Future SSiW Events - questionnaire

  1. Yes, definitely!
  2. Every two or three years sounds reasonable.
  3. I’m pretty flexible since I work from home.
  4. The summer months because the days are longer, meaning more time in the day for activities.
  5. I don’t mind, though I’ve heard lovely things about Nant.
  6. I’d pay up to £100 for three days.
  7. Musical acts, acting lessons, exercise sessions, quiz nights, karaoke, comedy, story-telling sessions for the little ones, walks, board games, open mic nights, presentations by local artists/photographers/authors, speed chatting sessions, beach cleans…
  8. The cast of Rownd a Rownd. The band Bwncath. Manon Steffan Ros.
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Hi Catrin & All
Here’s our input:

  • Yes, definitely!
  • Every two years sounds great, with a smaller South or West Wales do on the other years.
  • Yes a great idea to have plenty of notice, but then you’d need that to arrange it anyway.
  • Summer-ish would be great, but ideally outside the school holidays period.
  • We can see benefits in both of the venues, so happy with either.
  • I’d say around £100 for three days.
    *Any acts, interesting speakers, craft or food stalls etc.
  • Yes, the cast of Rownd a Rownd would be quite cool or perhaps someone like Gareth Wynn Jones (the shepherd). We’ll leave others to decide :slight_smile:
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Thank you all for your continuing enthusiasm and creativity!

I’m looking forward to starting to set the ball in motion with this and making real plans. :smile:

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1) Would you be interested in attending an SSiW mini festival?
Yes! :smile:
2) Do you think we should organise this for 2/3/4/5 years time, or further in the future?
As soon as possible please!
3) Work and family wise, would you be able to attend a three day/two night(ish) event with plenty of notice?
Yes
4) In which month(s) of the year would you prefer to see something like this happening?
May usually has the best weather in the UK, but happy with any
5) Thinking of venues -
Maybe alternate between North and South?
6) We purposefully kept the ticket prices for this weekend to a minimum, because we wanted the opportunity to celebrate our learners, for the weekend to feel like a gift and be full of surprises. But if we were organise a SSiW festival in the future, what is the maximum ticket price you would be willing to pay for the whole weekend, without accommodation?
£85 keeping it under £100 makes it feel better!
7) Which kind of activities would you like to see as part of the weekend?
A range; music, quizzes, comedy, physical activities…
8) Which artists/celebrities/authors/poets/special guests would you like to see taking part in the weekend?
Any willing, love Rod Gilbert!

I am struggling a bit… I am 85 but enjoying learning Welsh enormously. I thought it would be helpful to do a few days solid Welsh… but a week is a bit too long for me. Any chance of a weekend of Welsh only, in the South? In August? Its a great course… Thank you

I have just a few thoughts on this. (I’ve been busy since we got home and only just saw this today, after Dee’s ‘newsletter’ yesterday.)

Because we come from the US, we make it a longer trip than just the party time, and because travel prices all jump at the end of May, and keep rising thru August, it was much more cost effective for us to come mid-May. But there was one problem with that - we weren’t able to get a garden in this year, so we won’t have tomatos and such direct from the garden. (We also missed some of the best blooms in our yard, like the peonies.)

I’ve been wondering if we could do something in September (when the prices, and the crowds, decrease a bit). Say the second or third week of September? I know NAFOW (the North American Festival Of Wales) takes place at the beginning of September, so we might want to avoid that, but if we had an event in the early autumn two years from now, perhaps it could be considered ‘halfway’ between 5-year gala events.

We really enjoyed being right in the middle of Caernarfon staying at Llety Arall, though breakfast was a slight challenge. We have a tendency to stay in self catering accomodation whenever possible, but staying among other like minded people (as at Nant Gwrtheyrn) is also a big plus.

As I said, just a few thoughts.

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1 Yes
2 At least once a year.
3 Yes, but only if it is child friendly.
4 Summer months. Summer half-term could be good especially for those with children.
5 Nant Gwyrthern particularly as I think it is more child friendly and is suitable for all ages. Accommodation is very good or it was when I went.
6 £100 is still good for a 2 or 3 day event.
7 Childrens activities, children entertainers, but not fairground rides, like at eisteddfod yr Urdu, as they tend to be expensive. Various Welsh groups of course. Quiz. Ibiza vibes Welsh style. Welsh language classes(something like they did on Hwb with different levels). Stand up Welsh comedian (that would test our Welsh). Walking group for those who like something energetic.
8 Alun Tan Lan, Eden, Gai Toms, Daniel Lloyd, Meinir Gwilym, Dewi Pws, Gwibdaith Hen Fran and loads more.

This looks really interesting. Would be very interested in attending an event like this at either location.
At the moment I’m halfway through the 6 month course and will be looking out for opportunities to practise…,so hope it’s not too far int9 the future!

