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In the next few years the festivals became a popular yearly function and the Nariel Band well known in the district for its dance music. Con and Beat led the campaign to re-establish the traditional dance and its music. They set up a junior band, as well as a junior dance group who performed the quadrilles and other dances in their smart black and white outfits. Their activities and the further development of the Nariel festivals need to be properly recorded in much more detail than I have space for here. The members of the senior band changed over the years to include 3 generations of the Simpson family and 2 younger members of the Klippel family. Keith, Con and Beat's son, had been away from Nariel when all these activities started but joined later as did Andrew Klippel. Andrew is the son of Con's cousin, Ron Klippel and his wife Barbara. Conrad Klippel, who was the grandfather of our Con, was followed by four generations of Conrad Klippels, although more recent ones, like Keith and his son, Jason are known by their second name. As soon as I asked questions about the details of these relationships, informants called for pencil and paper to make these clear.
They are still with the band along with two generations of the Simpsons, with Neville Simpson and his wife Maureen now at the forefront of organising the present Nariel festivals which involves a lot of work, all voluntary. For some years there were 2 festivals, one at the Labour Day weekend, and one from Boxing Day on to the first few days of January. The growth of a new festival at Port Fairy led to the decline of the March festival. I never succeeded in convincing Con and Beat, who saw this as disloyalty to the Nariel festival, that their Melbourne supporters were not responsible for this. As they saw it, we should not have allowed this new festival to be held on 'their' weekend. It actually was the Geelong Folk Club which started the folk festival at Port F airy because they wanted to have a festival in their own western area of Victoria. Their members would have strongly rejected any suggestion that Melbourne had initiated it.
The festivals held during the New Year period continued, and their popularity continues to increase. In 1997 the dances had to be transferred from the old Nariel Hall to the Mechanics Hall at Cudgewa. Some traditionalists regret the loss of the old hall but more people are enthusiastic because of the greater comfort and convenience of the Cudgewa hall. But Cudgewa has always had a place in this story as some musicians living there were also on the early recordings. Some labels state that these tapes were recorded 'at Con Klippel's home near Cudgewa', as the postal address for his farm in the Nariel Valley was 'via Cudgewa'.
Ever since that first festival on February 23rd & 24th, 1963, many other folk enthusiasts from many places have enjoyed these festivals. The members of what was then the Victorian Bush Music Club (now the Victorian Folk Music Club) have the extra pleasure of claiming that they discovered the treasures of the Nariel Valley first, but we don't mind sharing them.
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Official site of the Victorian Folk Music Club Incorporated (Reg No A2511Y)