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Festival Angels ask Leeds Festival goers to pre-register phones A new app to assist Leeds Festival goers if they lose their phone is in place for this year’s festival which takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Liff Happens is working in partnership with Festival Angels, who run the Lost Property tent, to encourage people to register their phone before they arrive on the festival site. Jo Lynch, the coordinator of Festival Angels Lost Property explains, "By registering a phone and giving details of a friend, who is also at the festival, means that if your phone is lost and finds its way to our Lost Property tent we can easily reunite phone and owner." Each year hundreds of items are found on the festival site and handed to Lost Property. Festival Angel volunteers manage to reunite around 60% of the items at the festival and in the weeks following. Festival goers are encouraged to register via leedsfestivalangels.org.uk/lost and Festival Angels volunteers will also be encouraging festival goers to scan a QR code. The 170 strong team of Festival Angels volunteers, will be on hand throughout the event, helping people navigate the site, put up tents and stay safe, and, over the course of the long weekend, will serve at least 50,000 hot drinks through a £7 unlimited refills mug deal. For more information visit leedsfestivalangels.org.uk 
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Around 300,000 people will be attending four of the biggest UK music festivals over August Bank Holiday weekend and Christian volunteers will be on hand to help festival goers have a fun and safe experience. Leeds, with 85,000 people attending, and Reading, which attracts 105,000 people, will see teams of Festival Angels at Leeds and Street Pastors in Reading. At Leeds one hundred and seventy Festival Angels will be running a Prayer Cafe and Lost Property with detached teams offering support and assistance across the festival site including serving drinks to security throughout the night. The Prayer Cafe is expecting to serve at least fifty thousand drinks over the five days of the festival. Paul Blakey MBE is one of the coordinators and says, "Festival Angels are at Leeds Festival for the eleventh year with our amazing teams of volunteers going above and beyond to offer help and support to festival goers to help show that Jesus Loves Festivals. We have discovered at other festivals where our teams have been this year that there is a new interest in spirituality and prayer with many wanting to chat about life and faith with our volunteers. One festival saw two hundred of our Jesus Loves Festivals Gospels requested and distributed. Music festivals are a great opportunity to show faith and love in action amongst those who wouldn't normally engage with church."  Street Pastors in Reading are running two tents at Reading Festival for the ninth year with around one hundred and twenty five volunteers serving refreshments and snacks in marquees open 24 hours throughout the five days. Providing a safe place for festival goers to come if they are feeling overwhelmed, anxious or just in need of a chat. The tents are open to everyone including staff, police and security. There are also Street Pastors patrolling all the campsites throughout the five days working with the zone managers and stewards to keep people safe. Sally Leonard, Reading Street Pastor Coordinator, comments, "Last year we saw thirty five thousand people come to the two tents. It is an amazing opportunity to share our faith if asked but just to be caring, listening & helping. Many of the festival goers have asked for prayer over the years and we know of at least one person who went home, found a Church and was baptised off the back of being given a wristband with a piece of scripture written on it!! The tents are often called the Church by the festival goers.”  Creamfields, the world's leading dance festival, attracts 80,000 to Daresbury in Cheshire with the local church running We Are Church At Creamfields. The team of over fifty volunteers will be on hand to keep festival goers hydrated by handing out water as well as offering a safe place, prayer, support and Jammy Dodgers in both the camp site and main arena. Rev. Jane Proudfoot, the coordinator of the team, says "This will be our fourth year at Creamfields and after a break because of Covid we can't wait to be back providing a listening ear for festival-goers and staff alike as part of the welfare wing of the festival. It's a privilege for our ecumenical team of wonderful volunteers to be invited by the organisers to serve the festival by offering a safe space, love and compassion as well as our trademark Jammy Dodgers! Please pray for Creamfields.''  In Upton-upon-Severn the Sunshine Festival will see 30,000 festival-goers supported by a team from Upton Baptist Church. This is the final of several festivals over the summer which have included Festival Angels offering support and help across the town and free drinks and music in the church. Rev. Amy Wearing, pastor of Upton Baptist Church, comments, "This is the first time Festival Angels have been at the Sunshine Festival, and what's great is that we have been invited by the organisers! We are joining with Imagine Ministries in their Tea Tent to share the good news that Jesus loves Festivals and that Jesus loves you! There is a team of over thirty volunteers over the four days, and we are excited to see what God enables us to do." For more information visit festivalangels.org.uk
