This year’s event will mark the annual music festival’s 50th anniversary and, as always, has been organised entirely by a group of dedicated volunteers.
‘We never know how many people will actually show up to volunteer across set-up week,’ said Yannic Bearder, a collective member now in his 30th year of helping out.
‘People can email in to say they’d like to come down, or get in touch with us on social media.
‘But we also had someone randomly walk up about an hour ago and just say, “I’m here, can I help?”.’
Those who do show up to lend a hand will find themselves thrown into a whole host of tasks to help get Vale Castle ready.
‘It’s lots of bringing stuff up to the castle, making sure we’ve got all the infrastructure in place and also a whole load of decorating,’ said Mr Bearder.
Yet work for the festival’s core group of volunteers, which number at around 20, started well before set-up week. In fact, preparations started almost immediately after last year’s festival ended.
‘We’ve got to make sure we get the bands booked and then sort their travel and accommodation if they’re not local. And then we’re also full-on with our fundraising and call for volunteers throughout the year,’ explained Jade Kershaw, who is in her 19th year of volunteering.
‘It’s full-on during the actual day of the festival too. I’ll usually get there at around 8am, and then won’t be leaving until around 2.30-3am. If I’m lucky I’ll get around 10 minutes to grab something to eat and maybe catch a bit of the music here and there as I walk around.’
But she said thinking about the good causes which benefit from the event kept her buoyant across the day and spurred her on to continue to support the event.
‘At the end of the day, we’re here to raise money for really important causes. It’s a really beautiful event and it’s built up such a legacy over the past 50 years. It’s a cultural institution in the island now. And I know I’d be devastated if it didn’t happen, so I’ll keep on coming back to make sure it does.’
The year’s festival will once again aim to support three core charities – the Linda Norgrove Foundation, Burma Campaign and local charity Safer.
The Vale Earth Fair runs from noon until late on Sunday. Tickets are still available from valeearthfair.org/tickets.
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