FOLK music aficionados have been disappointed to learn from artistic director David De Santi that the 36th Illawarra Folk Festival has been delayed until 2022.

The annual summer event featuring folk, world, roots, bluegrass, gypsy and Celtic music, as well as poetry, comedy and dance, was to have gone ahead in Bulli Showground from January 14-17, but because of uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 crisis, the Illawarra Folk Club, which organises the event, has cancelled the planned festival.

Caught by the summer timing of the event, De Santi explained that by this stage in “normal” times, the committee would have been well underway with site planning, programming, marketing and finalising artist bookings. Additionally, he said, the risk of outlaying of hundreds of thousands of dollars and the potential health issues for volunteers, artists, stallholders, suppliers and patrons without a guarantor, made it imprudent to proceed.

For the same reasons, the club has also cancelled plans for a one-day event at Kiama called “Folk with a View” to have run on September 26 to replace the usual three-day Folk by the Sea festival, but are planning ahead for September 2021.

“We are hoping things will be better next year to plan for our 36th festival to be held from  January 13-16, 2022,” De Santi said.

Follow news about the Illawarra Folk Festival here.