Thousands gather to Canberra for the National Folk festival despite fetes around the country failing to stay afloat

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Sunny weather has brought out thousands of people from all over Australia for the national folk festival in Canberra this weekend. The annual easter fixture has remained afloat despite the demise of many festivals around the country.

Transcript

00:00They put the rollick into rollicking.

00:10In a festival that's a little bit hippy, and a little bit fiddly, and always international.

00:19The National Folk Festival attracts all kinds of performers, and the audience is all ages.

00:26You can put your name in a hat for a turn in the tent, or simply busk.

00:31One thing that sets it apart is the number of volunteers, many from interstate, including

00:36this team of 30, looking after the performers.

00:39A lot of my team are musicians, I must admit.

00:43Some of them are quite young musicians just breaking in, so they want to experience the

00:47whole festival experience.

00:49And the organisers let the performers set some of the agenda.

00:52This year we have Headphones Jones running a game show.

00:56That's a music trivia thing, Thinks, Spicks and Specks, those sorts of shows.

01:00But that's come from them.

01:01The National Folk Festival hasn't been immune from falling numbers, which has seen others

01:06like Splendour in the Grass cancelled.

01:10After drastic action, which saw several staff members let go, this year's organisers are

01:15hoping the leaner operation will work in their favour.

01:19It's just about making sure that we can put the money where it really needs to go to ensure

01:25that the essence of the festival is still here.

01:28And that essence was much on display.

01:30Even Judy Turner, who founded the Melbourne Scottish Fiddlers, still gets a kick out of it.

01:36Absolutely, too excited.

01:38That was so exciting on stage, seeing all the different age groups and all the great playing.

01:42The festival will wind up on Monday.

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