Folk Calendar – Find Folk and Traditional Music Events

Saturday 10 October New moon

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 Yorkshire
- Fair or wakes
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 19:00 21:00
Session

White Hart Singaround

The White Hart, Mickleby, North Yorkshire
- Mixed
- Singaround
Sat 10 Oct from 19:15
Custom

Heathfield Bonfire

Sets off from Heathfield Community Centre playing fields, East Sussex

Sat 10 Oct 19:30 21:30
Session

Raveningham Folk Night

Raveningham Centre, Raveningham, Norfolk
- Mixed
Sat 10 Oct 19:30 21:30
Session

Raising the Rafters

The Saint James Rooms, Wath-upon-Dearne, South Yorkshire
- Mixed
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

Sunday 11 October

Folklore from the old calendars

Ganging Day No longer kept HertfordshireOn Old Michaelmas Day young men in Hertfordshire met in the fields, chose a leader and had to follow him wherever he went, through ponds and ditches and over brake and briar.
Statutes and Mops Still kept WarwickshireFarm servants in Warwickshire looked for new places at the statute fairs, called mops, held from early September until Old Michaelmas Day, when servants moved to their new masters.
Crab-apple Initials on Old Michaelmas Day Lore and belief West CountryAbout Michaelmas village girls in the west of England went along the hedges gathering crab apples, carried them home and laid them out in a loft in the shapes of the initials of their supposed suitors.
Clack Fall Fair and the Mop No longer kept WiltshireClack's fall fair was kept on Old Michaelmas Day, when farm lads stood about the Mop in clean smock frocks and maid servants waited in a corner to be hired.

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
Sun 11 Oct 09:30 16:00
Custom

World Conker Championships

Shuckburgh Arms, Southwick, Northamptonshire
- Custom game
- Sports and Games
Sun 11 Oct 11:00 12:00
Custom

Harvest of the Sea at St Mary-at-Hill

St Mary-at-Hill, London, Greater London
Sun 11 Oct 11:00 13:00
Morris Practice

Wantsum Morris Men practice

Old Schools Hall, Minster, Kent
- Cotswold
- The Morris Ring
Sun 11 Oct 12:00 14:00
Session

Tap and Spile Sunday Session

Tap and Spile, Morpeth, Northumberland
- Mixed
- Traditional
Sun 11 Oct 13:00 16:00
Session

Sunday at Gulp Fiction

Gulp Fiction, Oxford, Oxfordshire
- Mixed
Sun 11 Oct 13:30 15:30
Morris Practice

Ledbury Morris practice

The Royal Oak, Much Marcle, Herefordshire
Sun 11 Oct 14:00 16:00
Session

Jacob’s Well Irish Session

Jacob’s Well, Bradford, West Yorkshire
- Tune
- Irish
Sun 11 Oct 14:00 17:00
Session

Bia Sunday Irish Session

Bia Cafe Bar, Levenshulme, Greater Manchester
- Tune
- Irish
Sun 11 Oct 14:30 16:30
Session

Grove Slow Session

The Bell Inn, Grove, Oxfordshire
Sun 11 Oct 15:00 17:30
Session

Southampton Traditional Music Session

Raven and Bine, Southampton, Hampshire
- Tune
- Irish
Sun 11 Oct 15:00 18:00
Session

Harbour Room Singaround

The Harbour Room, Blakeney, Norfolk
- Song
- Singaround
Sun 11 Oct 15:00 17:00
Session

Pele Tower Session

The Pele Tower, Corbridge, Northumberland
- Tune
- Traditional
Sun 11 Oct 15:00 18:00
Session

Caledonia Sunday Session

The Caledonia, Liverpool, Merseyside
- Tune
- Irish
Sun 11 Oct 16:00 19:00
Session

Red Lion Sunday Session

The Red Lion, Kenninghall, Norfolk
- Mixed
Sun 11 Oct 17:00 19:00
Session

Minerva Sessions

The Minerva, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
Sun 11 Oct 18:00 21:00
Session

White Hart Singaround

The White Hart, Wiveliscombe, Somerset
- Song
- Singaround
Sun 11 Oct 18:00 21:00
Session

King’s Arms Tunes Session

The King’s Arms, Shouldham, Norfolk
- Tune
Sun 11 Oct 18:45 21:15
Morris Practice

Mortimer’s Morris practice

St John’s Church Community Centre, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
Sun 11 Oct 19:00 21:00
Session

Frog & Ferret Session

The Frog & Ferret, Spennymoor, County Durham
- Tune
- Traditional
Sun 11 Oct 19:00 21:00
Session

Bowling Green Irish Session

Bowling Green Hotel, Chorlton, Greater Manchester
- Tune
- Irish
Sun 11 Oct 19:00 21:00
Morris Practice

Golden Star Morris practice

St Catherine’s Church Hall, Norwich, Norfolk
Sun 11 Oct 19:00 21:00
Morris Practice

Way of the Wyrd practice

Thorpe Acre Church Hall, Loughborough, Leicestershire
- Border
- The Morris Federation
Sun 11 Oct 19:30 23:00
Session

Drake Sunday Session

Drake Manor Inn, Buckland Monachorum, Devon
- Mixed
- Traditional
Sun 11 Oct 19:30 22:30
Session

Convivial Rabbit Folk Session

Convivial Rabbit, Dorchester, Dorset
- Mixed
- Contemporary
Sun 11 Oct 19:30 22:30
Session

Duton Hill Acoustic Music Session

Three Horseshoes, Duton Hill, Essex
- Mixed
Sun 11 Oct 19:30 21:30
Session

Queen’s Folk Club

The Queen’s Hall, Leeds, West Yorkshire
- Mixed
- Singaround
Sun 11 Oct 19:30 21:30
Session

Sing & Sup

The Smithy Inn, Holme, Cumbria
- Song
- Singaround
Sun 11 Oct 19:30 21:30
Session

Green Man Sunday Session

The Green Man, Liverpool, Merseyside
- Tune
- Irish
Sun 11 Oct 19:30 21:30
Session

Wolverton Acoustic Club

The MADCAP Theatre, Wolverton, Buckinghamshire
- Mixed
- Beginners welcome
Sun 11 Oct 20:00 22:00
Session

Castle Cary Round the Room Session

The George Hotel, Castle Cary, Somerset
- Mixed
- Round the Room
Sun 11 Oct 20:00 22:00
Session

Bekesbourne Celtic Session

The Unicorn, Bekesbourne, Kent
- Tune
- Irish
Sun 11 Oct 20:00 22:00
Session

The Monkey Folk Club

Monkseaton Arms, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear
- Song
- Singaround
Sun 11 Oct 20:00 22:00
Session

Half Moon Irish Session

The Half Moon, Oxford, Oxfordshire
- Mixed
- Irish
Sun 11 Oct 20:00 22:00
Session

Session in Eynsham

The Queens Head, Eynsham, Oxfordshire
- Mixed
Sun 11 Oct 20:00 21:30
Morris Practice

Flag and Bone Gang practice

St John’s Church Hall, Harrogate, North Yorkshire
- The Morris Federation
- Mixed
Sun 11 Oct 20:30 23:00
Session

Doddington English Dance Music Session

Chequers Inn, Doddington, Kent
- Tune
- English
Sun 11 Oct 21:00 23:00
Session

West Malvern Session

West Malvern Social Club, Malvern, Worcestershire
- Tune
- Beginners welcome

Show more days

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

Saturday 10 October🌑 New moon

Sunday 11 October

Image credits

Saturday 10 October New moon