Broadstairs Folk Week 2008

The Festival Today

Broadstairs Folk Week is an independent organization – a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee that depends on a combination of ticket income, public grants, commercial sponsorship and individual donations from the Friends of Folk Week and other fund-raising such as collections on the street to exist and to stay in the town and not become a green-field site festival outside of Broadstairs.

During Folk Week, life in Broadstairs really is set to music. In the parks, pubs, gardens, beaches and promenade; musicians - from the highly professional to the inexperienced amateur - get together in impromptu sessions whilst Morris dancers, Appalachian clog dancers, rapper sword dancers and many others demonstrate their skills on the streets and along the prom.

There really is a festival vibe in the town – nobody who arrives in Broadstairs during Folk Week wonders whether there is an event taking place – it’s inescapable – in the best possible way!

Some Folk Week History

Broadstairs Folk Week began in 1965 as a happy collaboration between people with a passion - the late Jack Hamilton, along with Bert Cleaver decided that the lovely seaside town of Broadstairs was the perfect location for a folk festival. Together, they worked on the Folk Show in Pierremont Park, bringing in many others who helped out and played key roles in the organization, marketing and administration of Folk Week.

Broadstairs Folk Week has grown organically – Pierremont Park in the middle of the town became a focal point for the Folk Shows and many other elements of the festival that are still in place today began in the late sixties and early seventies. The festival has had time to grow and develop in its own time and soon turned into the annual invasion of folkies which has become a highlight of the year – both for local people and visitors.

Folk Week has evolved into a highly successful event that has retained as many of the features so loved by loyal Season Ticket buyers as well as broadening out the artistic programme to attract and develop new audiences.

The key to all the years of organizing, cajoling, fund-raising, rabble-rousing and sweet-talking that has kept Broadstairs Folk Week going for over forty years is quite simple – people love it.