Harberton Folk

"Harberton Folk" came into being in January 1998 with a concert at Harberton Parish Hall by folk music legend John Kirkpatrick following his performance at a "non-birthday" surprise the previous year at the village pub. That concert was attended by a sell-out audience of 200 people, as were the majority of the major events featuring some of the top names in the folk world which took place there up to March 2003 (Maddy Prior, the Kathryn Tickell Band, The Albion Band, Brass Monkey, Show of Hands, Martin Carthy, Vin Garbutt, Sid Kipper, Old Rope String Band, New Scorpion Band, Roger Watson, Tom & Barbara Brown, Eliza Carthy & Saul Rose, Ben & Joe Broughton, Dr Faustus, Phil Beer & Gareth Turner).

The concerts, run on a totally non-commercial basis, raised around £9000 by the end of 2002 for Harberton Parish Hall and Harberton Playing Field. A not insignificant portion of the total came from generous donations from bar takings from real ale bars set up at all events by the Church House Inn. A team of dedicated helpers from the village built and struck the stage, marshalled car parking for nearly 100 cars (some feat if you know Harberton) and worked behind the bar each time.

2003 saw the realisation of a new joint venture between Harberton Folk and KEVICC (King Edward VI Community College) in Totnes, bringing some of the biggest folk acts in the country to the Ariel Centre. The Head of Music, Director of Arts College Status and the College Principal have all given total support to this venture. One reason for the new venue was due to our son Matthew, pictured right at home with Martin Carthy, becoming a KEVICC student. The additional seating capacity (320 compared with 200) also makes certain events economically viable, whilst still retaining an intimate atmosphere. Dave Swarbrick & Martin Carthy attracted a sell-out first audience at the Ariel, followed by many more successful concerts (see Past events), continuing the fundraising work, with monies raised being donated to KEVICC Parents' Association, KEVICC Arts Status and Harberton village causes.

Jiggerypipery 15/09/2007