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Frances
Folk Gathering 2000
So what happened at Frances in the beginning?
On
the 11th to 13th of February 2000, about 500-600 people gathered from
Adelaide, Melbourne &
all over SE South Australia and SW Victoria to meet at the small town
of Frances on the SA/Vic
border for the town's first Folk Weekend. There were young folkies, old
folkies, dyed-in-the-wool
folkies, new folkies, people who had never heard of folkies or folk music/culture.
If you happen to
speak to anyone who was there, the verdict will be the same - they will
all tell you it was the best
thing they had been at in ages! One of the most noticeable features of
the weekend was the friendly, welcoming attitude of the local people and
the happy community feeling and spirit there. It was
obvious they wanted the gathering to be successful and did everything
possible to make that
happen, opening up their town's facilities, closing off the main street
and erecting a marquee,
stage, tables and chairs, drinks stalls, etc. They cooked breakfast for
the campers, mowed grass
down, manned stalls and joined in the fun themselves. Some of the many
highlights were: -
The
"Musicians Mixed Grill" on the Sunday, where people's names
were put into a hat and drawn
out at random in groups of four (or more) to perform a musical skit on
stage. Sort of a Chorus Cup
with a twist. There were some hilarious acts from the combinations formed!
The Saturday evening dance in the local hall, where the local schoolchildren
provided entertainment
during the break with their own dance routine. Two toddlers went missing
briefly the next morning
and were found trying to get back into the hall to do some more dancing
- they seem to start dating
at an early age in Frances!
The many sessions of all kinds were worth going for on their own. There
was something for everyone, whether joining in a rowdy singing session,
playing anglo/celtic music in a tune session or sitting in
a quiet corner (or a room full of people) singing, reciting, playing or
just listening to something a bit
more sedate.
The blackboard concert on Saturday was well patronised and expertly run
with the P.A. provided by
the Geelong Folk Club. It started around midday and ran into the early
evening and there were some
very entertaining and polished performances in that time.
The end result? Well, it's been happening every year since and the programme
has been expanded
to include music competitions and a special youth award. There are now
the "Kids Biz" workshops
held in conjunction with the Gathering, where hundreds of primary school
children are bussed in
from all around the area and given the opportunity to learn about and
participate in a wide variety
of folk related activities.
The event has a unique charm that is hard to duplicate. It's not a money-making
concern of
course - it's not meant to be - and nobody gets paid but everyone certainly
agrees
they have a fantastic weekend and will definitely be back there doing
it all again next year!
Click
here to read "Ode to Frances" - a poem
by visiting performer Helge Arildso from Denmark
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