music and storytelling workshops taking place in the morning, as well as dance displays outside the Coronation Hall. The festival will wrap up with a lunchtime music session at the Hope & Anchor.
More info: furnesstradition.org.uk