How to Plan a Weekend at the Leigh Folk Festival

Posted by Anonymous , 9/4/2007 Tags:PlanWeekendLeighFolkFestival
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How to Plan a Weekend at the Leigh Folk Festival

Introduction

For fans of folk music, the yearly four day Leigh Folk Festival is really not to be missed. Taking place at the end of June in the old fishing village of Leigh on Sea in Southeast Essex, the Leigh Folk Festival is the UK's biggest celebration of traditional and contemporary folk music a?? and best of all, it's free!

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Steps

1

Step One

Head to Leigh on Sea either by car or by train. If you're driving, take the M25 and leave either via the junction with the A13 or the A27 for Leigh a?? there's a car park at Leigh's train station which is a couple of minutes walk from the festival events and is usually free on the last day.
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Step Two

Take the train as an alternative to driving, and alight at Leigh on Sea's own railway station. There's a direct service from London's Fenchurch Street Station to Southend which stops at Leigh and takes about 50 minutes.
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Step Three

Pitch your tent at a nearby campsite if you're planning to stay for the whole four days' activities. Although Leigh Folk Festival no longer has its own campsite, they recommend the Wyburn's Farm Campsite which is about 3 to 4 miles from where the Festival is held.
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Step Four

Make sure you're in Leigh early if you're a dedicated fan a?? the Folk Festival kicks off with some special gigs and preview club nights on Thursday and Friday night in Leigh's local pubs and Methodist Church.
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Step Five

Get to Leigh's Library Gardens early on Saturday and Sunday to enjoy each day's programme of events which begin at 10.30 am. The family fun includes Capoeira performances (traditional South American dancing), face painting sessions, puppet shows, circus skills workshops, a family barn dance and of course, plenty of folk music performances!
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Step Six

Sign up to the a??Open Mike Session' at lunchtime to book your very own performance slot. If you're a musician who's not already due to play on one of the main stages, you can apply for a performance time here, which are allocated on a first come first served basis.
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Step Seven

Be impressed by the huge procession of dancers on Sunday at around 1.30pm. Led by the Hockley Royal British Legion Pipe Band, the procession moves all the way down Leigh High Street and terminates at the Victoria Wharf car park.
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Step Eight

Party into the night with Saturday and Sunday evening's closing activities a?? there are barn dances and musical performances until almost midnight.

Overall Tips & Warnings

  • You can download a festival site map from the Leigh Folk Festival website beforehand so you don't get lost when you are there!
  • Typical British weather dictates that it will probably rain at sometime during the weekend (even though the festival is held in June!), so make sure you pack wet weather gear just in case.
  • Although the festival is mostly free, you may have to pay a small admission fee (usually about ?￡5) for a couple of the special concerts taking place on Thursday and Friday nights.

Photo/Video Credits

  • Photo courtesy of the Leigh Folk Festival

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