A world of folk, world, roots, Celtic, bluegrass, Gypsy, dance, poetry and more has converged on Bulli Showground.
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The 34th Illawarra Folk Festival ran from Thursday to Sunday, drawing more than 10,000 punters across the four days.
Among them was Campbell Irvine, known by many as ‘Campbell the Swaggie’.
Originally from New Zealand, Campbell became fascinated by Australian folklore and cultural heritage.
The 66-year-old travels the country moving between music and folk festivals, where he performs his bush poetry recitals and story-telling.
“I’ve been a full-time festival-goer for about 25 years,” he told the Mercury.
He’s highly recognisable, with a well-worn bushman’s hat and many wristbands he’s collected from festivals such as Woodford, Mandorah and Wallaby Creek.
He began attending the Illawarra festival while it was still based at its former home in Jamberoo, and has been a fixture since.
“I like the people and the music – it’s like a family atmosphere,” he said.
“It’s grown a bit (since he started attending).
Steev Levings and partner Aimee Dyer from Newtown have been attending the festival for several years.
“The general atmosphere is really good – chilled and relaxed,” Mr Levings, 35, said.
“It’s nice to see bands you normally wouldn’t come across. You walk past the tents, you like what you hear and so you go check it out.”
Festival artistic director David De Santi said this year’s event featured about 160 acts, including Illawarra, national and international performers.
He estimated the event had drawn a total of between 10,000 and 11,000 people over the four days.
“The measure’s probably not so much about the number of people, but the number of smiles,” he said.
