After the Festival

The following article is one man’s take on the celebrations that are held each year throughout the night immediately following the last performance of the festival. These nocturnal parties, filled with music, singing, dancing, and drinking, are seen as a way to unwind and as a reward for all the time and energy invested in the festival by organizers, musicians and volunteers. If music all night long appeals to you, get more involved in folk-work by contacting Caroline Clarke and volunteering.

What is it about going out and partying with your friends and having a good time? What makes a really good night? You know, the sort of night you savour and talk about weeks later, long after the event. I reckon there are three kinds of partying. There are nights that are planned carefully ahead of time (birthdays, anniversaries and the like). There are nights that hold great promise and expectation but generally end in disappointment. Then there are those rare nights that just materialise out of nowhere, totally unexpected, spontaneous and magical and turn out to be memorable.

But sometimes there are nights that are planned, premeditated, and still turn out to be great. When I think back over the last few years, the parties that fall into the last category for me have been the post-Folk-Festival bashes: the party on Sunday night, immediately after the last evening of the festival. This is the party to say thank you to all the volunteers, artists, musicians, friends and hangers-on -- the party to relax and share in the fellowship of friends -- the party to help with the emotional "come-down" after the stresses and strains of the weekend. Group therapy with the aid of the "drug" of your choice and a bit of dancing (courtesy of Ford Elms) thrown in for good measure. Wild, continuous, impromptu music, from musicians who don't want the festival to end. A "Phil Spectre" wall of sound of Celtic music.

The last two post festival parties have been at the Majestic Theatre to try and accommodate the ever-increasing number of bodies. Here's some advice for the baby boomers (me included)... pacing and self-restraint are required if you want to keep going till dawn. This, perhaps, is one of the few nights a year you can stay up all night. You can then stagger from a dim building and experience the early dawn in one of the best cities in the world, as you search for a greasy breakfast, at a 24-hour cafe. To quote a friend: "You can sleep when you're old"................Get a doctor's note.

Andrew Lang will sleep, eventually, but until such time arrives, he carries his mando-cello on the Pickett Line and offers top-notch root canals. He's a man you'd like to have as a friend, and might even be convinced to write a doctor's note himself a time or two.

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	After the Festival by Andrew Lang The Broadside Vol 10. No. 2 October: 2006

	The following article is one man’s take on the celebrations that are held each year throughout the night immediately following the last performance of the festival. These nocturnal parties, filled with music, singing, dancing, and drinking, are seen as a way to unwind and as a reward for all the time and energy invested in the festival by organizers, musicians and volunteers. If music all night long appeals to you, get more involved in folk-work by contacting Caroline Clarke and volunteering. What is it about going out and partying with your friends and having a good time? What makes a really good night? You know, the sort of night you savour and talk about weeks later, long after the event. I reckon there are three kinds of partying. There are nights that are planned carefully ahead of time (birthdays, anniversaries and the like). There are nights that hold great promise and expectation but generally end in disappointment. Then there are those rare nights that just materialise out of nowhere, totally unexpected, spontaneous and magical and turn out to be memorable. But sometimes there are nights that are planned, premeditated, and still turn out to be great. When I think back over the last few years, the parties that fall into the last category for me have been the post-Folk-Festival bashes: the party on Sunday night, immediately after the last evening of the festival. This is the party to say thank you to all the volunteers, artists, musicians, friends and hangers-on -- the party to relax and share in the fellowship of friends -- the party to help with the emotional "come-down" after the stresses and strains of the weekend. Group therapy with the aid of the "drug" of your choice and a bit of dancing (courtesy of Ford Elms) thrown in for good measure. Wild, continuous, impromptu music, from musicians who don't want the festival to end. A "Phil Spectre" wall of sound of Celtic music. The last two post festival parties have been at the Majestic Theatre to try and accommodate the ever-increasing number of bodies. Here's some advice for the baby boomers (me included)... pacing and self-restraint are required if you want to keep going till dawn. This, perhaps, is one of the few nights a year you can stay up all night. You can then stagger from a dim building and experience the early dawn in one of the best cities in the world, as you search for a greasy breakfast, at a 24-hour cafe. To quote a friend: "You can sleep when you're old"................Get a doctor's note. Andrew Lang will sleep, eventually, but until such time arrives, he carries his mando-cello on the Pickett Line and offers top-notch root canals. He's a man you'd like to have as a friend, and might even be convinced to write a doctor's note himself a time or two. (back to table of contents)