Fancy having a go yourself? Over 200 workshop events offer novices or experts a wealth of one-off tasters, week-long series, masterclasses, perennial favourites and exciting innovations, as well as the opportunity to work alongside some master musicians and dancers booked for the week.

Several of the workshop series lead to a showcase event at the end of the week.

Here are some top tips. How about Hamboning with Sheesham & Lotus and Son? Dance, Song and Drumming with Zulu Tradition, Icelandic Tvisong with FUNI, Make A Real Hobby Horse, Pipe & Tabor or Fiddle Master- classes with Sam Sweeney and Kirsty Cotter?

Song-based series feature Sandra Kerr returning to lead the Festival Choir, with other series including Paul Sartin’s Songs of the British Isles, West Gallery, Shape-Note and Irish Trad.

Cutting some moves in the Dance series are Kerry Fletcher’s Eurodance, Balkan Dance, Early Dance, Irish Set, Sean Nós and Ceili Dance, Playford, Contras and Squares, Clog Dance, Social Stepping, Pat Shaw’s Dances, Cotswold Morris, Rapper, Longsword, Border Morris, Flat- footing and more.

For instrumentalists, John Kirkpatrick’s Concert Band returns, as well as Big Band, Percusstra, Brass, Early Dance Music, Balkan music and Blues. There is a full range of melodeon workshops from Ed Rennie, Bob Ellis, Paul Scourfield and Saul Rose. Plus sessions for Fiddle, Guitar, Accordion, Concertina, Bodhran, Slide Guitar, Banjo, Whistle, Harmonica, Flute, Bones and more.

Storytelling workshops are led by Hugh Lupton, Ursula Holden Gill and Janet Dowling.

Talks cover Song Collections, Irish Travellers, Quebecois music, Dulcimers, The Muckle Songs, Yorkshire Fiddle Tunes and more.

Workshop Ticket admission is £10 on the door for most individual workshops (£12 for some longer workshops and £8 for some shorter workshops). Alternatively, a book of six workshop passes can be bought either from the Festival Box Office or at the door of workshop venues. The pass costs £50 for six workshops (of any length/ price) and can be ‘traded in’ at all workshops marked with a W in the Festival programme.