New folk festival comes to Ceredigion this weekend

A new Folk Festival, Gŵyl Werin y Bont, will be held near Tregaron tomorrow (19 July) which the organisers hope will be the start of a new annual tradition.

“I had been thinking about holding a folk music festival for years,” says Efan Williams from Ledrod , one of the organisers of Gŵyl Werin y Bont (Bridge Folk Festival) which will be held in Bronant, near Tregaron.

He added: “I saw an opportunity with the Dant Music Festival coming to the area in 2025 to start organising. I’m looking forward to a day full of folk music and the community coming together.

“I hope for a good day this year, and if it’s a success, maybe establish the festival annually and risk getting choirs and groups from the Celtic countries over to Fronant!”

 A guide to creating a small festival 

The new festival has been supported by a new guide which will be officially launched on the Big Show grounds on Monday (21 July) in the Cymru Young Farmers Clubs building at 4pm.

At the event, various organisers will hold a panel discussion to share advice, experiences and ideas about how to go about organising a small festival or outdoor event for the local community.

The guide offers practical advice about things like insurance and sound and lighting needs, multi-media promotion ideas, examples of different ways to raise money and create sponsorship packages, and much more.

The Guide to creating a small festival has been created by the Ymbweru Bro project with the help of a number of small and large event organizers throughout Wales. It responds to the need raised by Efan Williams and others, namely that it is difficult to know where to start if you want to organize a local event from scratch.

“No better feeling”

Lowri Jones from Cwmni Golwg who has coordinated the creation of the guide shared: “There is no better feeling than cheering with people who have something in common with you – and that is one of the great qualities of local events.

“From the village carnival to a rock festival, if people come together to have fun, it lifts the spirit. Creates that nice feeling of belonging. But organizing something for the first time can feel a bit scary.

“This is why Ymbweru Bro has created this guide – to give people a helping hand and ideas who want to organize an event in their local area. Whether they are going for the first time or trying to give new life to an established festival, there will be something useful for you in the guide.”

The project has been supported by Mentrau Iaith Cymru.

Myfanwy Jones, Director of Mentrau Iaith Cymru, said: “Empowering people to organise what they want to see in their communities is very important to the future of the Welsh language.

“I hope this guide will help anyone who wants to create a local, Welsh event, so that we can all work together to keep the Welsh language alive, one event at a time.”