In the Netherlands, we have a nice amount of fairs and festivals centered around a fantasy or medieval theme, or folk music. One of these is Zomerfolk.
Zomerfolk is a music festival organized by Rapalje, which is a Dutch folk band. They play at many festivals here in the Netherlands, but also visit German festivals a lot.
Zomerfolk is relatively new and if my memory serves me well, it started when they pulled out of a different festival. Differences of opinions or something, I'm not quite sure.
One of the things that makes this festival so awesome to me is that it's close to home. Especially compared to other fairs and festivals I like. It's in the north, in the city Groningen, while most are situated south or west in the country.
The other thing that makes this festival great to me is that it's Rapalje's. They are a great band and do a lot for the folk scene. I've frequented the festival every year since it started and am planning to keep doing so. The last couple of years, I was always one of the first 100 ticket buyers, making sure I got the goodiebag gift that went with it! This year is the first time I skipped that, because we weren't sure where we'd be situated by then.
The festival stars many great folk bands and is also home to merchant stalls (fantasy, medieval, clothes, etc.), displays (archery, combat, etc.) and lots of different food. Festivals and fairs like these are also the only events where they serve mead, the super tasty honey drink!
Zomerfolk always happens around my birthday, so I'm always in the country anyway. It also means there's a big chance the weather is great, so you can just lie in the grass and enjoy the music!
The last thing I love about this festival and basically any other fantasy, medieval, folk fair/festival is the atmosphere. It is really laid back and friendly. There's no pushing around the stage, there's no harsh words to be heard anywhere. What I also find very awesome to see is the amount of trash lying around. There hardly is any. I've seen pictures and movies of other sorts of music festivals with huge crowds, annoying people and trash lying on the ground, everywhere you look. I would never want to attend such a festival. I guess these attract different crowds and I prefer the friendly and cleaner type of crowd.
I have just heard that this year, the ex-singer of the band Scrum (click for example) will be attending with his new cover band. This means there is no doubt in my mind that I need to visit the fair and see his band. He is the best live performer I have seen and I also love his voice.
Rapalje themselves also perform a couple of times, which is always great fun. One of the bands that stood out for me last year were the Killkennys. We later saw them perform in my city, where they did a great job too!
I'm curious to see what other bands will be playing this year. I hope my favorite mead maker is there again and wonder if he'll ask me for my ID, which he always did in previous years (I'm 28 now).
If you're a Dutchie (or happen to be around) and enjoy these themes, I would definitely recommend you give this festival a try. I'm sure you won't regret it!
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