‘There was a lot of emotion’ - Photos from final ever Cleckheaton Folk Festival

Over an “emotional” three days, from Friday, July 5 to Sunday, July 7, people flocked from all over the UK for the town’s final ever folk festival - the 34th of its kind - to see a line-up of award-winning artists in eight concerts, special fringe activities, workshops, street entertainment and a parade.

The popular festival has been entertaining people since 1987 but, after a turbulent few years, in which the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of Cleckheaton Town Hall ensured the 2020, 2021 and 2023 events were cancelled, the 2024 festival was confirmed to be the last one.

Dave Minich, director of Cleckheaton Folk Festival, said:

“It has gone absolutely brilliantly. Everybody has enjoyed a great weekend. It was a massive success even though we had pitfalls before and the restrictions on venues. Despite everything, we have had a brilliant weekend.

“We have had people from Cornwall, Kent and Scotland, as well as visitors from Guernsey who hadn’t been for 12 years but came because it was the last one. It has been very emotional. It’s all finished but the whole thing has been a success

“There was a lot of emotion from a lot of people. The amount of times I got asked, ‘Is it really the last one?’ Yes, it is really the last one. We are doing a concert later in the year but there won’t be another festival in the way we have done them before.

“Cleckheaton Folk Festival won’t happen again in the way that it has, however, the Spenborough Chamber of Trade are talking about doing an event on that weekend next year but it will be different. It might be a similar event as far as the community is concerned but it will be a different event as far as the music is concerned.”

Thanking Kirklees Council for their support of the festival over the years, as well as the Masonic Lodge, Methodist Church and St Paul’s Church who stepped into host events to ensure the last ever festival could take place, Dave said:

““The rumours that spread around it finished because we haven’t got any funding are totally and utterly wrong. We have never had any issues with funding. It was the 34th festival and I can’t remember a Cleckheaton Folk Festival having issues with funding since I took over as director in 2008 and Geoff Pickles had no trouble in most of the years before that.

“We have had the full support of Kirklees Council and their creative economy section has always been fully behind the festival. The local councillors have grant-funded our campsite for many, many years. Without that grant funding, we couldn’t run a campsite. If you don’t have a campsite, you don’t get the visitors and if you don’t get the visitors you don’t have a festival.

“And it would have gone down years ago, without the funding of Kirklees Council. As director, I couldn’t run it without the support of the Festival Board members, and the whole festival committee as well as the funding of Kirklees Council. Thank you to them, local businesses and local people for their support. Unless people come, we are all wasting our time. The people have come and they have come in their droves over the years.

“And we wouldn’t have been able to do it without the Masonic Lodge, Methodist Church and St Paul’s Church. We have had a lot of ups and downs in the preparations of the festival, it was reorganised three times in six weeks because of the venue situation but it was resolved and has led to a success.”

Take a look at these pictures from the final ever Cleckheaton Folk Festival.