How you can support FAF

FAF is not a membership organisation as such – it is a collective of people drawn together by a common concern. So if you want to be a FAF “member” – well, now you are! Hurrah! However, there are lots of ways to get involved with what we’re doing, and to support FAF’s objectives, whether you’re an individual, a band, a folk club, or a member of a group such as a morris side. Here are some ideas:

· Wear t-shirts or badges, use stickers on your instrument cases, and distribute flyers at gigs and events. FAF is all about raising awareness of the attempts by the BNP and other far-right organisations to appropriate traditional music and culture, and to help as many people as possible to understand this insidious and cynical agenda. Spread the word.

· Link to us from your website. Make people aware of us and what we're about.

· We here at FAF Central are not precious about the FAF branding. We have been delighted to see people making their own t-shirts to wear at festivals and gigs. The designs for badges, t-shirts, stickers and flyers are available to download, so feel free to make your own FAF bits and pieces (it would be nice if you could make a small donation in return to help with our admin costs!). There are lots of small local companies around who can turn these designs into good quality stuff you’ll be proud to wear. It may take a bit more time, but could turn out to be a cost-effective option as well.

Of course if this all sounds a bit too, well, faffy, you can buy whatever you need from us.

· People may come up to you and ask, “What’s that all about, then?” If you don’t feel all that comfortable discussing the ideas behind FAF, having some flyers that you can hand to them in response is probably the easiest thing. If they want to know more, you can always direct them to the website (which is listed at the bottom of the flyer)

· Host your own FAF events and gigs. You don’t need our permission, so get out there and do it! Raise awareness in your local area – that’s what FAF is all about. You can buy merch from us to sell at your gigs or club nights, or just distribute flyers – it’s up to you.  If for any reason you decide to make your own flyers without using our PDF design, though, please do use the words we’ve put together. It’s important that the message we’re sending out is united across all FAF events.

If you do have something planned, let us know and we’ll add it to our website diary!

· Start a local FAF group to discuss ideas and events. This can be a virtual group, such as the one on Facebook started by some   FAFfers in Maidstone:. Collectives of people working together can make a real difference, and could aim to coordinate a whole series of events.

· Plan an event for FAF Week, 23 April – 2 May, 2010. Two full weekends, plus 5 days in between, when you can hold an event (or events) in your area. We hope to get lots of media coverage during this time, so it will be a great opportunity to get the message out.

What sort of event you hold doesn’t really matter. You could have a village May Day ceilidh or St George’s Day party with local bands and morris dancers, or put together a folk gig in a nearby pub, or have a special night at your folk club, or just wear FAF badges and stickers for your morris side’s May Day dance-outs. Whatever events you decide to hold, they don’t have to be politically-focused or themed events. Remember, the BNP and other Far Right groups are trying to say that they represent Englishness, and are trying to co-opt folk music and culture as part of this agenda. By holding or attending a folk event in your area and simply having FAF flyers and/or merchandise around, you are showing your neighbours and friends (whether they’re folkies or not) that the BNP do not represent the folk community, and that loving English culture does not go hand-in-hand with Far Right politics.

· If anyone asks, you can tell them with confidence that FAF is not affiliated with any political party. It is not left-of-centre nor right-of-centre, it is simply a group of people who love traditional music and culture and do not wish to see it used as part of a cynical political agenda. Any money donated, or which is used to pay for merchandise, will never be used to fund any other political group or party.

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