Since I live outside of Wales (4,000 miles away… lol), it is a bit hard for me to join in any SSiW events. But…

  1. Yes. A mini festival would be brilliant
  2. 2 year. (every other year for the Eisteddfod in north Wales)
  3. Should work for me.
  4. August (in conjunction with the Eisteddfod) otherwise, I probably won’t be able to attend due to flight costs and away from work (if I have a job then)
  5. Preferable at or near the Eisteddfod, as I only get to go to Wales during that time period. But the Galeri or Nant Gwrtheryn would be possible as well.
  6. £65
  7. Not sure on this one.
  8. Not sure. Just being around others Welsh speakers is always a treat for me.

Diolch o galon.

I think the only thing that has stopped Lara and I coming in previous years has been the party clashing with Eisteddfod yr Urdd, with Lara invariably having to work the Eisteddfod with Siop y Pethe. When everyone else was in Carmarthen partying the night away last year, we were in the Royal Welsh showgrounds lugging books, clothes and CDs into a hire van until 11pm :smiley:

Having now moved to a new job, this shouldn’t affect us in future years, but I can imagine that there may be one or two people with a similar clash going forward.

Yes definately interested in mini festival. every two year . With plenty of notice would be able to attend Ia three day two night event. I think May or September would be good as people are less like to be away o holidays. Whilst I totally understand it is difficult to organise, it would be better for people living in south wales to hold n3100earer, as getting to North Wales and accommodation costs can be prohibitive. In Mid Wales somewhere to suit all ?
Anything between £65-£100 would be fine.
Quizzes, music, dancing, welsh food, any any welsh guests as speakers you could get, opportunities to join in for all, learners to experienced. Maybe some information on welsh history, some of us did not get any education in welsh culture, history etc.

  1. Would you be interested in attending an SSiW mini festival? Yes
  2. Do you think we should organise this for 2/3/4/5 years time, or further in the future? Every year starting next year please!
  3. Work and family wise, would you be able to attend a three day/two night(ish) event with plenty of notice? Normally
  4. In which month(s) of the year would you prefer to see something like this happening? July or August
  5. Thinking of venues - which of these would you prefer for a weekend event? Not fussed
  6. What is the maximum ticket price you would be willing to pay for the whole weekend, without accommodation? Would pay £100, maybe more if it sounded good and festival was struggling to break even. Would make a crowdfunding donation if money was needed up front.
  7. Which kind of activities would you like to see as part of the weekend? Mixture of talk type things where a speaker talks and we listen, things you can take part in like caneuon gwerin or cymanfa ganu, noson lawen or noson cawl a chân, opportunities for sightseeing or visiting local shops, cafes, pubs, places of interest etc if any can be identified in advance where the proprietors welcome learners and are happy to let us try out our Welsh. Maybe little crafts or skills workshops etc for beginners. Maybe artists or writers talking about their work.
  8. Which artists/celebrities/authors/poets/special guests would you like to see taking part in the weekend? Tamar Eluned Williams (storyteller), Bob Delyn (folk singer), Elan Meirion (soprano). But not a fan of loud music so in the event of big amplified music I would like the option to escape somewhere quiet.
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After seeing Tara Bethan performing with Lleden in Gŵyl Canol Dre, Caerfyrddin, on Saturday, could we add them to number 8 please? What an amazing voice she has!

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Hi

I’d be up for anything and happy to get involved with helping in any way I can.

Ant

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1) Would you be interested in attending an SSiW mini festival? Yes totally

2) Do you think we should organise this for 2/3/4/5 years time, or further in the future?
Why not now?

3) Work and family wise, would you be able to attend a three day/two night(ish) event with plenty of notice?

4 day would be better, just travelling a distance for a short amount of time isn’t always worth while.

4) In which month(s) of the year would you prefer to see something like this happening?
School holidays or over weekend, Fri, sat, sun ,Mon. Travelling Friday late am would avoid rush hour traffic same on Monday.

5) Thinking of venues - I am unable to organise on this kind of scale in a venue far from home, so unfortunately the Canolbarth or y De aren’t viable options. Therefore, which of these would you prefer for a weekend event,

Nant for being stunning and an opportunity to expand vocabulary on nature, galeri for practical.

6) We purposefully kept the ticket prices for this weekend to a minimum, because we wanted the opportunity to celebrate our learners, for the weekend to feel like a gift and be full of surprises. But if we were organise a SSiW festival in the future, what is the maximum ticket price you would be willing to pay for the whole weekend, without accommodation?

£30 a day. But this also depends on what’s going on. I might pay more.

7) Which kind of activities would you like to see as part of the weekend?

Cookery, stargazing, board games , music, craft , art. Theatre, coding with a Welsh theme that offer a practical way to expand, reinforce vocabulary as you do the task. If I leave with a hand made mini esiteddfod chair I’ll be impressed.

8) Which artists/celebrities/authors/poets/special guests would you like to see taking part in the weekend.

Hywel Pitts, Welsh whisperer, Gareth the orangutang, Bowen Rhys, Bethan gwanas, bet Jones, Fleur de lys, anyone from gwlad yr astra Gwyn. Merched y wawr.

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