Folk Calendar

Tomorrow New moon

Born on this day: John Prine (1946), Kirsty MacColl (1959) and Tom Hughes (1907)

Folklore from the old calendars

Pack Monday and the horn boys Still kept DorsetSherborne's great fair was held on the first Monday after 10 October, with cattle, sheep and horses in the fields and shows, stalls and gingerbread in the town.
A pair of gloves for the new moon Lore and belief NorthumberlandA Newcastle reader told Hone of a custom he called very common and very pleasant.
The New Moon Through Glass Lore and belief SuffolkA Suffolk correspondent of Chambers kept a night school for rough country lads, and one winter evening they caught sight of the new moon through the schoolroom window.
Money Spinners Lore and belief EnglandTo make sure of always having money in your pocket, the 1831 list advised putting in it the small spiders called money spinners, or keeping in your purse a bent coin or one with a hole in it.
Turning Money at the New Moon Lore and belief EnglandA Chelsea reader sent Hone a charm he called well known and almost universal in former days, handed down by grandmothers.
Greeting the New Moon Lore and belief HerefordshireIn notes made about 1678 and printed by Chambers, John Aubrey recorded that Highland women curtsied to the new moon.

Sat 10 Oct 12:00 14:00
Session

QOFF, the Queer Open Friendly Folk Session

Jolly Farmers, Oxford, Oxfordshire
Sat 10 Oct 14:00 16:00

Session

Nags Head Sessions

The Nags Head, Scalby, North Yorkshire
Sat 10 Oct 14:00 23:00
Custom, day 2 of 8

Hull Fair

Walton Street Fairground, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
- Fair or wakes
Sat 10 Oct 14:00 16:00
Session

Howl at the Moon Saturday Session

Howl at the Moon, London, Greater London
- Tune
- Irish
Sat 10 Oct 14:00 18:00
Session

Fagan’s Saturday Afternoon Session

Fagan’s, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
- Mixed
- Beginners welcome
Sat 10 Oct 14:00 16:00
Session

Sandy Bell’s Saturday Afternoon Session

Sandy Bell’s, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh

Sat 10 Oct 14:00 16:30
Dance

Barn Dance at the Winter Gardens

Winter Gardens Pavilion, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset
- Ceilidh
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct 15:00 18:00
Session

Seamus’s Saturday Session

Seamus’s, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh
Sat 10 Oct 15:00 18:00
Session

Dougal’s Saturday Session

Dougal’s Pub, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh
Sat 10 Oct 16:00 23:00
Custom, day 2 of 2

Tewkesbury Mop Fair

Sets off from The Cross, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
Sat 10 Oct 16:00 18:00
Session

Fox Haggerston Saturday Session

The Fox, London, Greater London
- Tune
- Irish
Sat 10 Oct 18:30 21:00
Dance

Sandbach Mayoral Charity Fundraising Ceilidh

Sandbach Town Hall, Sandbach, Cheshire
- Ceilidh
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct 18:30 21:30
Dance

Fundraising Ceilidh Dance and Supper

Sunderland Minster, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
- Ceilidh
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct 19:00 21:00
Session

White Hart Singaround

The White Hart, Mickleby, North Yorkshire
- Mixed
- Singaround
Sat 10 Oct 19:00 22:00
Dance

Weston-sub-Edge Ceilidh

Weston-sub-Edge Village Hall, Weston-sub-Edge, Gloucestershire
- Ceilidh
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct 19:00 21:00
Dance

Shaw-cum-Donnington Barn Dance

Shaw-cum-Donnington Village Hall, Donnington, Berkshire
- Ceilidh
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct 19:00 22:00
Dance

Abbots Bromley Ceilidh

Abbots Bromley Village Hall, Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire
- Ceilidh
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct from 19:15
Custom

Heathfield Bonfire

Sets off from Heathfield Community Centre playing fields, East Sussex
Sat 10 Oct 19:15 22:15
Dance

d’Accord

St James Church Hall, Exeter, Devon
- Bal
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct 19:30 21:30
Session

Raveningham Folk Night

Raveningham Centre, Raveningham, Norfolk
- Mixed
Sat 10 Oct 19:30 22:30

Folk club night

Jerry O’Reilly & Rosie Davis at Lewes Saturday Folk Club

Westgate Chapel, Lewes, East Sussex
Sat 10 Oct 19:30 22:30
Dance

PAWSG Barn Dance

Pangbourne Village Hall, Pangbourne, Berkshire
- Ceilidh
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct 19:30 22:30
Dance

Harvest Supper and Ceilidh

Stanton Lacy Village Hall, Stanton Lacy, Shropshire
- Ceilidh
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct 19:30 22:30
Dance

Catfield Ceilidh

Catfield Village Hall, Catfield, Norfolk
- Ceilidh
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct 20:00 22:00
Session

Drover’s Folk Club

St Paul’s RC Church Hall, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire
- Song
- Singaround
Sat 10 Oct 20:00 22:00
Session

Rushwick Folk

Rushwick Village Hall, Rushwick, Worcestershire
- Mixed
Sat 10 Oct 20:00 23:00
Session

Sir Colin Campbell Saturday Session

Sir Colin Campbell, London, Greater London
- Tune
- Irish
Sat 10 Oct 20:00 23:00

Folk club night

Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman at North Shropshire Folk

Talbot Theatre, Whitchurch Leisure Centre, Whitchurch, Shropshire
Sat 10 Oct 20:00 23:00

Folk club night

Alan Wood at Raising the Rafters Folk Club

The Saint James Rooms, Wath-upon-Dearne, South Yorkshire
Sat 10 Oct 20:00 23:00
Dance

Oxfolk Ceilidh

Kennington Village Centre, Kennington, Oxfordshire
- Ceilidh
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct 20:00 23:00
Dance

London Barndance

Cecil Sharp House, London, Greater London
- Contra
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct 20:00 23:00
Dance

London Ceilidh Club at Grand Junction

Grand Junction, London, Greater London
- Ceilidh
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct 20:00 23:00
Dance

Red Fox Ceilidhs Autumn Ceilidh

Church of the Martyrs, Community Hall, Leicester, Leicestershire
- Ceilidh
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct 20:00 22:30
Dance

The Round Freshers’ Ceilidh

Stoneyard Centre, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
- Ceilidh
- Dance
Sat 10 Oct 20:30 23:30
Session

Fagan’s Saturday Evening Session

Fagan’s, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
- Mixed
Sat 10 Oct 21:00 23:00
Session

Sandy Bell’s Saturday Session

Sandy Bell’s, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh
Sat 10 Oct 21:30 23:30
Session

Royal Oak Saturday Folk Session

Royal Oak, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh

Sunday 11 October

Sun 11 Oct All day
Custom, day 1 of 2

Stratford Mop Fair

Sets off from Shakespeare Memorial Fountain, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire
Sun 11 Oct All day
Custom, day 8 of 8

Ballinasloe October Fair

Sets off from Fair Green, Ballinasloe, County Galway
- Fair or wakes
- Animal Customs

What’s on: folk sessions, morris, customs and folklore

Tomorrow🌑 New moon

Sunday 11 October

Image credits

Tomorrow New moon