THE tenth Allen Valleys Folk Festival held over the weekend was hailed as a 'brilliant success'.
The three-day Allen Valleys Folk Festival, held from September 22 until September 24 in Allendale, was a 'brilliant success' according to the inaugural festival chairman, Peter Aldcroft.
Celebrating music, dance and heritage and featuring some of the best live folk music acts from across the UK, the festival involves the burning of a wooden sculpture representing the legendary Allendale Wolf.
Peter said: "Now a fixture of the North East’s music calendar, the festival is a hit with the Allen Valleys community.
"This year, the wolf was delivered in a bed, disguised as Red Riding Hood’s grandmother and burnt after a short procession within the crowd barriers, to a soundscape of howling, drumming, mournful chanting and vocal recordings curated by Jonah Maurice."
This year's chairman Craig Atkinson said: "It was a surreal and spectacular piece of theatre which enthralled the large crowd assembled in Allendale Market Square. The Lion House and King’s Head seemed happy with the surge in business and hosted spontaneous music sessions until the early hours."
Festivalgoers enjoyed a diverse range of workshops, from early-morning yoga to sea shanties.
Workshop organiser Nick Pepper commented: "We included more innovative workshops this year including autonomous sound sculptures and, for the first time, creative writing folklore.
"Hadrian Clog ran a hugely popular workshop for aspiring cloggers and Karine Polwart took the time to run a free event for 4-8-year-olds and their families in which she read from her book, taught some songs and engaged her audience in such a generous way."
Musically, this year’s festival was refreshingly diverse, with artists travelling from Scotland, London, Liverpool, Bristol, Belfast and Eastern Europe, performing alongside those from Tyneside, Wearside and Northumberland. Although not performing this year, The Brothers Gillespie acted as comperès over the weekend.
Popular artists this year included Jim Moray, Frankie Archer, Tarren, The Breath, Kate Young Quintet, Wanton String Band, the Grace Smith Trio and festival headliner Karine Polwart, who closed the festival on Sunday afternoon.
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