In December 2010 it was announced that the Shetland Folk Festival had won the accolade of 'Event of the Year' at the Scottish Traditional Music Awards Ceremony. This prize has been gained after the thirtieth Shetland Folk Festival which took place in the spring of 2010.
As well as an impressive line up of international folk musicians, a television film crew were on hand to produce a flavour of what the Shetland wide festival is about. Their documentary called, 'No Sleep 'Til Yell' will receive its first showing on BBC2 Scotland on Tuesday 15th February 2011.
How the Festival is Organised
Perhaps Mr Cameron got his idea for the 'Big Society' from the Shetland Folk Festival Committee. It has, since its inauguration, consisted of volunteers. There are no paid officials and as soon as one festival has taken place the next one is being planned. It is not a simple case of sending out letters of invitation to the musicians. (That is the easy part). The logistics are much more complicated. Because of Shetland's location as the most northerly group of islands in Great Britain a great deal of planning needs to go into organising the necessary transport.
Shetland can be accessed by ferry or by aeroplane. The former requires an overnight crossing from Aberdeen whilst the latter takes only an hour again from Aberdeen. Many musicians prefer the sea crossing because it provides them with the opportunity to meet some of the other groups, bands and individuals en-route to the islands. It has been claimed that some of the best music of the festival is to be heard on the boat north.
The next 'headache' for the organisers is to find accommodation for their visitors. The hotels and guest houses are rapidly filled and some returning musicians are lucky enough to to be put up by the friends they made on previous visits.
All this makes for a very expensive event to organise and run. In addition to the ticket money paid by the audiences attending the concerts, fund raising goes on throughout the year. Raffles, dances and concerts featuring local talent occur throughout the year in order to make the books balance.
During the festival which traditionally takes place over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend, a whole army of extra volunteers is called upon to do everything from serving behind bars to providing food in village halls. The consensus view by all involved is that it is always well worth giving up one's time to support.
The Origins of the Shetland Folk Festival
The very first Folk Festival in Shetland took place in 1981. It came about as a result of a conversation between the late Dr Tom Anderson and Charlie Simpson. Both men had played at festivals on the UK Mainland and felt that Shetland could offer a product to match what happened elsewhere. From the offset it was felt that Shetland had musicians that were of a very high standard and could and should perform alongside there more famous visitors. This has been the format for thirty years.
The line up for the 2011 Folk Festival has already been announced and includes artists from Canada, America, Scandinavia, Ireland, England and Mainland Scotland. The music that will be on offer covers the full spectrum of all things folk.
Reference:
http://www.shetlandfolkfestival.com
