The Stonehaven Folk Festival finished last night and revellers looked back on a weekend of music, water-dancing and the internationally renowned World Paper ‘n’ Comb Championships.
Now in its 29th year, the festival attracts tourists from all over the world with some travelling from Australia and the United States as part of an estimated 3,000 crowd at the weekend.
This year’s Paper ‘n’ Comb group winners were Graham White, Irene Watt, Maggie Cassie and Sandy Leggat – who all fully embraced the fancy dress spirit and participated in Rocky Horror Show outfits.
Chairman of the festival, Charlie West, revealed the annual championships were almost cut short last year because the “ideal paper” for the musicians was no longer manufactured.
He said: “The best paper is Izal toilet paper, but you can’t get it anymore.
“It has the best consistency – shiny, yet not too heavy – greaseproof paper is too thick.
“I had to buy a similar one online – but got plenty to keep us going for this year too.”
Unaware of any other such competition, Mr West has considered applying for heritage status for the event.
Elsewhere in the seaside town, dancers took to the waters of the Open Air Pool to join in the Aqua-Ceilidh -where the young and young at heart enjoyed ‘Drip the Willow’, the ‘Splashing White Sergeant’ and the ‘Eightsome Creel’.
With a host of international and local acts, the stage was packed with headline acts including Jarlath Henderson, Archie Fisher and Mike McGoldrick and Friends with Emily Smith and Jamie McClennan and the John McCusker Band.
This year, there was also a focus on north-east music and the Doric language. Several special events were held including a session for inexperienced players, a song workshop exploring some songs from the Greig Duncan collection and north-east storytelling.
Members of the Steenhive Screevers held a book reading and there was a talk by Professor Peter Reid entitled “Fa div ye think ye are”.
