This year has seen the return of the annual Cleethorpes Folk & Cider Festival, hosted by the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway.
The event will run until bank holiday Monday (May 27th, 2024) and features musical acts, an assortment of ciders, and Morris dancing from the Grimsby Morris side.
Gi Grimsby News visited the opening day of the festival and spoke to Pete Bryant, the director of Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway, who said, “This is our annual Cleethorpes Folk & Cider Festival, which has become an iconic part of Cleethorpes and is a popular event. We’ve got live music through the bank holiday weekend, Morris dancing on Saturday and Sunday, as well as many ciders to choose from at the Signal Box Inn, The Smallest Pub On The Planet, and the Luggage Shed Lounge.
“The festival originated at the Winter Gardens in Cleethorpes before moving here over 10 years ago. It’s really grown into a special event.
“Our appeal is that we’ve got a unique venue where people can sit outside with covered spaces as well, but importantly, it’s a free event, so it can be enjoyed by as many people as possible. It’s a great way to kick off the spring half term.”
Also at the festival were Grimsby Morris. Gi Grimsby News spoke with David Laister, a member of the Grimsby Morris.
He revealed that Morris dancing is a long-standing tradition that is “actually older than recorded British history” and that it consists of both male and female members looking to enjoy their time, singing and dancing to traditional music, where they regularly make appearances at events like the Cleethorpes Folk & Cider Festival.
When speaking about how he got involved with Grimsby Morris initially, David said that “me and my friend Tony used to go to music events, and we’d known about the Morris Men for years. He actually rang me up on a Monday night and said he’d be going to Grimsby Morris practice and asked if I wanted to go. I came to the conclusion that if you wanted to find out about something, you’d have to give it a go, and that was seventeen years ago.
“It’s good fun. It’s keeping British tradition alive. We meet great people in various different parts of the country when we go dance elsewhere, and it helps to keep you fit both physically and mentally. It’s just a jolly good thing to do.
“Personally, it doesn’t matter what you do, whether it be model trains or dancing, until you actually get involved in an organisation, a club, or society, only then will you suddenly find out that there is a much bigger world of like-minded people that have the same interests and sense of camaraderie as you.
“In my opinion, as a human race, we seem to have lost what is important to us. We need to spend less time on social media and more time getting out and active in person, and that’s why we are here.”
We also spoke to various Morris dancers who revealed that “dance-outs are for fun. That’s why we initially banded together in 1967. We all enjoy it, and we actually have a Shakespearean phrase as a sort of motto: ‘To pass time in good company’, and that’s why we do it.”
More details surrounding the musical acts at Cleethorpes Folk & Cider Festival can be seen below.
MUSICAL LINE-UP
Saturday 25th May
12:30 Roger Beard
13:15 Campbell/Taylor
14:15 White Sail
15:15 Tom McKenzie Duo
16:15 Jabberwocky
17:00 Musicians Session
19:30 The Bay Horse Boys
21.00 Merlin’s Keep
Ends 22:30
Sunday 26th May
12:30 Amy Naylor
13:15 Marcato
14:15 The Rye Sisters
15:15 Raintown Seers
16:15 The Steve Fulsham Band
17:00 Musicians Session
19:30 Leather’o
21:00 The Dan Webster Band
Ends 22:30
Monday 27th May
12:30 Jaz Beeson
13:15 Wolf Housman
14:15 Katie Spencer
15:15 Tim O’Connor & The Poachers
16:15 Shindig
17:00 Musicians Session
