It started eight years ago with a trickle of people, but next month’s three-day Newport Folk Festival is expected to attract more than 2000 people.
Hosted by the Newport Fiddle and Folk Club, this year’s program features more than 70 events with everything from a sauerkraut- making workshop to a two-hour story-telling tribute to Australian poet CJ Dennis.
Club secretary Rick Sidgwick will perform with Nicola Johnson in Celtic duo The Ricolas, while festival director Michael Stewart and Michaela Mee will play roots and blues as The Good Earth.
Sidgwick says the festival’s premier event is the Folk to Classical show, featuring music from Chopin, Britten, Mozart, and Gilbert and Sullivan.
It will feature the Newport Bush Orchestra playing with classical musicians and local man James Russo on grand piano.
Sidgwick says this year’s program has expanded beyond a traditional folk line-up.
“Some people are doing a presentation of the ancient Hindu creation myth The Mahabharata Adventure,” he said.
“We’ve got the [club] vice-president, Alan Davies, along with his father Dave, doing a spoken-word presentation of CJ Dennis’s The Sentimental Bloke.
“We’re trying to incorporate things that aren’t just straight-down-the-line folk music.”
The festival is from July 3-5 at four venues in Newport, with local eateries helping with the festivities.
Details: nffc.org.au
