The Leigh Folk Festival takes place accross a swathe of indoor and outdoor venues in public spaces around Leigh-on-Sea, Essex and is widely recognised as the largest free folk festival in the country.

The event encompasses concerts, dance displays, ceilidhs, a centrepiece procession, workshops, open mic, kids' activities, film, street theatre, storytelling and plenty more besides. Rather than drifting towards becoming another commercially driven, ticketed event, the team of volunteer organisers has doggedly held fast to the original grass roots, access-for-all ethos, and so the festival has retained its unique, eclectic and idiosyncratic atmosphere.