Folk Festival back for another crack

A FULL four-day program of live concerts, workshops, and dances has been scheduled for this year’s Maldon Folk Festival.

Festival director and president Pam Lyons has been involved with the event since 2009 and said festivities will carry over from the weekend into Monday.

“We’ve got a whole concert program on the Monday, so you can actually be here from 9am until midnight and have entertainment,” she said.

“And that’s not a public holiday but we’ll pretend it is anyway.”

Over the years Ms Lyons has seen the festival evolve from its early days at Mount Tarengower, through changing liquor licensing laws, and into the heart of Maldon.

“It’s moved into town where it’s very much a listening festival, people come to listen to the music,” she said.

“It’s a lovely atmosphere and it’s in the street so the town is vibrant with performers and activities and people just wandering around the main street.”

Concerts will be held across the town’s bars and halls including the Progress Concert Hall, the community centre, and the Troubadour Wine Bar.

There is also the option to buy a ticket for the Victorian Goldfields Railway on the Saturday afternoon to see one of two live acoustic concerts performed on the train.

Notable acts performing this year include singer-songwriters Alanna and Alicia originally from Bendigo, and UK-based poet and comedian Rob Barratt.

“We’ve got people that play jazz, we’ve got people that play country, we’ve got old-timey American music that’s got its roots in English folk,” Ms Lyons said.

In addition to the music, festival goers can enjoy song writing workshops, bush dances, and a free entry circus hosted by Bendigo’s Connected Circus.

This year the festival is offering day-passes, to enable patrons from surrounding towns to pop down.

“Once the festival has started you can buy day-passes,” Ms Lyons said. “That’s because there could be Bendigo people that have got one day free, and they can pop down to Maldon and buy a ticket for the day.”

The Maldon Folk Festival is on from 3 to 6 November and for the full program and ticket information visit maldonfolkfestival.com.