THE SENSATIONAL SARK FOLK FESTIVAL 2015 - SARK

I was delighted to be invited to the Sark Folk Festival for two reasons this year!  Firstly, to sing a 45 minute set with my dear Irish chum (who now lives in Sark!) Peter Gabriel Byrne, and also as a blogger to write officially as The Channel Island Girl!

For those of you that haven't experienced the festival before, it is very simple to sum it up in one word:
Sensational-amazing-fabulous-fun-with-lots-of-great-music-delicious-food-and-drink-and-great-Channel-Island-atmosphere...that's one word, right?

SFF2015 was, once again, an eclectic mix of great folk music spanning into blues, jazz and rock genres at various points throughout the weekend - married with delicious local delicacies, beautiful handicrafts, artistic entertainment and workshops and an awesome ale-fest sandwiched in the middle!  

Tickets went on sale in October 2014 and sold out within minutes...and by Friday 3rd July, hundreds of people descended upon the rugged little sparkling gem isle that is Sark, eagerly anticipating a magical weekend meeting old friends and making new ones.

We excitedly embarked on our journey from Alderney to Guernsey, flying so near to Sark that the pilot could have dropped us off...(!)...and then headed for the harbour to catch the Isle of Sark Shipping's "Sark Venture" to the land of horse & carts, a slightly scary bridge, tractors, dusty roads, quaint shops, delicious seafood, an Olympic gold postbox and a wonderfully simple way of life.

A quick hop across the water from Guernsey, Sark was soon in sight.  We passed by pretty little Herm, Jethou and Brecqhou, arriving in Sark within 45 minutes...and then it was the first decision of the day...do we walk up Harbour Hill or do we take the "Toast Rack" (a cart filled with benches that is pulled up the hill by a tractor for the bargain fare of £1.20)! ...can you guess what we decided?

With a few hours to kill before the festival opened, we headed straight to the beautiful La Seigneurie Gardens to discover the maze (my husband had to pop into the castle in the centre to find the Sark flag!) and take time for a spot of lunch at the fantastic Hathaway's.
We enjoyed freshly caught Sark lobster and scallops for lunch along with the biggest, most delicious chips I've ever eaten!  The picture really doesn't do them justice!

We sauntered down the dusty street to walk off some of those very naughty chips and enjoyed the sights and sounds as the festival site came into view. Lots of excited people on bikes, musicians being ferried-in via tractor with their guitar cases strapped to the bucket!

We merry group of 6 happily piled into the registration tent, strapped on our wristbands and scanned through the programme of events...we even managed to get some highly coveted Sark Folk Festival hoodies and merchandise!

Like every good festival-goer (and Channel Islander) that enjoys a tipple, I was very interested in this year's offerings from Rocquette Cider - and it didn't disappoint.  The Bec du Nez (named after a famous Sark rock) was utterly delicious!  The 6 of us managed to sample several of the different ales, too, with Triple FFF being the favourite!

But enough about the booze...how about the bands?!  Naturally, we were feeling very proud of "Alderney-boy-done-very-good" Robert J Hunter who, along with his hugely talented band, entertained us for a full 50 minutes with heart-wrenching, gut-busting blues.  Clever lyrics, great melodies and Robert's surging, gravelly vocal - the crowd swelled and were with him every step of the way.  What a talent...he's already topping the iTunes blues charts and we know he'll continue to get better and better.

It was at this point I saw my name in the programme and became slightly nervous.  Only one thing for it - have another pint!  And then, as a further calming influence, we listened to the outstanding Cara Dillon who mesmerised the entire audience along with her hugely talented husband Sam Lakeman (even with Cara's unfortunate bout of hayfever and Sam's lack of keyboard pedal threatening to make the gig impossible!).  Every single note from this pair was a joy to behold.  I sincerely urge anyone reading this to have some Cara in their lives!  It was utterly spectacular and completely unforgettable.

As the evening began to draw in, we were feeling peckish enough to enjoy some delicious Sark-caught cod and chips before catching Friday's headline act, The Elephant Sessions - these super-talented chaps and their magic music-making hands had the entire crowd jumping from the very first note.  The absolute epitome of modern folk meets world music meets Ceilidh band - we raved about them all the way home!

Saturday morning offered us plenty of sunshine and our picnic blanket was out in full force ready to enjoy the day!  

I began my Saturday with a hugely talented man by the name of Peter Byrne who entertained a wonderful crowd on the Les Burons stage with his haunting melodies.  It was an honour to sing his harmonies and witness his superb skill on the guitar and mandolin.  You may remember Peter from the BBC's programme "Island Parish" as part-time Harbourmaster and part-time musician!

After all the excitement of being a performer, it was surely time for more delicious food and drink.  I think it's safe to say that there were two truly outstanding eateries for us at the festival site for Saturday lunchtime:  Pip's Pickers Crab Shack and the delicious BBQ'd Sark Lobster!  
A simple, fresh, bar-be-que lobster along with some exotic crab cakes, crab blinis and crab spring rolls and, of course, the amazing crab linguine!

Ok...so, more decisions to be made...after lunch we had a moment or two to stroll around the site for gifts and goodies to purchase.  I totally fell in love with Guernsey's own Lovelypop - amazing designs and creations specifically relating to the Channel Islands.  I had to take the fabulous Joey the Trislander cushion home with me!  What a truly unique shopping experience and such a joy to see such beautiful handmade goodies being produced in the Channel Islands.

Another favourite was Athene Sholl's stunning jewellery.  From Guernsey-shaped key fobs and cufflinks to stunning silver and gold rings, ormer and pearl charm necklaces, fun festival plectrum earrings and gorgeous little scrabble tile initial rings.  What a talented lady...my husband's wallet didn't get off lightly...

Other beautiful stalls included Sark photographer Rosalie Ro, handmade sea glass earrings and quirky artwork from Sarah Jane Art as well as massage therapy, festival hair accessories and more!

But we couldn't shop all day...the highlight of our Saturday was about to begin...time for a Cosmic Tea Party with Guernsey-based all-round superstar-songstress-strummers the Ukuladeez!  Entertainment - CHECK.  Comedy - CHECK.  Harmonies - CHECK.  Ukuladee-Boyz - CHECK.  Start to finish these girlz (and boyz) had us by the funny bone.  Tunes like "Brian (He's Not Called Brian)" and the charming "Swinging Brick", to the optimistic "Follow The Sun" and a song penned especially for Sark.
Ukuladeez, we love you all dearly...although your temporary tattoos lingered even longer than your beautiful melodies.  Jojo, Emily, Fay, Mimi, Ellie and Polly - you made our weekend!

Our evening of entertainment continued at the spectacular Stocks Hotel where we sampled some delicious Sark wine and Sark water!

Sunday was a day of pure enjoyment and time to wind down (before winding up again with a rip-roaring finale from The Space Pirates of Rocquaine) and I think my highlight of the day was the unique sound of a trio from the Isle of Man - Barrule.  Cleverly constructed jigs and reels showing a real flavour of Manx sound in our Channel Islands.  A perfect combination along with one last cider!

Before we knew it...it was time to walk the dusty road home.  How did that happen so quickly?  Well...I suppose it's simple...time flies when you're having fun.  On Sark...the beautiful Channel Island where every minute is magical.

To learn more about getting tickets for Sark Folk Festival 2016, please visit their website, their Twitter page or join the Facebook group.