ULVERSTON'S busy summer programme continues in July with the return of the Furness Tradition Folk Festival.

Now in its 19th year, the three-day event is very much a well-established event on the UK folk festival calendar.

Alongside dancers and guest concert musicians, over the past few years the festival has developed a strong stream of storytelling events.

Between Friday July 7 and Sunday 9, there will be performances from nine dance sides, nine guest concert artists, two big dance bands, two callers, four storytellers, an exhibition, a group of mummers, a band of Galician pipers, Cumbrian music specialists, a Northumbrian fiddler, a nyckelharpa player, and stories from all over the world.

There are dance displays throughout the town, a free stage at the Market Cross with festival bands and dancers, and sessions in the Hope & Anchor and Old Friends pubs.

The popular acoustic concert on the Saturday afternoon sees all the festival artists perform in the intimacy of the Coro Supper Room, and the big Saturday night event - typically the centre-piece of the festival - brings dance, song, stories and everything else together on three stages in the Coronation Hall.


Guest artists this year include Alistair Anderson and Dan Walsh, Night Fall, Vicky Swann and Jonny Dyer, Eddie Seaman and Luc McNally, Peter and Barbara Snape, Tumbling Tom Big Band, Mike Willoughby’s Raving Rock, Steve Wharton, Wierdstring Band, Family Farren, and Cumbria Gaita Band.

This is in addition to the line-up of storytellers - Ian Douglas, Dougie Mackay, Mark Borthwick - artist Katherine Soutar Caddick, and an array of traditional dance sides, including: Pateley Long Sword, Slubbing Billy’s, Chorlton Cloghoppers, Kirkburton Rapier Dancers, Crook Morris, Carlisle Sword and Clog Dancers, Furness Clog Dancers, Darlington Mummers, Eccleston Heritage Clog, and Stone The Crows.

As a precursor to the festival, Steve Wharton presents his Cumbrian Songs and Stories show at Natterjacks on Thursday July 6, with a Pre-Festival Warm Up session in the Hope and Anchor on the same evening.

The Friday gathering at the Coronation Hall on the following evening is the first big event of the festival, with musical and storytelling performances setting things up nicely for the weekend.

Saturday's packed schedule begins with a 9am coffee morning at the Coronation Hall, with the last event of the day taking place at 10.30pm in the Hope & Anchor beer garden.

Sunday July 9 features a series of workshops during the day, with the farewell concert taking place at the Coronation Hall at 1.30pm.

Tickets for the main events, as well as camping passes, are available from furnesstradition.org.uk