Shrewsbury Folk Festival tuning up for 20th anniversary

Festival organisers are gearing up for a spectacular four-day show which will see thousands of music lovers descend on the Greenhous West Mids Showground in Berwick Road.

And in preparation, organisers have released some fascinating facts and figures about the festival.

There will be 6,000 chairs used, 20 caterers on hand to dish out everything from baked potatoes to crepes and pizza, 34 hours of programmed activities for 11 to 20-year-olds, 495 volunteer stewards, 90 litres of curry to feed hungry performers, 200 tables, 15 miles of barrier tape to mark out camping areas, 30 showers and more than 50 hours of activities for children aged up to 11.

Alan Surtees, festival founder and director, said: "After 10 years at the showground we feel that we have now worked out the optimum festival experience.

"We are looking forward to a fantastic festival this year to mark our 20th anniversary with an amazing line-up of acts."

And prior to the festival, co-patron John Jones, of Oysterband, will be embarking on a very special walking tour with his Reluctant Ramblers over the May Bank Holiday – May 31 to June 3 – to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

John has fought his own battle with colon cancer and will be walking and performing gigs in Ludlow, Bishop's Castle and Presteigne, along with a session to be held in Wistanstow.

He said: "I have always said I walk for the sheer love of rambling through amazing landscapes, and I gig at the end of the day to celebrate our arrival, and sing songs for pleasure that hopefully draw together the strands of the day in stories and shared choruses.

"To walk, to arrive, to gig and to celebrate together with like-minded people.

"This year, given my personal story of last year, I feel it is time to give something back and so, for the first time, I will walk for Macmillan Cancer Support."

Anyone wanting to join John on his walks are more than welcome, although the less energetic can sponsor him through his Justgiving page.

John added: "The walks this year are in the Welsh Border country and will, by the end, bring me home to where the Ramblers' Tours started seven years ago and with 1,000 miles walked."

The four Spring Bank Holiday walks will take in three castles and three breweries.

They start with a circular walk from Presteigne, taking in Ludlow, Wistanstow, Bishop's Castle and back to Presteigne.

John and the Reluctant Ramblers will play three gigs and a session on this walk.

In September he will undertake the Hereford One Hundred.

The provisional plan for this walk is to start at Bromyard on September 11 following the Oysterband headline set at the Bromyard Folk Festival on the Saturday night.

They will then go south walking the Malvern Hills towards Ledbury, then west to the Hereford area for a gig on the third evening.

There will then be a further three days of walking to arrive at Leintwardine on the Friday. The final walking day is on Saturday, September 17 as part of the Kington Walking Festival and a Reluctant Ramblers gig in the evening at the Burton.

As he approaches Kington at the end of the second walk, John will have walked 1,000 miles in the company of musicians and other ramblers.

To donate to John's walking tour fundraising efforts, visit his Justgiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/John-JonesOysterband