Access All Areas September 2021 | Page 48

AUGUST | FEATURE

Rooted in success

Despite the event taking place on 18 July , only hours before the Government lifted lockdown restrictions , Folk By The Oak festival organisers decided to press ahead with a socially-distanced event . Access finds out why .

After pulling the 2020 event , Folk By The Oak festival organisers Caroline and Adam Slough were determined not to miss another year and say they have no regrets about staging the event on the eve of ‘ Freedom Day ’.

Caroline says the joy of being back was omnipresent – the sun shone , and the audience partied to headliners Seasick Steve and Kate Rusby – all the while staying compliant with the social-distancing measures .
Folk by the Oak was launched in 2008 and , in the years since , has grown to its current capacity of 8,000 . It was born out of the Battle Proms Picnic Concerts series , and uses the same core infrastructure on-site at Hatfield House .
Adam says : “ We evolve it from the classical proms event on a Saturday night , overnight , to the folk festival on the Sunday with quite a small crew . We keep infrastructure light to make the transformation feasible .
“ It ’ s a significant change from a classical show , with battle recreations and six concessions , to the folk festival with 60 concessions and a totally different vibe and audience profile . Hospitality tents become craft tents , the concert pavilion becomes a vintage tent and a family area , with a climbing wall , archery , recycled crafts and much more .”
This year , the duo faced the additional challenge of creating a Covid-safe set-up . “ We were confident we could adapt the site within the parameters of Covid , having kept abreast of guidelines and advice during the winter and spring ,” says Adam . “ We calculated we could safely socially distance 5,500 people on this site . That figure worked financially if we cut to one stage , so it was frustrating when the Government announced the limit of 4,000 people , as that lower number made it hard to break even .”
Caroline adds : “ We were doing a balancing act between working out ‘ could we go ahead ?’ against the backdrop of Covid and what the Government said , so we kept planning under the assumption we were going to go ahead .
“ What gave us the certainty to push ahead was some help from the Culture Recovery Fund in March , coupled with the relief on VAT to 5 %, which just edged it between us running at a loss and breaking even .”
Adam says support from the Association of Festival Organisers was invaluable . “ Steve Heap was always supportive ,” he says . “ We took advantage of the Recover & Reopen sessions , run by Symphotech , at the AFO annual conference . That underpinned our planning .”
Symphotech has been the event ’ s production management and artist liaison provider from the outset and Caroline says it was once again a cornerstone of delivering a successful event . “ Their extensive experience across the industry , coupled with an in-depth understanding of our events , means they achieve what we
Caroline and Adam Slough
Suppliers
• Event Production & Artist Liaison- Symphotech
• Stage – Evolution
• Sound - Solotech
• Lights – LiteUp
• Power - Midas
• Crew- DNG Crew
want to deliver to our audience and artists ,” she says . “ They are pivotal in delivering high-level production values and creating this safe , relaxed atmosphere .
“ It ’ s been brilliant to see the audience having so much fun , along with the artists , and everyone on site contributing to a fantastic return . We can ’ t wait to return next year with a full-capacity festival .”
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