Some say it takes a village, at Warwick it takes an entire community. Our community supports us as much as we support it.
How we act to support and strengthen our community…
Look up ‘Folk’ in any dictionary, and the definition is simply that or People. Groups of people coming together. The clogs and guitars are great, but really the heart of folk is and always should be about community. A space for everyone to feel safe, welcome, and to belong.
So, how do we facilitate that?
- We do what we can to make sure it can be accessible to all – through our electric vehicles around site, to providing free tickets to individual carers where that enables someone to access the festival.
- We encourage a safe space and have a zero tolerance policy for bad behaviour. We are not afraid to have difficult conversations with people if they are negatively affecting the experience of others.
- With cost of living getting more and more challenging every day, we appreciate weekend tickets may not be financially viable for everyone. So we offer a variety of pricing options – from day tickets to tickets just for the site for those keen to experience the festival atmosphere but not concerned about the main events. Additionally we have free fringe events taking place around town ALL weekend. There is something for everyone at Warwick, and everyone should be welcome.
- In 2023, we introduced a new event to the festival – “Breaking Walls: Building Communities”. This event gave voice to and celebrated the music of those who have experienced homelessness. We were thrilled to partner with B Corp Law firm Shakespeare Martineau in producing this event.
How our community supports us…
Where would we be without our local support?? From sponsors like Warwick Glass for giving us a place to store our festival kit year to year, and providing us with space to build and create our festival structures and beautify the site, through to the support we get from local groups in turning donations of scrap materials into beautiful signs and other sights across our site. We are thrilled to be working with groups like Painting for Pleasure, Kenilworth Phab, Compassionate Kenilworth Art Group, and the Guides, Brownies, and Beavers.
As you can see in our section on Our Environment, we are eager to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible and thanks to the help of our community, we are able to breathe new life into our site decorations every year – reusing and upcycling!
Last but not least, the thank you’s.
To all our sponsors for helping us financially or through benefits in kind to put on this festival.
To the local council for being supportive of Warwick through the years, and providing us with the opportunity to provide entertainment to 25,000 people over festival weekend.
And to our hosts and neighbours. Our new site is located on beautiful farmland which is preserved year to year, and our immediate neighbours Warwick Castle ensure our visitors get where they need to be