The idea
Broadstairs Folk Week is a town-based festival with a huge range of events throughout the week. Festival goers can choose to go to ticketed events or enjoy the free events that are open to all generations. Every day offers an array of events to join in, watch or listen to - from early morning tai chi to late evening dances. The festival presents local, national and international musicians, bringing the town alive every second week of August since 1965. Folk Week brings together a community of volunteers, performers, participants and audiences to create an event that benefits the town, attracts visitors from all over the UK and abroad who stay in Broadstairs. The atmosphere in the town is completely transformed and there is no mistaking that a festival is taking place. There are about 50 separate events each day - poetry breakfasts, dance workshops, singalongs, craft demonstrations, talks, children's theatre, young people's music-making. Every festival goer creates their own experience
What we'll deliver
- 70 workshops in music, song and dance
- 15 concerts
- 7 days of free entertainment at the bandstand, Craft & Music fair, music sessions and dance displays
- Safe venues with First aid cover, insured, transport and powered
- Souvenir Programme with all events and information
- Hiring venues in Broadstairs
- Local accommodation rented for artistes
Why it's a great idea
Folk Week believes that live music and participation in events have a beneficial effect on community cohesion, mental health and encourages pride in local identity as well as supporting the growth of the local economy and contributing to a thriving local scene. The festival brings music, song and dance from around the world to the town and opens up Broadstairs to a range of cultural influences in an intense and joyful experience. Volunteering for Folk Week is beneficial by combating isolation and loneliness, as well as a sense of achievement in being involved in such an inclusive community event. Folk Week also inputs £2.3 million into the local economy which enables many businesses to survive in the quieter off season. Local estate agents cite Folk Week as the busiest week of the year for enquiries.
Steps to get it done
- Book venues
- Book artistes' accommodation
- Book Craft Tent hire
- Book Generator and fuel
- Book Radios
- Arrange insurance
- Book minibuses
- Design Souvenir Programme
- Print Souvenir Programme
- Give volunteers their workforce t shirts
Folk Week achieves a lot on small resources. The team at Folk Week works hard to diversify income streams and raises most income through its own fund-raising which includes tickets and merchandise sales, special events such as quiz nights; the Friends of Folk Week membership scheme and street collection donations during the festival. The team at Folk Week work year-round on tasks such as recruiting volunteers, fund-raising, administering the Friends of Folk Week, liaising with local stakeholders, booking musicians and artistes for ticketed and free events.
