VOLUNTEERS MAKE DORSETFEST A FESTIVAL FOR AND BY THE COMMUNITY

What do a GP, engineer and farmer have in common? They all volunteer for Dorsetfest. This is one of the things that makes the atmosphere at Dorsetfest so special, while at the same time allowing us to raise much needed money for local causes, is that it is organised and run entirely by volunteers.

Dorsetfest is made possible thanks to the volunteers who get involved

Throughout the year, our committee work tirelessly to pull together the best family friendly music festival in Dorset. We plan everything to make sure that it is perfect on the day.

When the festival finally rolls around, we rely on over one hundred amazing volunteers to keep everything running smoothly.

It kicks off a few days before the festival when the set-up crew descends on Warren Farm and convert a series of farm fields into a festival site. This includes specialists for key elements like the stage and electrics, supported by a mix of volunteers preparing the rest of the site.

Volunteers take an empty farm field and transform it into Dorsetfest

During the festival we have specialists on site for key elements like the stage build and security that we outsource, and to run selective events such as Richard from The Lovely Bubbly Show and Jamie Jigsaw, many of which are covered by your entry ticket.

The Lovely Bubbly Show at Dorsetfest 2024

That said, the vast majority of the festival is managed by an incredible team of volunteers who are there to help with a vast array of roles. These include managing the car park, scanning your tickets, helping you find your tent pitch, staffing the bar and the BBQ, manning the information tent, amongst many other tasks.  

A team of volunteers runs the BBQ

Some of the volunteers who put their time in behind the bar at The Revell Inn

It’s not all glamour though. We even have a hardened core of volunteers making sure we live up to our reputation of having the cleanest toilets of any festival!

It's not all glamour...

This talented crew of volunteers bring their experience, enthusiasm and questionable dancing to make a wonderful event for you

When you’ve returned home after a great weekend, the clean-up crew steps in to dismantle everything and return the festival site to a farm field, and help the odd ageing campervan up the track, with bacon butties provided on the Sunday morning as payment.

On the Sunday after Dorsetfest volunteers strip down the festival and return it to a farm field

As a result of our wonderful volunteers, Dorsefest we are able to maximise our support for the communities that we raise money for, with the help of those same communities. So to those who are already involved, thank you so much! 

To those who like the sound of getting stuck in behind the scenes with a family friendly music festival to rival all others, please get in touch. We would love to hear from you, and you can have a great time earning yourself free access to the festival in return for a few hours work.

‘What a wonderful event. I had the best time ever and can’t wait for next year’ – volunteer from Dorsetfest 2024

For more information on volunteering, please contact us via our social media at @dorsefest or email us at dorsetfest@gmail.com