AKA hippy-fest 2006. Lots of folk going around in hippy clothes, more dreadlocks than you could poke a stick at, and vegetarian health food stalls everywhere, as well as the mandatory greasy snack carts. Lots of hippy clothing stalls, along with … A FAIRY STALL!! Yep, go there for all your fairy needs. I bought myself a pair of fairy wings for the Pirates and Fairies party at Solfest next week, SOO excited!!

The vibe at this festival was just awesome! There were young folk and old, families, and the whole festival was strewn with entertainers bringing the place to life.

I love the kid at the very bottom of this photo who’s pointing the toy gun at the shin of this robot-on-stilts… Too cute for words! Don’t forget you can click on the image to see a larger version of it!

This guy had security all around him, trying to keep folk away from the obviously highly dangersous bomb which was being defused. Very appropriate for our times, given all the hoo-hah going on in airports at the moment.

Everywhere you looked in this festival, there seemed to be something interesting to see. Here’s the mainstage, panorama generously provided by Mr Curly himself (ie Mark):

I had fun during the gig itself, though it was fraught with technical difficulties. I cocked up the computer not once, but twice. Baaad idea to put a Windows user in charge of a Mac. Not only did I accidentally start one tune with the loop on (there was a moment of true comedy when we all turned to the computer at once, to try and work out why the samples were playing wrong), and then there was that fun bit where I accidentally started a tune halfway through, and there were samples and drums blaring out while the boys were still doing the intro. How embarrasment.

But despite all that, it was a fun gig. I enjoyed getting to meet some of the other musos playing before and after us. Playing before us was the ever adorable Benji Kirkpatrick, with that ridiculously cute boy-next-door charm, and an equally charming voice to go with the charming songs. (I’m trying really hard not to gush here, or I think I’ll never hear the last of it from the boys.)

Playing after us was the inimitable Julie Fowlis. Love her. Love her love her love her. Gorgeous voice, great artist. Hers is definitely a CD to add to any Folk collection. And she’s a lovely wee soul too. It’s worth noting that I wasn’t the only fiddle player distraught by the whole No-Violins-As-Hand-Luggage rules in place in UK airports at the moment. Julie’s fiddle player didn’t even travel, he was that unwilling to put his fiddle in the hold. And I totally see where he’s coming from. I’ve been hearing rumours that these sort of security measures will be in force for quite some time, so I’m starting to think about well insulated, heavy duty violin cases for the North American tour next year, if it comes off.

After this, it’s The Burnley Community Festival. Should be a blast. (ahem.)