“It’s not the End of the World Festival” – words and photographs by Eszter Halasi
Horsedrawn Camp and Orrible Entertainment Present organized the "It's Not the End of the World" music festival in the late summer, last year.
The festival is intended for members of the New Traveller community to gather and spend pleasant music-filled days in each other's company. To my surprise, not only the New Traveller community were there, but also members of the Romany and Pavee community were present at the festival.
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The communities maintained good relations with each other, and I was convinced during interviews that the members of the community support each other.
" After all, we all face such difficulties while living on the road, if I need help, I get help, and it's vice versa,” said Luke. “I am looking for the company of people who are kind and helpful, and we can talk to each other and find common ground.”
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“The point is that the we try to maintain and pass on culture, heritage, and lifestyle to our children, and to ensure a more beautiful, greener, more colourful future for our loved ones. "
I also spoke to Mickey Murphy, who told me that he works in the festival industry – as do many New Travellers. "This does not mean that we are very happy every day - although we strive for that - because the nomadic life can be very difficult, but we would not give up the freedom that comes with the Traveller's life for anything," he added.
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The festival was extended as a bank holiday followed the weekend, so the festival actually lasted four days, with several music bands and performers appearing on the various different stages and platforms dotted around the festival site.
One main stage from Orrible Entertainments was solar powered, and along with the other one, David Sanger's own Sanger Stage, hosted musicians such as Ilodica, Sam Dallaway, and many, many others.
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The concerts lasted into the night, but during the day, there were arts and crafts events for the children, and many people just rested and cooked their food and made tea over open fires.
Overall, the It’s Not the End of the World Festival had a good atmosphere, and it was a nice feeling seeing everyone enjoying themselves and supporting each other.
Words and photographs by Eszter Halasi for TT Features
A shorter version of this article first appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2023 issue of the Travellers' Times Magazine. A downloadable version of the magazine can be seen here: Magazine | Travellers Times
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