Sidmouth Folk Festival added a small note to their website on 14 July 2023, three weeks before the festival, that the hugely popular Bulverton LNE ceilidhs will not take place, along with any dancing on that site. The ceilidhs are a highlight for so many of festival attendees. It’s the space where the booked morris teams, artists and volunteers can go and dance after their schedule finishes. It’s where you’ll find the next generations of folk festival goers, who can’t afford the Ham Concerts (and don’t necessarily want to sit and watch performers anyway). We’re also losing the magnificent morris spots where we’ve had memorable silliness from Earlsdon Morris, Berkshire Bedlam, and Sheffield Steel to name but a few. We are also losing the best space for the dance workshops, which we drag ourselves up the hill to at 09:30, but love every second of.

The new ‘plan’ alienates young folkies, dancers, parents, wheelchair ceilidhers… the list goes on. 

We ask the organisers to reconsider this decision. With three weeks to go, let’s save Sidmouth!