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Thousands have descended upon Bulli over the weekend for the resurrection of the Illawarra Folk Festival, with organisers pegging it a major success.
The volunteer-run event has been absent from the calendar since January 2020, but returned to a sold-out crowd on Saturday and near sold-out for Friday and Sunday.
![Music lovers across the generations visited the Illawarra Folk Festival over the weekend. Pictures by Anna Warr and Robert Peet. Music lovers across the generations visited the Illawarra Folk Festival over the weekend. Pictures by Anna Warr and Robert Peet.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/UPAcJLQNVGftX3BUDy544C/76084851-c7c1-420e-99f7-81899e4040e8.jpg/r0_0_1600_900_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
In his first year as festival director, Cody Munro Moore said the worrying thing was how ticket-sales would go and whether they'd cover their $100,000 operating costs.
"There were a lot of people at the point of despair who had worked with it for a very long time ... and they werent sure what it was going to look like again," Moore said.
"I think the hard bit was remodelling a collective vision of what it could look like ... and now we've got a blue print."
![Dan Hanrahan and The Rum Runners perform on Sunday at the Illawarra Folk Festival on at Bulli Showgrounds. Picture by Robert Peet. Dan Hanrahan and The Rum Runners perform on Sunday at the Illawarra Folk Festival on at Bulli Showgrounds. Picture by Robert Peet.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/UPAcJLQNVGftX3BUDy544C/0cea5c67-c8dc-4161-b408-e997b084722b.jpg/r0_49_5472_3648_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
With many previous volunteers "burnt out and tired" a new breed of enthusiastic individuals stepped up to help present a scaled down yet successful festival in 2023 - Moore was one of those who had to aim to attract a younger crowd.
Moore said the conscious decision to draw in younger crowds and families was not to neglect a "turnover over of generations".
![Rusty and The Saint at the Illawarra Folk Festival on at Bulli Showgrounds. Picture: Robert Peet Rusty and The Saint at the Illawarra Folk Festival on at Bulli Showgrounds. Picture: Robert Peet](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/UPAcJLQNVGftX3BUDy544C/82b8a661-c0f1-46fb-bef8-4ac5373e2aef.jpg/r0_0_5472_3648_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
It was evident across the weekend of music-lovers aged from three to 83, all coming together to celebrate tunes from 75 artists across five stages - from traditional folk music, Celtic, punk to jazz and other funky fusions.
Moore said the organising committee would meet in a fortnight to discuss what worked and what didn't, and how they could build on their success from this year.
![A little rain didn't dampen spirits on Sunday at the Illawarra Folk Festival 2023 on at Bulli Showgrounds. Picture: Robert Peet A little rain didn't dampen spirits on Sunday at the Illawarra Folk Festival 2023 on at Bulli Showgrounds. Picture: Robert Peet](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/UPAcJLQNVGftX3BUDy544C/758483d0-982c-4029-99fe-085b811c53a3.jpg/r0_0_5472_3648_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
REVIEW
As a family of music-lovers we have been desperately waiting for a kid-friendly festival to take our toddler to for years.
A global pandemic and La Nina were forces to be reckoned with and sadly put a dampener on major music festivals since our child was born.
![Morris dancers Black Jack Morris perform on Sunday at the Illawarra Folk Festival on at Bulli Showgrounds. Picture by Robert Peet. Morris dancers Black Jack Morris perform on Sunday at the Illawarra Folk Festival on at Bulli Showgrounds. Picture by Robert Peet.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/UPAcJLQNVGftX3BUDy544C/9d7bd5c5-b510-432b-9691-c9e8d5bafcd9.jpg/r0_0_5472_3648_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Finally, this weekend our tiny tot was able to experience the true vibe of a multi-day music festival at Bulli Showgrounds, surrounded by an eclectic mix of fun music and happy individuals.
This year's resurrection of the festival was significantly smaller than previous editions, but the buzz was still about with multiple stages, markets stalls, parents/kids chill zones and on-site camping.
![Jenny Stephenson, Aimee Jackson and Emilia Barnes at the Illawarra Folk Festival on at Bulli Showgrounds on Sunday. Picture: Robert Peet Jenny Stephenson, Aimee Jackson and Emilia Barnes at the Illawarra Folk Festival on at Bulli Showgrounds on Sunday. Picture: Robert Peet](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/UPAcJLQNVGftX3BUDy544C/34d84153-5b83-4a7a-97a1-e1d1305ea6ea.jpg/r0_73_5472_3867_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
We also noticed unofficial "pram zones" setup side of stage next to official "dance zones", as it is a tad hard to get your groove on with a kid-vehicle in the way.
Overall, our Saturday spent listening to great tunes was a success.
![Music lovers across the generations visited the Illawarra Folk Festival over the weekend. Picture by Robert Peet. Music lovers across the generations visited the Illawarra Folk Festival over the weekend. Picture by Robert Peet.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/UPAcJLQNVGftX3BUDy544C/6e1914c5-e0c1-476c-a36d-37060f2df3f8.jpg/r0_0_5472_3657_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Miss Three was one of hundreds to rock out to the likes of Cigany Weaver at the Slacky Flat Bar - a vibrant gypsy-jazz band from Brisbane.
We moved on upstairs to see Munsterbucks (three Irish lads from Munster) in the Restaurant. It was a full house, and incredibly crowded, but out tiny dancer pushed her way to the front of stage twirling in pirouettes and flailing arms in the style of Peter Garret.
![All the photos from the Illawarra Folk Festival, plus a parent's review All the photos from the Illawarra Folk Festival, plus a parent's review](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/UPAcJLQNVGftX3BUDy544C/94218790-7570-4915-8e75-71f59ba527c3.jpg/r0_285_5472_3363_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
There were some artists Miss Three wasn't keen on, but with five stages we just moved on to discover another band - all with plenty of food and toilets available wherever we went.
Our family didn't make it until the end, but it was a thrill for our toddler to rock out with bagpipes (an instrument unseen before) as part of The Go Set. The Celtic folk band bringing music-lovers of all ages off their seats and turning the floor partly into a mosh-pit.
I highly recommend the volunteer-run Illawarra Folk Festival as a great way to introduce youngsters to a world of music.
More family-friendly music festivals will be coming the Illawarra's way in 2023, a good chance to let your little ones get their groove on.
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