Volunteer

Volunteer At Craft Festival

At all 3 of our Craft Festival’s we need a friendly army of volunteers to help run the events.

Our events do vary in size. Bovey Tracey is outdoors and the largest with over 200 makers, over 50 activities and over 10,000 visitors.

Our Cheltenham Festival is indoors and have around 100 stands.

Craft Festival Wales is indoor and outdoor with about 80 stands.

The small team at Craft Festival relies on volunteers like you to support our Festivals.

There are a variety of roles. You can help give visitors information at the event, sell tickets at the box office, assist our children's activities, help set up the event to meet and greet the makers as they arrive. It's a great opportunity for you to get involved, get real hands on experience and support the craft community.

To VOLUNTEER at Bovey Tracey June 2024 CLICK HERE

To VOLUNTEER at Cheltenham March 2024 CLICK HERE

To VOLUNTEER at Craft Festival Wales September 2024 CLICK HERE

Volunteering at Craft Festival

Some of the volunteer roles are specific to a particular Festival but most roles are similar. We've provided an outline of the tasks to give you a flavour of the roles (see below). However, volunteers need to be flexible and able to respond to all reasonable requests positively. Many aspects of the Festival are unpredictable, and Festival team is likely to be under constant pressure to deliver activity and allocate resources. This requires volunteers to use common sense and their own initiative at all times. However, if in doubt get in touch with a member of the Festival team.

You will be given an Event and Health & Safety briefing before you take part in the event. Craft Festival, Bovey Tracey offers additional hospitality training.

In return for your commitment, the Festival team will make every effort to ensure you enjoy being a Festival volunteer and you will be given a free weekend pass on completion of  a minimum of 8 hours of volunteering. CLICK HERE TO VOLUNTEER for Bovey Tracey

Setting up the Festival 

We need help on the days before we open to put the Festival site in order. All signage needs putting in place, Box Office will need organising plus lots more besides. There is some lifting but there are jobs where no lifting is required. 

Meeting & Greeting the makers on Setting Up day

When our makers arrive, we want them to warmly welcomed and to be given their welcome pack. This is an important, yet enjoyable role to ensure makers meet a friendly face, on what can be, a stressful day. 

Meeting & Greeting the public

Since Covid we now sell the majority of tickets in advance for all our events, to limit physical contact between our volunteers and the public. Online tickets need to be scanned in and wristbands allocated. If you enjoy meeting the public in a lively atmosphere and can keep calm under pressure then you are ideally suited to this role. You will always be supported by the Craft Festival team and another experienced volunteers and it is lots of fun. Tasks are likely to include providing information and assistance, answering questions and directing visitors.

Supporting the Children’s and Young People's workshop programme

If you are looking for work experience with children, enjoy working with children or are a teacher who’d like to volunteer, we’d love to hear from you. Our Children and Young People's activities have a variety of artists workshops that need support.

After you have registered, and we pass the deadline to register, we will then send you further information including rotas.