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- Crown Hotel launch party
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Volunteering for SMAF...
We are seeking volunteers to contribute in the following areas, if you would like to be involved or receive further information, please contact us through our website. |
Sponsorship & Fund Raising
An area key to our operation as we have to raise every penny of our own funding. For the last three years we have enjoyed major funding from Wedgwood and are actively seeking to secure this again for 2014. In 2013 we set up a model for seeking further sponsorship and were successful in acquiring funding from: Renishaw (Sunday stage); James Du Pavey (band sponsorship); Park Hill Farm (band sponsorship); Granvilles (Busking Competition); Croner Reward (advertising jingle). Every year we seek out and apply for grant aid and have been granted funds from Staffordshire County Council & Stone Town Council. In addition High Street Concessions provide a useful source of income. We have enjoyed invaluable ‘in-kind’ support from: Crown Hotel; The Lounge; M-Viron; Dave Fox Cars; Stone Van Hire; Tylman of Stone; The Blue Rooms; 2 cheeseburgers – digital illustration; Ben Owen Music; The Blueshounds. Festival Weekend Staging & Scheduling We are committed to providing a high quality experience for both performers and audience and now have a long term working relationship with HSL (stage, sound and lighting) who we believe give us good value for money. The current group of volunteers includes several local musicians who use their contacts to source other services and equipment as required. Alongside providing opportunities for young up and coming performers, we try to provide a balanced programme of music and performing arts over the festival weekend and over a period of time in order to satisfy a wide range of musical tastes. We have already booked headline acts for 2014 in order to give us a base for marketing and fund raising purposes. This leaves seven further one-hour slots to be filled over the weekend and decisions to be made over genres for 2014. In addition the weekend requires volunteers for stewarding, stage management and security. Youth Music & Performing Arts Development This is an area very close to our hearts and we are continuing to build a development programme to provide opportunities for young musicians and performers. In 2013 we held three ‘Young Musician Showcases’, hosted by Ben Owen in the Crown Hotel Ballroom, where eighteen different performers had the opportunity to showcase their talents. On the Saturday of the 2013 festival, the best of these young musicians plus Stone Youth Centre Interjam Project, Rooftop Studios, Stagecoach Theatre Arts and Christ Church Academy contributed to seven hours of youth music and performing arts. |
Festival Week Events
For the five Stone Music and Arts Festivals to date, a festival launch event has been held on the Friday night and some town centre venues have put on their own entertainment during the week which has been advertised in the festival programme. We would like to build on this and provide a week-long programme of events at venues in and around the town. Suggestions for consideration so far include: comedy; poetry; classical; folk; blues. Arts Development Two years ago, we extended our remit to include the wider ‘arts’. We have been supported by Christchurch school whose pupils and staff displayed some excellent art from their young pupils. We are hopeful of increasing this focus but need more support to take this forward. We are keen to attract a volunteer who has an interest and passion in the arts and crafts and who would be prepared to coordinate this aspect during our festival week. Community Links One of our key objectives is to engage with the wider community and, in particular, to work in partnership with other community groups. It is also important to be able to show a strong element of community engagement when applying for grants for the arts. The local schools are an integral part of what we do and we have had support from the Lions and, on one year, members of a rugby club. Working together for the good of Stone, its residents and businesses is an excellent way of creating social value and we are keen to recruit a volunteer who would be willing to take a lead in these partnership arrangements. Public Health & Safety Public safety is paramount to the continuing success of our festival and yet is one of those aspects of the festival that can easily go ‘unnoticed’. However, this is a good thing as it means that public safety has been preserved! We have a tried-and-tested plan for ensuring safety and are looking for more volunteers who feel able to support the group in this area. This would include involvement in the planning and in supporting the group to secure and arrange safety logistics. Marketing & Community Engagement Promoting the music festival is a most important and on-going requirement. As soon as one festival ends, the group begin the planning for the following year which includes plans to promote the festival through as many channels and means as possible. We are looking for someone who has some experience of engaging with the media and other groups to support us in the development of a marketing plan. |
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