In the light of the continuing pandemic
and the uncertainty of restrictions such as social distancing and face
coverings being fully relaxed by August, the Whitby Folk Week directors have
taken the extremely difficult decision to postpone the 2021 festival until the
20th-26th August 2022.
The very essence of Whitby Folk
Week is our community; being together to dance, sing, play music and be with
friends and family. Ceilidhs, morris dancing, sessions, workshops, sing-arounds
and bustling venues are at the heart of this, and they are simply not possible
with any level of social distancing in place. Whitby Folk Week without these
things would not be the Whitby Folk Week we know and love.
There are also more practical
considerations such as the availability of the Spa, ever changing restrictions
and the fact that any financial risk in this already unpredictable year may
well jeopardise future festivals. To ensure a positive future for the festival,
we must be mindful of the ongoing need to protect each other, as well as the
town of Whitby, and our festival and its reputation.
For this year, we will contact
ticket holders over the next few days and, as last year, we will host a
Whitby@Home which we hope you will support to keep us all going until we can
have the festival back to its old self.
Hopefully, in 2022, we will
collect our heather in person, hug our friends, dance, sing and play to our
hearts' content. In the meantime, we send our very best wishes for continued
health and happiness to our supporters and their loved ones.
Whitby Folk Week is a long-standing celebration of the traditional music, dance and song of the British Isles has taken on the trappings of a tradition in its own right. As always there will be over 100 fantastic concerts ready to entertain you across the town in numerous venues.
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