Festival Angels were part of the Upton Blues Festival over a very hot weekend in July... A team of 40 volunteers were part of Kendal Calling Festival Angels in 2022. The team ran a Safe Hub with detached teams supporting people across the festival site. Over the weekend 25th and 26th June, Festival Angels teams were at both Tune in the Dunes in Perranporth, Cornwall and the Upton-upon-Severn Jazz Festival. Here are some pictures from the teams... Premier Christianity also reported on a church at Glastonbury - read the article here. Name: Gale Role: Team Leader Prayer Cafe How long have you been doing festival angels? Only done Leeds twice. Doing Kendal calling this year What’s the best bit of volunteering? Walking away on Monday morning knowing you’ve helped so many young people in times of trouble and helped them to have a great festival experience Generally spreading the love . My husband David and I volunteer together so it’s great that it’s a family affair! What’s the worst bit of volunteering? Running out of hot chocolate Best memory from the festival? Helping a boy called Theo and a girl called Katie … to me it was nothing but to them it was huge! Top tip for camping/surviving festival life? Go Home Is there anyone in particular you are looking forward to seeing this year? @ Kendal calling Sophie ellis bextor, Gabrielle, The Wombats  Name: Conrad Role: Detached Co-ordinator How long have you been doing festival angels? 7 years What’s the best bit of volunteering? Meeting the other angels and seeing the look on peoples face when you help them out and it makes their day. What’s the worst bit of volunteering? The rain Best memory from the festival? There are 2 here sorry. But when I treated lost property to ice creams. And being front of stage for Mable Top tip for camping/surviving festival life? Go very early to the toilets before the arena opens after they have been cleaned the night before. Is there anyone in particular you are looking forward to seeing this year? @ Kendal calling stereophonics, Joel Cory, Sophie ellis bextor. @ Leeds Festival Halsey, Megan the stallion, Bastile, bbcc  Name: Billy Role: Prayer Cafe Co-ordinator How long have you been doing festival angels? 3 years What’s the best bit of volunteering? Having banter with the festival goers. What’s the worst bit of volunteering? Sleeping in a tent. Best memory from the festival? Foo fighters 2018 we incredible Top tip for camping/surviving festival life? Buy a VIP toilet pass. Is there anyone in particular you are looking forward to seeing this year? Not really, I'm all about the Cafe!!  Name: Paul Role: Leeds Festival Angels Co-Coordinator How long have you been doing festival angels? In 2010, with Street Angels, I was part of a team who attended Leeds Festival working with the Police around a 'Staying Safe' campaign. Myself and the other three Street Angels all ended up helping people carry luggage and setting up tents. We thought there could well be a need for Street Angels at Leeds Fest and so I emailed them who basically said no! However a local Thorner lady had more success with the Prayer Cafe starting in 2011 and Festival Angels starting in 2012. I was part of the 2012 team and in 2013 I began to help coordinate the Detached team. 2022 will be my 11th Leeds Festival and because I have had the privilege of helping replicate the Festival Angels model to several other music festivals across the UK will have attended at least 30 music festivals since 2010! What’s the best bit of volunteering? The volunteers! The Festival Angels family is amazing! I have met so many lovely and wonderful people who have become really good friends. The investment and time that people give to making Festival Angels a success, at Leeds and other music festivals, always amazes me! I have some great memories of times working with and spending time with the Festival Angels team at Leeds, Big Church Day Out, Kendal Calling, Boardmasters.... What’s the worst bit of volunteering? Rain and mud! I love festivals when the sun is shining, getting round the site is easy on solid ground, and everyone is happy! Festivals where it chucks it down and the whole site is mud, mud, mud and people are wet, damp, covered in mud and feeling the hard work are just horrendous! Best memory from the festival? I have so many! Filling up every container we could with water to hand out to dehydrated festival goers in 2019. Watching bands with groups of Festival Angels. Enjoying food, coffee, conversations, ice creams, cheese and wine, together as we sit and chill in down times. All coming together as a team to watch the sunset on the cliff top at Boardmasters. Brian Head Welch in the Prayer Cafe in 2017 and seeing so many connect with his story and many realising Jesus Loves Festivals, festival-goers and Festival Angels. Top tip for camping/surviving festival life? The Luxury Loos! Well worth the £30!!!! If you need anything just ask - we are all Festival Angels to one another as well as the festival-goers. Is there anyone in particular you are looking forward to seeing this year? Quick check of the Leeds website to see who I have heard of!!!! I will try and get to the Arctic Monkeys set and quite enjoy Bastille who are also at Kendal Calling this year!
