In Australia, summer and autumn is the time for the largest festivals. Well they pop up all year round but between December and April there is the Woodford Folk Festival , The National Folk Festival and the Port Fairy Folk Music Festival. There are also festivals like the Cygnet Folk Festival (Tasmania) that although not on the scale of the others, punch above their weight!
All these festivals celebrate storytelling with shows, workshops and in the case of Port Fairy and Woodford, awards.
One of the things I love about the festivals is the chance to catch up with storytellers from around the country. I first met Irish Joe Lynch at Woodford in Queensland and then we met up again at the Cygnet Festival.
At Cygnet, Joe was performing poetry but at Woodford he told, for the first time, a set of stories from his Irish heritage. In a windy corner at Cygnet, Joe shared some words with me about the tale of Oisín Tír na hÓige and what it means to him.
Thanks for sharing Joe.
Jackie K
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