WITH just one month to go until Stroud comes alive with the Fringe Festival, organisers are looking for volunteers to chip in and do their part to help the festival grow even further.
While the future of the Stroud Fringe now looks secure following an urgent fundraising appeal, more volunteers are needed to make sure the festival can come with its ever-increasing popularity.
Organisers are encouraging residents young and old from near and far to pledge a few hours of their time over the August Bank holiday weekend to make sure the event goes from strength to strength.
Freddie Whittaker, manager of the Bank Gardens stage, said there were a number of jobs people can help out with.
“The fundraising appeal has gone really well and people have been so generous, so the festival is definitely going ahead,” he said.
“We may be over that hurdle, but we still need a lot of help to make sure the Fringe just keeps getting bigger and more successful.
“We’ve grown so much every year since we started – and despite the problems we’ve had, we are determined to make sure this time round is no exception.
“2016 is going to be the largest and busiest to date – so we’ll need dozens of volunteers in a number of roles.
“This could be everything from stewarding or putting up stages to helping us deal with the bands or driving.
As a free festival –possibly the biggest in the UK – the Stroud Fringe is totally reliant on volunteers to keep it running. Even the main organisers don’t get paid a penny for their efforts.
“This allows us to spend the money getting great acts and artists and keep the festival free for everyone,” he explained.
“Thousands of people flock to Stroud every year so we’ll need dozens of people over the weekend, and help setting up the few days before and after. So we want to call on the amazing community ethos here in Stroud.
“We have created an online form which allows people to choose what they want to do and what times they can work. After that we’ll contact them to organise the details.”
And with eight different stages showcasing a selection or arts, music, poetry, parades, street and entertainment - you can be sure they’ll be plenty of work to go round.
This will be spread across different venues, parks, bars and galleries from 26 to the 28 August.
While he wasn’t giving away any of the key details, Freddie did say that a number of line-up announcement are due to be made later this week.
“The countdown has really begun now, we will be making some big announcements very soon,” he said. "So keep your eyes peeled.”
He encouraged people to keep donating to the appeal by visiting www.stroudfringe.co.uk/
To sign up as a volunteer click here.
If you’re a Stroud business that can sponsor the Fringe, get in touch by emailing the team at hello@stroudfringe.co.uk
More information is available on their Facebook page here.
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