Whare Flats Folk Festival

This is Geoff and Lois the great couple that made our experience in Dunedin so memorable and fun. They also made the folk festival most memorable. They had to be out to the festival site a day early because they were part of the organizing crew. Since, we got a ride out to the festival from them we also became part of the set up crew. It was nice to be helpful and we felt more a part of the festival because we met people early and were able to contribute. Glenn loved helping Geoff out in the kitchen and I liked being a part of the tent assembly crew. We also got to tour around the Whare Flat Boy Scout Camp. We found some nice swimming holes and a ropes course. Here is Glenn trying to do the ropes course.




We met some amazing musicians at the festival. Ronan Martin was the first we met. He was a fiddle player from the Isle of Skye. We had a bit of a jam session in his cabin later in the day. He told us that his younger brother was going to be showing up as well sometime and he would be wearing a kilt. Hanna from Sweden was the second great musician we met. We were playing tunes for the folks in the kitchen and she popped her head around the corner to say hello and see what was happening. She played traditional Swedish tunes on the soprano sax.

Good music good friends. Ronan and Hanna with the giant guitar--does not look so big next to Ronan.




We danced in the New Year listening to a local Dunedin band called The George Street Patsys. What a fun night, as were all the nights at this festival. We were up to the wee hours every night of the festival I think we spent about eight hours in our tent the four nights we were at the festival. After all the workshops and concerts throughout the day there would be a session in the evening.




Jaque is playing the squeeze box, he is a pig farmer living in Dunedin. Ronan is the fiddle player on the right and the one that is a blur is his younger brother. He finally show up and he was wearing a kilt. It was fun to listen to the brothers play together because they both had their own style. Incredible.