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What the Papers Said

Middlewich Guardian

Bands, boats and laughter make festival a huge success

MIDDLEWICH was awash with music, dance and laughter at the weekend as thousands of families, folk music fans and boaters flocked to the town for the 18th annual folk and boat festival.

The concert venues were packed to the rafters and narrowboats lined every inch of the town’s waterways for the three-day event that organisers have hailed a resounding success.

Festival fever also came in the form of a lively and colourful procession through

Wheelock Street
with a whole host of folk groups taking part including Clerical Error and Mortimer’s Morris. Young dancers from the Quick Step School of Dancing were wowing their audience in the Bull Ring with their fancy footwork and nifty moves.

Boating enthusiasts were in for a special treat this year when the Cheshire Floating Garden Festival moored up at Town Wharf festooned with flowers and fauna.

Hayley Collins

for the full version see www.middlewichguardian.co.uk/news

The Sentinel

LEGEND GIVES MASTER-CLASS

WHETHER singing a cappella or alongside pianist Huw Warren and violist Mark Emerson, June Tabor's voice trickles into your ear like melted honey. It's warm, rich and enticing, leaving the listener in little doubt as to why she is noted as one of the best female folk vocalists of her generation.
Appearing at St Michael's Church on Friday night as part of the Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival, she greeted the audience with a sensual rendition of Andy M. Stewart's Where Are You Tonight I Wonder, which quickly made the hairs on the back of your neck spring up.
If you are unfamiliar with Tabor's voice, this concert couldn't have served as a better introduction.
The church setting created a wonderful atmosphere and the acoustics, although not brilliant, created a haunting feeling.

Liz Rowley

for the full version see www.thisisthesentinel.co.uk

And don't forget to visit www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/apr/23/folkfestivals.uk to see our Top Ten ranking