First Time at Swanage Folk Festival?
Swanage Folk Festival is a weekend of music and dance spread around the town, most it is free to attend. That’s over 50 bands, 65 dance sides, sessions, a colourful craft fair, free daytime music, plus workshops, and ticketed evening concerts. Wherever you wander, there’s a good chance you’ll discover something unexpected.
Never been to a folk festival before?
Never been to a folk festival before? Perfect. Thousands of people at Swanage are first-time visitors every year.
You don’t need to know any of the dances or songs. Just come along, watch, listen, ask questions (if you want to) and enjoy yourself. Folk festivals are friendly places and visitors are always welcome. Side effects may include tapping your foot, buying a CD and wondering why you didn’t come years ago!
Where should I start?
Start at Sandpit field. It’s the heart of the festival, with the craft fair, information tent (///underway.silent.originate), main stage concerts, festival bar and plenty of people happy to point you in the right direction. Pick up a programme, have a wander and see what catches your eye.
What can I expect at Swanage Folk Festival?
Imagine music drifting out of pubs, colourful dancers appearing around street corners, and something unexpected happening wherever you wander. Basically you’re likely to hear, or bump into the folk festival throughout Saturday and Sunday.
The main activities take place on Sandpit field, where you’ll find 60 stalls in a colourful craft fair, our info tent (able to help you with all your questions) and our main stage. The main stage has free music concerts throughout the daytime, and ticketed concerts in the evenings. It’s best to get your tickets online, but you can get them at the info tent.
If you’re visiting for the first time, it’s worth spending a few minutes looking through our visitor information pages before you arrive. Don’t blame us if you come for an hour and end up staying all weekend.
Is Swanage Folk Festival suitable for non-folk fans?
Absolutely. Many people come simply because they enjoy live music, colourful dancing or the atmosphere. You don’t need to know anything about folk music to enjoy the weekend.
You’ll be surprised by the range of what counts as folk music, and we’ve got many different styles on display over the weekend.
Warning: many visitors discover they like folk music more than they expected.
Will the kids enjoy the festival?
Youngsters are often fascinated by the colour, sounds and elaborate dancers. In addition to that we have activity packs for them (they might even win a £50 toy shop voucher), including our famous gnome hunt, a dance activity and odd facts about Swanage. There’s also a magician on the main field during the day on Saturday and Sunday. Click here for more information about children’s activities.
Where can I watch the dancers?
There are dance spots all around the main part of town, if you walk along the seafront you can’t miss them. You can get a programme listing who’s dancing and where, by clicking here. The dance spots are all shown on Google Maps, so you can also use your phone to find them.
Why are the dancers dressed differently?
That’s a great question and the answer is locked in many years of history. There are 65 dance sides in the festival, representing many different styles of dance. You can read more about dance styles by clicking here.
Can I just come for a few hours?
Absolutely, wander around for as short, or as long a time as you like. As our chair once said (but don’t remind him)
“On my first visit I walked around the field for 15 minutes and was heading home, but then found the festival bar and started listening to a band – I got home several hours later and signed up to help the next ”.
So don’t be surprised if you end up staying much longer than you planned.
When is the busiest time?
Saturday afternoon is when the festival is at its busiest and has the greatest variety of things happening. There is a concert on the main stage and don’t miss the dance parade at 15:30
Do I need a ticket?
Around 80% of the live music at Swanage Folk Festival is free. Only five concerts require a ticket. The other 40+ acts can be enjoyed free of charge.
Most daytime and many evening events are free. Evening concerts on the main stage, workshops and the ceilidh require tickets.
How should I prepare for Swanage Folk Festival?
Look through the programme, pick out the bits that look most interesting and allow yourself time to wander around and soak up the atmosphere. If you know you want to attend a ticketed concert, it’s best to get your tickets in advance, and it’s a good idea to get to the free concerts about 15 minutes early. If you have your mobile phone with you, you might find the ///what three words app useful, all of our venues have a code so you can find them easily.
What should I wear to Swanage Folk Festival?
There’s no dress code, so wear what you’re comfortable in. For the evening concerts you may want to bring a jumper, as the evenings can get cool in September. In the daytime don’t forget water bottles, especially if it’s hot and you can refill them on Sandpit field.
It’s worth checking a weather forecast in case you need raincoats or sun hats, this is England after all!
Where can I park?
Aim for one of the long stay car parks, it’s only a 5-10 minute walk from them. More info about parking here.
Main Beach car park is the largest and close to most of the Festival action. The postode for it is BH19 1AP, or (///automate.crunch.greet).
Where can I stay?
There is no camping or accommodation on site. So, your choice depends on your preferred accommodation style, but there’s anything from the grandeur of the Grand hotel, to campsites. Click here for more information
Is Swanage Folk Festival accessible?
We try to make the festival as accessible as we can, although being based on a field doesn’t always help. Click here for accessibility information.
Stewards are at all events to assist, please request help if required.
Can I pay by card?
The information tent, festival bar and most traders accept cash, cards and contactless payment.
How much walking is involved?
Most festival venues are just a 5 to 7 minute walk from each other, making it easy to wander between events. Even the furthest venue is only around a 20 minute walk away.
The ceilidh is a little further from the town centre (20 minute walk), so some people choose to drive or catch the bus.
Can I bring my dog?
Well controlled dogs are allowed on the festival field and the main marquee during the day. If you plan on visiting a concert in the main marquee with your dog, please sit at the end of an aisle and near an exit. If your dog is deemed to be a nuisance you’ll be asked to leave.
Dogs are not permitted in our evening concerts or any of our other venues.
Where are the toilets?
Swanage has quite a few public toilets around the town (you can find them on Google Maps), and we have toilets on Sandpit field.
What happens if it rains?
Outdoor activities (concerts in the bandstand and the dancing) may not run as planned if the weather is really bad; keep an eye out for updates on the website.
The concerts and craft fair carry on as normal . Come and join us, see if your wet weather gear is better than ours.
Where can I get help?
If you want help with anything to do with the folk festival, head towards the info tent on Sandpit field (//underway.silent.originate); they’re ready and waiting for your questions. They might even be able to help with non-festival questions!
Do you have a festival map?
Yes indeed. There’s a map in the souvenir programme that we sell. If you want to look before then and plan your weekend, visit https://swanagefolkfestival.com/information/festival-map/. That page has an interactive Google map and a downloadable copy of the map in our souvenir programme.
My question isn't listed.
In summary:
Relax. You don’t need to know anything about folk music or folk dancing to have a brilliant weekend. Just wander around, follow the music and enjoy yourself. We think you’ll soon see why so many people come back every year.