Jangly bells – check. Ribbons – check. Coloured hankies – check. Accordion – check. Yes, it’s that time of year again, when Sidmouth comes alive with the sights and sounds of the Folk Festival, now in its 68th year. It’s a week filled with traditional morris dancing, music performances, artisan stalls and workshops all over the town. And at night, as well as the Festival performances, you can catch impromptu jamming sessions in the local pubs or for non-folkies, live bands in the larger pub gardens. Some residents resent the yearly “invasion”, but I love the injection of colour and life that these events bring. This year I’ve really thrown myself into the festivities and have to confess I was out every night enjoying the live music, which I will miss terribly now that the Festival has just finished.

I also went out photographing with my friend Rosemary during the weekend, to try and capture the spirit of the Festival. We learnt a lot from our sessions last year – which lenses worked best, which days had the most people, which locations showcased the dancers best etc…This year I decided to focus on the characters and inherent quirkiness that presents itself during the week, rather than standard shots of the dancers and musicians.

Roll on next year!

(Click on an image to see a larger version)

And in case you wanted an idea of what the morris teams actually look like, here are a few images from last year’s Festival.