Playing a Scottish tune on the fiddle, performer Anna Bowen
takes a break while her husband Andrew Bowen sets up a tent
before the start of the Whare Flat Folk Festival on
Saturday. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
It was a hive of activity at Wairoa Scout Camp on
Saturday as Whare Flat Folk Festival attendees set themselves
up for four days of folk-fuelled fun.
Festival-goers began arriving on Saturday morning, pitching
their tents or parking their motorhomes or house-buses among
the grass and manuka of the camp-ground, with some taking the
time to sit down and play the odd tune.
The approximately 50 organisers of the long-standing event
began setting up marquees on Friday and continued to work
into Saturday, ahead of the opening performance at 8pm that
night. Festival director Bernadette Berry said people kept
coming back to the event each year because of the fantastic
music and the beautiful environment.
''It's friendly, it's all-inclusive and people get an
opportunity to hear things and do things that they haven't
ever done before,'' Ms Berry said.
It was not just about listening to music, but also about
getting involved in workshops and helping create music, she
said.
People came from as far afield as Auckland and she had even
heard that one person had timed their trip from Canada so
they could come to the festival this year.
A highlight this year included the ''Samba Experience'' where
participants could take part in a series of workshops,
culminating in a performance on New Year's Day.
About 500 people were expected to attend over the four days
of the event, she said.
The festival runs until Wednesday.
-vaughan.elder@odt.co.nz
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