AberFest

AberFest is a Celtic cultural festival celebrating “All things” Cornish and Breton that takes place biennially ( two years) in Cornwall (UK) at Easter. The AberFest Festival alternates with the Breizh – Kernow Festival that is held in Brandivy and Bignan in (Breizh/Bretagne – France) on the alternate years.

Both Festivals are unusual in the fact that the main focus of the events are focused upon families and individuals from one country staying with families and individuals from the other against a wide background of cultural activities.

The last AberFest to be held was at Easter 21st – 24th March 2008.

Background

Cornwall and Brittany have Celtic links going back centuries and have closely related Celtic languages and many other traditions that are practised in both countries. Both AberFest and the Breizh – Kernow Festival celebrate these cultures in their traditional and more recent forms.

5th- 7th Centuries saw a mass emigration of Cornish people to “Amorica.” These people were to become the Breton people of modern Brittany. Their language was the brythonic Celtic language that was to become Breton language (Breizhoneg) in Brittany, the Cornish language (Kernewek) in Cornwall and the Welsh language (Cymraeg) in Wales. Although separate languages today, they remain closely related.

Throughout the centuries since the first emigrations, there have been continued links and movements of people, up to and including World War 2 when small numbers of Breton people escaped German occupied Brittany to live in Cornwall.

While the practical working lives of ordinary Fishermen were a not uncommon site in ports in both Cornwall and Brittany in 1960’s and later, other links have gone through periods of popularity including Cornish and Breton Wrestling. This saw regular exchange competitions in the inter war years and sporadic interest ever since.

The Modern era

The late 1970’s and 1980s saw a great deal of interest in Inter Celtic organisations and activities. The International Celtic Congress had been very active in the Celtic world through much of the 20th Century, but saw a new enthusiasm in Cornwall as the “Cornish movement” looked to other Celtic countries for support and ideas in facing the decline in cultural self confidence that was very evident at that time.

Around the same time the Pan Celtic Festivals had lead to the establishment of an independent Inter Celtic festival, “Lowender Peran” in Perranporth, Cornwall each October.

As visitors to this Festival, Katrine Pasco and her husband Patrick Lorho, travelled to Cornwall and made friends with a wide number of people with loose involvement with the Cornish movement including Ron Williams (Ronnie) from Falmouth.

After several years of visiting Lowender Peran and strengthening links, Pasco and Lorho, organised the first “Breizh – Kernow Festival” in 1987 ( Breizh being Breton for Brittany and Kernow being Cornish for Cornwall) in Brandivy, in the Morbhian region of Brittany.

Breizh – Kernow Festival

The Breizh – Kernow Festival was started with the intention of it being a the Breton part of a Festival alternating between Brittany and Cornwall. The Breizh – Kernow festival was then held most years in Brandivy and later included Bignan. This one sided arrangement persisted until 2002.

The main reason that the festival was not held in Cornwall was that there was a community of like minded people in more or less one geographical location in Brandivy. In Cornwall the links were less involved with a location and more to do with individuals that were spread geographically across Cornwall without a clear location that could be realistically identified as suitable location, nor was there anyone willing to take on the task without such a generally accepted suitable location.

Ron Williams

Ron Williams had been a very active individual with many voluntary organisations in Falmouth ( a founder of the Falmouth Youth Club,) and throughout Cornwall and was widely known and respected.

From 1987 onwards, the friendship between Williams and Pasco, Lorho and their increasing family grew stronger with Williams spending more and more time in his retirement, living with Castel Guen, Brandivy. He also became an increasingly well known and popular figure in Brandivy itself.

Ronnie Fest

Ron Williams died on December 7th 2001.

As a memorial, in particular for Bretons the “Ronnie Fest” took place in Falmouth at Easter 2002. Supported by groups such as Cornish dance team “Ros Keltek” the day filled the weekend.

This was a day of celebration of Ron’s life and included organisations and groups with which Ron had worked, in some cases for 40 - 50 years. Due to the good will towards Ron Williams, in the Falmouth venues, and time were given for free.This included the Easter Sunday afternoon at the Royal Polytechniic Society, and the British Legion Club on the Easter Sunday evening 31st March 2002.

The first AberFest

After a return to Brittany at Easter 2003, the Festival returned to Cornwall as “AberFest’04” and again in 2006 and 2008 as AberFest’06 and AberFest'08.

Festival Philosophy

Central to the aims of both Breizh – Kernow and AberFest Festivals is the arrangement whereby individuals and families are hosted by families from the respective countries. People visiting the festival from one Celtic country stay with families from the host Celtic country.

While there are public events that form the “public” side of the festivals, it is hosting and being hosted with families that is the core of the success of both the festivals. Through this arrangement, life long friendships have developed outside the confines of either festival.

The personal friendships between individuals and families form a strength and commitment to the relationship between the two festivals. The importance of the personal relationships has not been understood by some who have seen the more public events as of the prime importance and have mistakenly viewed the way to strengthening the festivals, and AberFest in particular, through greater commercialisation of the events.

Today the basic philosophy continues that performers are not paid and perform for free, putting performers on an equal footing and providing a platform for new and in particular younger performers.

A significant contrast between the two festivals is a reflection on the Cultural strengths within both Countries. While Breton culture in Brittany is well established, accepted as part of their regional identity and is not under exceptional pressures within the French State, the situation within Cornwall remains different.

The burgeoning cultural revival within Cornwall now enjoys a greater confidence than in the 1970’s or 80’s it is not universally recognised or accepted, often remaining opaque to those outside the movement. As a consequence, those active in promoting Cornish culture require AberFest to be open and less opaque public platform.

AberFest Festival format

Although AberFest is a relatively new event, it has established a general event Format:-

Good Friday Breton guests arrive at suitable Rendezvous via the Roscoff – Plymouth Ferry, by car and bus, in the late evening. They meet their hosts and travel to their homes.

Easter Saturday Free Public performances and processions through Falmouth. Workshop in various cultural activities. A combined dance/concert event featuring Breton Fest Noz and Cornish Ceili, known as the AberFest-Noz takes place in the evening.

Easter Sunday Morning and lunch with host families followed by a public event at a particular location in West Cornwall. ( previously held at Godolphin House and St. Michael’s Mount )

Easter Monday Morning with families. Afternoon group event. Evening, Group party and Miracle.

Cornish and Breton cultural activities

Cornish and Breton cultural activities and workshops in pervious AberFest festivals have included:-DanceMusicSinging, ( individual, group and Choir)Wrestling ( Breton Gouwren and Cornish Wrestling )Bombard and Pipes (Bagpipes)CookingLanguage ( Brezhoneg and Kernewek)

ee also

*
*List of topics related to Cornwall
*Cornish language
*Cornish people
*List of Cornish people
*Cornish Assembly

References

External links

* [http://www.aberfest.org/ AberFest official website]