Support Ely Folk Festival

We're on the cusp of Ely Folk Festival 2023 and it's fair to say that we wouldn't have gotten here without your support. Not only has knowing that so many people were prepared to reach into their pockets to help the festival survive spurred us on, but practically it has made a real difference to what we have been able to do this year. We've used your funding towards the cost of site preparation work and booking acts including buying waste water storage units which will help us this year and in future years (rather than renting them), site mapping & better signage, and booking acts for the Peregrine stage. Thanks very much. If you are coming to this year's festival, look around at everyone enjoying themselves and feel a sense of pride in knowing that you have helped this grassroots folk festival flourish. And look out more crowdfunding  activity over the coming year.

Like most festivals, Ely Folk Festival was hit hard by the covid pandemic in 2020 with much invested in organizing a festival that we had to cancel. We returned triumphantly from that with an amazing festival in 2021 - but at a significant cost to festival reserves to ensure it was covid-safe.

The challenges to the festival haven’t ended there as this year we have had to relocate from the site we have used for the festival for the last 20 years for reasons beyond our control. We have found a new site for the festival and are confident that our new home will open an exciting next chapter for the festival, but we will need to make significant investment in the new site to ensure it is festival-ready.

Given the unprecedented expenditure we have had over the last few years, we are asking for your support with our Crowdfunding appeal to help us create a sustainable future for Ely Folk Festival, so we can continue to run this amazing festival for many more years.

Our commitment

Ely Folk Festival is a Community Interest Company run by local volunteers. If we make a small surplus any year we reinvest it right back into the festival to ensure we can continue to host a weekend of fantastic music and dance at affordable prices for all to enjoy. Our new location for the festival is a fantastic opportunity for the future of Ely Folk Festival, but as it is a greenfield site we are building the festival infrastructure from scratch from a low reserve base. 

This year marks the 36th Ely Folk Festival and we are committed to having many more festivals with the same great blend of folk and roots music, morris dance, workshops, children’s activities and lots more in a family-friendly environment that the festival is well-known for. We will ensure that any support you provide will be invested into helping us make the new site festival-ready and creating a sustainable financial platform for the future of the festival.

Our ask

Please help us achieve our goal of securing the festival’s long-term future by making a donation and becoming a Friend of Ely Folk Festival. In recognition of your support, you will have access to some exclusive rewards, from your name listed on our festival website and programme, to special edition merchandise, to special back stage passes to the 2022 festival – in addition to our absolute appreciation for your support.