Venues  Sidmouth FolkWeek takes place in a variety of venues – in addition to building three large-scale bespoke marquee venues for concerts and dance events, we use pretty much every suitable space we can find, including churches, halls, hotel function rooms, pub gardens, schools…over 600 events make up Sidmouth Folk Week, and we have to find space for them all! The streets and seafront are very much part of the Festival stage as well, with impromptu performances from buskers, dance groups, street theatre performers and entertainers to amuse you as you wander between the events.
 The main concert venue is the 1000-seat Ham Marquee, featuring some of the best bands and artists around. The Ham is our premier venue, and we think it’s one of the nicest venues on the folk festival scene, with its part-tiered seating plan and smart, wood-floored foyer bar. 2010 will see a better entrance layout to the venue and improved wet weather walkways. In 2009 we introduced The Hub area in front of the Ham, which offers a chill-out space for sitting, eating, drinking and relaxing. This year we have designed a Ham Marquee bar which will serve directly into the under-cover Hub garden. We have also moved the Box Office kiosk so that Hub visitors will be able to enjoy the dance displays in Port Royal.
The Bulverton Marquee, about a mile out of the town, offers stand-up gigs in a high-energy atmosphere, along with the legendary Late Night Extra ceilidhs and afternoon workshops. There is also catering at the Bulverton, with a full bar from 7pm and food available all from lunchtime right through LNE. The Bulverton design in 2010 will allow for a larger bar and food area to reduce congestion, an integrated entrance foyer, undercover access to the toilets, a larger stage and a wider dance floor.  The Manor Pavilion is a 250-seat theatre with comfortable tiered seating, ideally suited to mid-scale performances and more theatrically-oriented shows, while the little Arts Centre downstairs hosts talks and workshops in the day, with traditional acoustic events at night. The dining room of the Bedford Hotel provides a more intimate atmosphere for small-scale concerts.
Blackmore Gardens, in the centre of town, is the home of Young Sidmouth, our children's festival, but also features our Dance Marquee, offering a range of participative social and ceilidh dances through the afternoon and evening, dance displays from morris and international dance sides, and occasional family events. The Dance Marquee will have an integrated dance floor within the marquee to ensure guests can utilise the entire space for dancing. The small open air stage in the Blackmore Gardens will also be enhanced with a roof cover.  There are also open air ceilidhs and concerts in the gardens of the Anchor Inn, and sessions in most of the pubs. And then there are a host of other places that you'll discover once you've decided which workshops, social dances, lectures, discussions, storytelling sessions and other activities you're going to fit into the week's busy schedule!
Access for people with disabilities We try to make Sidmouth FolkWeek as accommodating as possible to all people with disabilities. Wheelchair access is available at most venues and our volunteer stewards are always ready to assist with any special needs. Requests may be made, in writing, for a carer’s ticket for a person with a disability who needs a carer to be able to attend events. "The stewards were wonderfully helpful…I use a wheelchair and they really put themselves out" Dogs
Dogs may be admitted to venues at the discretion of the volunteer stewards and must be kept on a lead at all times. Owners may be asked to remove their dogs if the dogs cause a disturbance. Dogs are permitted on the Festival camp site if kept on leads. Dogs to assist people with disabilities will be admitted to all venues. | 