Name: Jo Lynch Role: Lost Property Coordinator How long have you been doing festival angels? This is my 7th year! My favourite number. What’s the best bit of volunteering? Getting alongside young people and meeting other volunteers from all walks of life. What’s the worst bit of volunteering? Lack of sleep! Best memory from the festival? 2 young people who had picked up each other’s bag from the bus by mistake…. Reconciling the 2 was really funny and actually emotional when they were just so grateful for our support. Top tip for camping/surviving festival life? Hot water bottle Is there anyone in particular you are looking forward to seeing this year? Jesus in action  Name: Connor Dale (The big one in the photo) Role: Lost Property Coordinator How long have you been doing festival angels? This will be my 5th year What’s the best bit of volunteering? My best bit is the festival angels family you get to make with the other volunteers What’s the worst bit of volunteering? Cold showers in a muddy field... Best memory from the festival? It's got to be watching Sam Dessi jump over a Tow Bar for a trailer like it a hurdle and being proud of herself for a good 6-12 months after! Top tip for camping/surviving festival life? Bring a duvet and pillow(s). much better than a sleeping bag! Is there anyone in particular you are looking forward to seeing this year? Arctic Monkeys (Somehow never seen them!)   Download as PDF
Text to copy and paste: Festival Angels is looking for volunteers Festival Angels is recruiting new volunteers to help respond to the needs of festival goers at this year’s Leeds Fest over the August Bank Holiday weekend, 23rd - 29th August. Around 85,000 people attend the festival which is held in Bramham Park, Leeds. Festival Angels, a Christian organisation, provides care and compassion through both practical and spiritual support. The team of 170 volunteers will run: Prayer Cafe which last year served over 50,000 hot drinks over the week in a what is a safe and welcoming space for the festival goers Lost Property which helps reunite hundreds of items and owners Detached who wander around the festival site helping people with tent set-up, directions and practical welfare support Chariot which offers cuppas and conversation to the security teams across the massive festival site In exchange for 20 hours of volunteering over the course of the week, volunteers will have access to: a staff campsite with hot showers loos, a fully equipped kitchen and lounge chill-out marquee (or staff parking if you wish to commute); staff rest areas; a minibus to transport you to the work areas from the staff car park; a Festival Angels T-shirt; a Leeds Festival wristband; and the support and comradeship of our Festival Angels team. If you would like to know more, watch the videos, or apply visit leedsfestivalangels.org.uk Angels head to Kendal Calling media release: One of the the North West's largest music festivals is looking for Angels to offer support and assistance to some of the thirty thousand festival-goers. Kendal Calling happens annually at Lowther Deer Park just outside Penrith and this year runs from 28th July until 1st August. For the third year teams of Christian based Festival Angels will be running Safe Hub caravans. With acts including Stereophonics, Bastille and Eurovision runner up Sam Ryder, the Festival Angels will be on hand to offer a safe place where people can come to chat, grab a cuppa and seek help and advice. Paul Blakey MBE, the founder of Street Angels and CEO of ROC Angels says, "After two years when Kendal Calling was unable to happen, it is fantastic to be heading back to the fields to be Festival Angels at Kendal Calling. In 2019 our team of amazing volunteers assisted hundreds of young people in the Safe Hub caravans helping them to have a safe and enjoyable Kendal Calling experience. We are looking to build the team for 2022 to offer two 24 hour safe hubs over the festival week." To find out more or to sign up to volunteer visit festivalangels.org.uk/kendalcalling .  Our friends at Upton Baptist Church were out as Festival Angels at the Folk Festival at the beginning of May sharing that #JesusLovesFestivals. They report: Over 100 people at a special church gathering yesterday morning - people coming to relationship with Jesus, healings, tears, a whole heap of love and grace and hope - and folk music thrown in for good measure! Others have been coming back to church throughout the day to ask questions and to request prayer All in all it’s been wonderful! |
