My Perspective.
                                                                            by Andrew Middleton.
 

    The 1998 Port Fairy Festival was a marvellous event. The quality, variety and quantity of music was second to none. Nor was the music or entertainment contained to the official sites, for there was always something happening throughout the seaside township. As for the weather which I had been informed might present anything from a constant gale off the southern ocean to snow, it shined sunny and warm for the four days.
    The site, itself, consisted predominantly of an army of massive white tents, buildings, portable toilets and bathrooms, and a circus tent. The white tents made up for their lack of aesthetic appeal, by the sheer necessity for housing audiences of over a thousand people. Five of these beasts were for the sole purpose of performances. The others served a multitude of needs from eateries, merchandise stores, markets, schools for an esoteric array of lessons, or just a place to hide out for a while.
    Before the event I spoke to people who had attended previous festivals and was often told that the festival was orientated too much to the "Celtic" style of folk. If this has been the case in the past, then the festival of 1998 was the start of new things, for the source of music was world wide. Well, almost, the band of seals from the Antarctic missed there iceberg and couldn't make it. But everyone else was present, including many excellent local and indigenous Australian performers.
    It was my first Port Fairy festival and the thing which grabbed my attention was the number of exceptional acts. I often found myself heading to watch a particular band or performer, only to be waylaid by the sound of an amazing guitar rift or the noise of an appreciative crowd coming from one of the other tents.
    After a performance and before another got under way, it is a good idea to replenish the fuel tanks at the Guinness and Wine tents. Here I would often catch up with wondering mates, or just about anyone. For everyone, including the performers, always seemed to be drinking and making merry within the allotted quadrangle where alcohol was allowed to be consumed. But sure enough, when I ventured back to dine on the smorgasbord of music, everyone had beaten me there and all the tents were full, again.
    The fun of the festival extends beyond the main site and floods the town. Bands play on the streets, or in pubs throughout the days and nights; buskers of quality are everywhere; there is a continuous market and on the Sunday there was a parade. The people I meet were all friendly and having a great time, though I can't say what any of the locals thought of the event, for everyone I met was an outsider - 'just here for the festival'. Well, not exactly true, I did have course to visit the St. Johns bus a couple of times and they were more than helpful and in fine spirit.
    For me, one of the only disappointments was the lack of opportunity for dancing. Or at least the difficulty with which one could find room to move within the tents, particularly early in the event. It seems most people traditionally bring seats and spend much of the time lounging in them. Hence, announcers kept calling out for people to do the 'traditional Port Fairy shuffle'. Which is when everyone moves their seats forward to fill in gaps made by departed people, in order to make way for newcomers.
    The mass of seating and a courteousness to those sitting, because of their restricted height, makes dancing a difficult activity and standing stationary, or sitting paralysed, is not my way of enjoying an Irish jig.
    As the festival progressed, more people did get up and shake their booty. But the restriction of movement, particularly at the more popular performers, is certainly of some annoyance if you believe live music is for interaction and a chance to express yourself, as well as to observe.
    Otherwise, I can only recommend that you get along to one of the future Port Fairy Folk Festivals. Which, in order to do so, you will need to contact the organizes now and have your name placed on their mailing list. The festival is always booked out and it is very much a matter of first being the only dressed with a ticket. Not that a ticket is a necessity for hearing good music over the weekend. Like I said, there is music seeping out of every nook and cranny. But for the freedom to pick and choose your music, a ticket is a bonus and a pass to listening to an immense variety of music from around the world. Certainly the word "folk" will come to mean a lot more to you than those boring, monotone records your pa once played.