Until about 13 years ago, Ruth and I were regulars at Oxfolk Ceilidhs, but after our eldest was born (and we bought a house that was no-longer in walking distance of the venue) we kinda stopped.
Until this weekend! Now the kids are a little older, we figured they'd both manage the late night necessary for us to travel all the way to and from Kennington from the Chicory House, so we dragged them along to a dance and... they loved it! So maybe, just maybe, we can make ceilidhs a regular fixture of our family's winter entertainments once again.
Alt
In a large village hall, a folk band (two fiddles, one cello, one melodeon, one guitar) play on stage while a dance floor is filled with about seven groups of six people each, swinging their arms as they weave past one another.
In other news, and in what should be no surprise to anybody who knows folk musicians: ceilidhs are woke as heck. We've been away a decade and a bit which means we get the "blink and you'll miss it" kind of progress that was in reality surely a more-gradual process, but I noted that
- "gendered" terms for the positions of dancers now seem to have completely vanished (and as a side note, the elder kid was delighted to acquire a "folkies for trans rights" pin badge),
- the event no longer does disposable cups, so if you want a beer you either need to bring or buy a reusable one, reducing plastic waste, and
- the venue had been geared for maximal accessibility, allowing the widest diversity of people the chance to join in a dance (incidentally, I got totally out-danced by a wheelchair user).
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