Think Saltaire Festival pays for itself? We wish it did.
It’s easy to assume that a festival this big must have guaranteed funding behind it. That the Council pays for it. Or that somewhere, somehow, there’s a pot of money that makes it happen every year.
There isn’t.
Every year, we piece it together through sponsorship, donations, contributions, grants when we’re lucky enough to secure them – and an enormous amount of goodwill.
This year, there are no grants.
Saltaire Festival happens because people care enough to make it happen – giving their time, energy, skills and a rather large chunk of their lives to bring our village together.
And we want to keep it FREE.
Free means everyone can come. Families. Young people. Older people. Those who simply couldn’t afford a ticket to a major festival.
It means local musicians and performers get a stage. Artists, makers, poets, dancers and creatives get an audience. Our local businesses get more feet through their doors and a chance to be discovered. Workshops, wellbeing, crafts, performance and creativity spill across the village.
For a few days, Saltaire comes alive- together.
But putting on a large festival safely and properly is becoming painfully expensive.
Stages. Security. Safety. Infrastructure. Insurance. Licences. The less exciting things nobody sees, but without which there simply cannot be a Festival.
Those costs are soaring.
And the figures no longer add up.
So this year, we need to ask for help.
If you’re a business that could sponsor us, an organisation or individual able to donate, or simply someone who knows someone who might- please connect us.
You don’t have to fund the whole Festival to make a difference. Every contribution towards its costs matters.
Because while Saltaire Festival may be free to enjoy, it certainly isn’t free to put on.
And imagine Saltaire without it?
We’d rather not.
And to everyone who has already donated, contributed, sponsored, supported or simply stepped forward when we needed you – THANK YOU. You are part of the reason Saltaire Festival happens.
If you’d like to make a donation, however big or small:
GIVE HERE >>> https://saltairefestival.co.uk/donate-online/
Want to sponsor, contribute or connect us with someone who can?
Sponsor. Donate. Connect. Keep Saltaire celebrating.
