Charitable fund gives local children the chance of discounts at Sidmouth FolkWeek

THANKS to Sid Vale Association’s Keith Owen Fund, children from Sidmouth will be able to join music and dance workshops during Sidmouth FolkWeek at a discount price.

The workshops include learning to play the concertina, melodeon and mouth organ from scratch. Instruments will be available to borrow or, as with the mouth organ, buy, for just �5.

Percussion, song, longsword dancing and step and clog dance workshops are also covered by the scheme.

For teenagers, there are music, song, dance, street theatre and youth choir workshops in the Folk-a-Cola series of events. Places on the discount price scheme are limited.

Sidmouth Folk Week Ltd chairman, Steve Thompson, welcomed this continuing support from the Keith Owen Fund, and said it would give local children an “excellent opportunity” to extend their music and dance skills.

The workshops are among a wide range of events for children and families, focused in the Blackmore Gardens.

The Family and Young Sidmouth programme includes lunchtime entertainment at Blackmore Bandstand, craft activities, and music, song and story sessions for different age groups.

Each afternoon at 4.30pm, there is a family concert in All Saints Hall (St Teresa’s on Sunday), featuring some of the main festival guests, including Wynndebagge, Dan Walsh and Will Pound and Eddie Upton.

On Monday and Friday evenings, the Ceilidhs in Blackmore Gardens’ marquee are aimed at families, with top bands Bedlam and Dyer Cummings.

One favourite will be The Music of Bagpuss in the Manor Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.

Sandra Kerr, who was the voice of Madeleine the Ragdoll in the original television series, will be joined by John Faulkner, who also provided several of the voices, and her daughter Nancy Kerr and partner James Fagan.

All the Young Sidmouth events are listed in the Family and Young Sidmouth Programme, available for �1 at the Blackmore Gardens Box Office.

The Young Sidmouth Box Office will be open on Saturday in Blackmore Gardens from 10.30am to 12.30pm for booking places on the craft workshops, and from 1.00-3.30pm for song and instrumental music workshops.

Tickets for some of the main FolkWeek concerts are available in advance from the FolkWeek Box Office next to the swimming pool at the Ham, 9am to 8pm, during the festival, (01395) 577952. Festival website is www.sidmouthfolkweek.co.uk. Tickets for other events will be available on the door.