The Story So Far…

Don’t want to have to read all this? I wouldn’t want to listen to me either so here’s an interview with the festival coordinator for the ADD internet generation!

Where do you begin? As with a lot of things it starts with family. Good team’s are like a family but in the case of Spirit of Folk the core group actually are! Natasha, Emily and Martin Duffy are the people who have seen this event from a twinkling in their eye to something that’s really taking shape and growing on a daily basis. It’s fair to say we were all relative novices at this when it came to organising a camping festival. Granted Natasha (our glorious leader!) had organised a mini-fest in Dunderry Park the previous year. But this was on a much bigger scale. First you have to get a functioning team organised around you to support each other through the emotional rollercoaster that is organising a festival.

The things that keep you awake at night will be firmly in the rear view mirror next week. For instance trying to book bands that just don’t work out for one reason can ruin your week, only to be replaced by someone whose just as good or better the next week leaving you on a high. It’s important to recognise the ebb and flow nature of working on something like this and maintain a positive attitude. So with the line up pretty much finished and some great acts and events booked are we taking things easy?

Not a chance. We’ve still got all the logistics ahead of us and the organising of decoration. As I type this the office is a hive of activity for our ticket selling party. The first lengths of homemade bunting are being put together and there’s a 3d jigsaw being assembled on the floor (not part of the festival technically, but it has to be done, apparently). In fact if we’re perfectly honest we’ve got more ahead of us than we have behind. But loving every minute of it, I might add.