Upton Folk Festival returns for May Day Bank Holiday

The Upton Folk Festival is returning for its annual weekend of fun and entertainment with crowds expected to turn up in their droves over the next four days from Friday (May 3).

The festival has been running for over three decades and brings the community together with a range of events and workshops for everyone to enjoy.

While it is heavily based around the 20th-century tradition of folk music, the festival relies heavily on support from the local community each year.

"This year will be our 33rd year and the festival is so important to the town of Upton," said the chair of Upton Folk Festival Ceri James.

Music and dancing form a significant part of the festival (Image: NQ)

"It will be the first festival held in the town so we use all types of venues such as pubs to help support the town.

"The festival is based around folk music song and dance with ticketing events for those who have purchased them and free events for people to come and support the event and visit the town."

There will also be market stalls along the waterfront and dancing from Saturday to Monday with 45 different sides of Morris dancing as well as other forms.

There will also be music throughout the weekend in certain locations such as local pubs, with the main act for this year being the Melrose quartet and Wilson's.

Visitors can also enjoy Ceilidh, a form of traditional Scottish and Irish music and dancing, which will take place in the main church and memorial hall.

A change for this year is the festival campsite has been moved to Fish Meadow due to Rugby Fields being flooded but that hasn't stopped it from being almost a sell-out.

Mrs James said: "We are pretty much sold out, there are only a few tickets left available.

Organisers anticipate a few thousand people to attend this year's event (Image: NQ)

"We have around 1,000 people camping this year and we expect a few thousand to attend over the four days."

There will be a procession on Sunday in Old Street at midday where Morris dancers proceed down to the waterfront, which Mrs James describes as a big part of the festival.

"We are proud to start the festival season in Upton," she said.

"It's important we feel to keep the tradition of folk music alive and pass it on to the next generation.

"The festival is open to anybody and there is something for everyone, so we are really excited and ready to go."

The Upton Folk Festival takes place from Friday, May 3 to Monday, May 6.