Baring-Gould Folk Weekend returns

Mary Youlden
Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted Sunday, October 4, 2015 - 8:47am

October 2015 sees the welcome return of the “Baring-Gould Folk Weekend”.

This intimate and family-friendly folk festival, hosted by Okehampton-based music organisation Wren Mu-sic, brings great local and national music and international dance, and blends them with locally-sourced food and drink and an electric atmosphere to create an unforgettable weekend out for the whole family.

Guest highlights this year include Lady Maisery, a fabulous female trio exploring vocal harmony to breath-taking effect, through their fresh interpretations of songs and ballads, as well as Janet Russell, a songwriter and singer of traditional songs from Scotland, and Chris Foster, master of guitar accompaniment and a great interpreter of folk songs. Geoff Lakeman (father of the Lakeman musical dynasty) will delight audi-ences with voice and concertina, and David Faulkner plays beautiful music from the English bagpipe rep-ertoire.

Morris Dancers will fill the streets and Wren Music groups will play some impromptu music around the town too.

The festival puts a heavy emphasis on good food and drink, with a Festival Feast and round the clock re-freshment from "Ale and Cake”. All the catering uses fresh, local ingredients where possible and there will be something to suit every taste.

This year’s Festival Feast is a mouth-watering 3-course meal with smoked meats or smoked aubergine from local chef Patrick Carter. Patrick runs his own smokehouse, and meats are locally-sourced for the very best in Devon cuisine.

The weekend is always family friendly, and this year provides something for everyone, with reduced price family tickets and a special family day on Sunday.

There will be song and music sessions for children and parents (and grandparents), a family ceilidh and even the annual conker competition!

The festival takes place entirely within the town of Okehampton, nestled on the eastern slopes of Dartmoor, giving easy access to the moor and all its wonderful views, amenities, walks and much more.

All the venues and events are within reasonable walking distance of each other and range from dances at the town’s Charter Hall, through acoustic concerts in the lovely Fairplace Church to snug sessions by the fire in the town’s pubs.

Wren’s co-founder and Artistic Director Marilyn Tucker says: “we’re so excited to welcome people from across Devon, the UK and the world to our home town, and hope they have a wonderful time and leave with some treasured memories. And then come back again next year!”

With a mix of intimate concerts, excellent food and drink and rousing, traditional family entertainment, the Baring-Gould Folk Weekend has something for everyone to enjoy.

Tickets are available from www.baring-gould.co.uk or phone 01837 53754 for more information.

Baring-Gould Folk Weekend
23rd-25th October 2015
Okehampton
Devon
Weekend Ticket £30
Feast Ticket £20
Combined Festival and Feast Ticket £45

Times and venues are available from www.baring-gould.co.uk

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