They needn’t have worried – despite some initial hiccups, it has become a popular annual event, attracting dozens of performers and delighting hundreds of fans.

This year will be no exception as the still volunteer-led and not-for-profit spectacle hits the city next weekend with music, dancing, colour and the jingling of bells.

READ MORE: Oxford Folk Festival pictures

There will be a full programme of indoor concerts and ceilidhs, and musicians, bands, choirs and dancers performing all around the city.

The historic Covered Market remains the hub of the festival, with performances from noon on Friday (April 10) to the evening of Sunday (April 12).

Shoppers, browsers and tourists will be regaled with all kinds of entertainment – a varied programme of folk music, from ancient to modern.

A free evening concert, which has become a tradition of the festival, will be held at the Market on Saturday at 7.30pm, with music from the Abingdon-based Ock Street Band.

A folk fan at Oxford Folk Festival in 2024 (Image: Ed Nix)

Organisers are particularly pleased to be welcoming Aisling, a folk band from Leiden, Oxford’s twin city in Holland.

They will perform at a song and dance evening with the Oxford Folk Dancers at St Matthew’s Church in Marlborough Road, off Abingdon Road, on Friday at 7.30pm, with a ploughman’s supper included.

The six-strong Dutch group will also appear at the North Parade market, the Covered Market and, appropriately, in Leiden Square in the Westgate Centre.

Other festival venues include Broad Street, Bonn Square, St Giles, Radcliffe Square and Oxford Castle, while indoor performances will be held at the Norrington Room in Blackwells, the Old Fire Station, the Westgate library, the Weston Library at the Bodleian and Modern Art Oxford.

As one of the organisers says: “There is plenty on offer to lift the spirits of everyone.” Full details at oxfordfolkfest.org.uk

Neil Stafford

A conman was jailed for stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Neil Stafford, 60, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Monday, March 2.

In November last year a jury found him guilty of seven counts of fraud by false representation by unanimous verdicts after a two-month trial.

The total amount paid to Stafford by the seven people was £882,000.

The total repaid was just £141,800, which meant a loss of around £740,000.

Stafford was jailed for a total of nine years and banned from being a company director for 15 years.

Neil Stafford (Image: TVP)

Berajd Mazari

An Albanian man has been jailed for behaviour against a woman which included controlling the clothes she wore, the friends she saw and forcing her to take drugs.

Berajd Mazari, of Lark Rise, Brackley, in Northamptonshire, was accused of the offences in Banbury in 2024.

On Friday, January 23, a jury in Oxford found him guilty of controlling and coercive behaviour, and being in possession of an imitation firearm.

The 24-year-old pleaded guilty to being in possession of cannabis and cocaine and being in possession of a fake Italian driving licence.

He was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on March 6.

Mazari was jailed for 30 months and given a restraining order against the victim and her mother for seven years.

Berajd Mazari (Image: TVP)

Francis Nala-Hartley

A violent thug kicked the door of his ex-partner and punched her mother in the face after taking drugs, a court heard.

Francis Nala-Hartley, of Edgecombe Road, Headington, was jailed at Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday, March 10.

The 30-year-old pleaded guilty two counts of failing to surrender to police bail.

He was tried and convicted in his absence for one count of assault, causing actual bodily harm, last year.

Nala-Hartley was jailed for a total of 22 months.

Francis Nala-Hartley (Image: TVP)

Daniel Carruthers

A drug dealer who hid heroin and crack cocaine in deodorant cans was jailed.

Daniel Carruthers, of Blue Mountains, Wallingford, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday, March 26.

The 34-year-old was found guilty at a trial last year of possession with intent to supply two class A drugs, namely heroin and crack cocaine.

It related to an incident when police found drugs at an address in Northfield Road, Headington, on May 29 last year.

Carruthers was jailed for a total of eight years and orders were made for the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs and phone found.

Daniel Carruthers (Image: TVP)

Charlotte McCollin

An Oxford woman, with more than 200 previous offences, was jailed for violence and intimidation.

Charlotte McCollin, of Botley Road, Oxford, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Wednesday, March 25.

The 34-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of assault by beating, one count of intimidating a witness, one count of theft and one count of criminal damage.

McCollin was jailed for two years and given a five-year restraining order to not contact the victim.

Charlotte McCollin (Image: TVP)

Laurence Whittaker

An Oxfordshire man has been jailed for an attack on his ex and his ex’s mum which left both with multiple injuries.

Laurence Whittaker, of Cowley Road, Oxford, was sentenced to a combined eight years at Oxford Crown Court.

He received two prison sentences to run consecutively for his actions on January 10, 2025, with six years given for the section 18 wounding with intent to commit grievous bodily harm against Lindsay Webber, his former partner’s mother.

For the assault occasioning actual bodily harm against former partner, Jessica Clements, he received two years.

The court issued restraining orders for 10 years on him for both women.

Laurence Whittaker (Image: TVP)

James Alder and Brendon Shamu

Two drug dealers were jailed for their roles in operating a county line in Oxfordshire.

James Alder and Brendon Shamu were sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Friday, March 27.

Alder, 21, of Limborough Road, Wantage, and Shamu, 27, of Field Gardens, Steventon, near Abingdon, were both charged with drug dealing offences in Abingdon between October 1 last year and January 23 this year.

Both men pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, namely crack cocaine and heroin.

Shamu also pleaded guilty to being in possession of criminal property, namely £8,795 in cash.

Shamu was jailed for a total of 49 months and Alder for three years.

Orders were made for the forfeiture and destruction of the drugs, paraphernalia, phones and cash.

James Alder and Brendon Shamu (Image: TVP)

Henry Williams

Two robbers, armed with a knife and a crowbar, threatened a shop worker and emptied the till of money in a ‘terrifying’ incident.

Henry Williams, of Orchard Way, Banbury, was jailed at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday, March 26.

The 33-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of robbery, committed on New Year’s Eve last year at the Quick Stop, in Warwick Road, Banbury.

The court heard that Williams, and an unidentified man, entered the shop just before 8am on the day in question.

Williams was jailed for a total of 42 months.

Henry Williams (Image: TVP)

Ryan Corbett

A man who lied about his BMW crash was jailed.

Ryan Corbett, of Derwent Avenue, Headington, was given a two-year prison sentence.

On February 4, a jury had found him guilty of both crimes by unanimous verdict after around 20 minutes of deliberation.

The 43-year-old had denied fraud by false representation and perverting the course of justice in Oxford on September 4, 2022.

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, which provides physical, mental health and social care across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset, has said it expects services to remain largely unaffected thanks to established continuity plans.

During the strike, care will continue to be delivered through strong multi-disciplinary team (MDT) working, including consultants, specialty and specialist (SAS) doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and wider clinical teams.

Dr Karl Marlowe, chief medical officer at Oxford Health, said: “We want to reassure patients and the public that services will continue during this period of industrial action.

“Patients should attend appointments as planned unless contacted directly by the Trust.

“Patient safety remains our top priority, and our multidisciplinary teams with medical input will continue to work together to provide high-quality care.

“We are grateful to all our colleagues at Oxford Health who will be supporting patients during this time.”

The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced industrial action will take place from 7am on Tuesday, April 7, until 6.59am on Monday, April 13.

Nationally, the NHS is asking the public to support services during the strike by checking on vulnerable relatives and neighbours, ensuring they have enough prescription medication, and carrying a basic first aid kit when travelling.

For urgent medical advice, people are encouraged to contact NHS 111.

In a life-threatening emergency, they should dial 999.