Hobby horses and suchlike beasts of disguise are hereby invited to roam the streets of the fair town of Banbury, at this most convivial and unusual event.
Nearly 30 creatures gathered for the first festival in July, 2000, to say nothing of the many animals created for the occasion by local students and schoolchildren. The celebrated folklorist Doc Rowe declared it "a splendid 'oss-up". Perhaps the best part of it all was the cameraderie that grew up among the beast enthusiasts, especially at the pub sessions in Adderbury. One hesitates to speak of animal spirits...
And now we're doing it all again, along much the same lines as before, but with improvements. This time, we're hoping to attract around 40 visiting animals, traditional and otherwise, mostly from the worlds of morris dancing and mumming.
Accommodation arrangements will be as before - free indoor camping in Banbury, or excellent low-cost camping a mile from Adderbury's fine village green. Food will be what you can forage in the pleasant town of Banbury during the day; in the evening, there'll be good pub food, and doubtless another fine music session.
We'll have workshops and so on, too - all very informal, though.
As before, some of the action will take place in the sublime setting of Adderbury, home of the famous morris tradition. We hope both Adderbury sides will dance during the weekend.
Guests at the first festival included the horse created in the late 19th century for the legendary fiddler Sam Bennett - it's expected to turn out again. A very dark horse sneaked past customs officials with America's excellent Juggler Meadow morris dancers. A sixteen-foot smoke-breathing dragon hitch-hiked from Tewkesbury (well.... sort of). Shergar rode again. And then there was that goat.
Local school children helped professional beast-makers Steve Rowley and Donald Workman create a Town Horse for Banbury - ridden by the Fine Lady of nursery rhyme fame. It'll play a prominent part in 2001.
Sunday afternoon began with a grand parade past Banbury Cross and into People's Park (yes, it really is called that), where the populace took part in comic cock-horse races, harried by the visiting animals.
For photographs of the 2000 Festival, visit our web site at http://www.hobbyhorsefest.has.it
All hobby animals are invited, with such human companions as are considered necessary for their welfare. A minder would be helpful, and musicians are especially welcome.
Even if you're only vaguely interested, please get in touch soon by....
e-mail - simon.pipe@bbc.co.uk
phone - 01295 812368 (+44 1295 812368 from abroad)
post - Horn Hill Cottage, Horn Hill Road, Adderbury, Oxon, OX17 3EU, United Kingdom
And if you haven't got a hobby animal yet - make one!
Cheers for now.
Simon Pipe
festival co-ordinator