The Inter Varsity Folk Dance Festival (IVFDF) is the longest running

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

festival in the

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, having been hosted from 1951 to the present day (2022). It differs from most other festivals in two respects: it moves location every year, and it is hosted and organised by student folk societies. Ex-students and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

enthusiasts gather at the host

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

for a weekend of music, dance, and song. The festival is always run in either the last weekend in February or the first weekend in March. The festival at

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

in 2009 was attended by around 1169 different ticket holders — the most of any IVFDF up to that time, as the previous record was just over 1000 attendees at the IVFDF in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in 1986. The festival was held online in 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, hosted by people based in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. The most recent festival was held in Exeter in 2023.

Mascots

Society

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

s are considered to be a large part of the festival. Mascot Ransoming is now banned at IVFDF after several people sustained injuries at one festival. While Mascot Ransoming has been banned, mascot intentional misplacement is prevalent at IVFDFs.

History

The first festival was held in 1951 under the name "Universities' Folk Dancing Festival", hosted in the city of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

. The festival was jointly organised by the '' Hull University College Folk Dance Society'' and the ''

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

Scottish Dance Society'', however Leeds was chosen over Hull as the location for the festival due to its superior accessibility and facilities at the time. The following 2 festivals were hosted under this name before the term Inter-Varsity was used for the 1954 festival hosted in Edinburgh. Initially the primary activity at the festival was the ''"Display Ceilidh"'', during which the University groups in attendance would take turns to perform dances as a demonstration to the other groups. The dances presented could be newly choreographed or traditional, and could be chosen to raise awareness of a particular folk style or show the skill of the group. In some early festivals a dance was also held in the evening after the Display Ceilidh, and by the 1959 festival this had been expanded to two evening dances. The festival has never been held in the same host city two years consecutively, with 22 different cities hosting thus far. The most frequent hosts have been

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

and Exeter, totalling 10 and 8 festivals respectively.

All IVFDF events

ICBINI

I can't believe it's not IVFDF (ICBINI) is a smaller annual spin-off festival held in November. The first ICBINI was held at Exeter in 2002. ICBINI is like the main festival in many respects, in that it is held at a different location each year and hosted by student folk societies; however, if a suitable host cannot be found, a festival is not held that year. The activities are similar to those at IVFDF.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Central IVFDFIVFDF 2012 (Aberdeen)IVFDF 2011 (Bristol)IVFDF 2010 (Durham)IVFDF 2009 (Exeter)IVFDF 2008 (Sheffield)IVFDF 2021 (online)
Folk festivals in the United Kingdom Dance festivals in the United Kingdom English folk music 1951 establishments in England Music festivals established in 1951