Leigh Folk Festival introduces minimum voluntary donation scheme to secure its future
The much-loved Leigh Folk Festival is returning next month and organisers are asking attendees to help secure its long-term sustainability by donating a minimum of £5 for each day they attend.
In its 33rd year, Leigh Folk Festival, in Leigh on Sea, Essex, will take place over the weekend of June 28th and 29th, 2025, with other activities planned for the week leading up to it.
This vibrant event, which has its main stage in Leigh Library Gardens, is a cornerstone of the community, drawing thousands of visitors from near and far. Anticipation is higher than ever because there was no festival in 2024, due to financial and administrative challenges.
It has always been a non-ticket event, run by volunteers, which relied on fundraising and voluntary donations.
For the first time this year, organisers are specifying the minimum they would like people to donate.
John Batch, festival treasurer, said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing the festival back this summer and it’s going to be brilliant! It will still very much be a non-ticketed, community event, but we're asking people to think seriously about how much it costs to put on and be as generous as they can be. We’d like to think asking for a minimum donation of just £5 each day is very reasonable, given all the fantastic music and entertainment.”
The charity, which runs the festival, needs to raise over £55,000 to pay the performers and cover staging and wider set-up costs for this year’s event. It still faces a potential shortfall of £10,000.
Anything extra would go towards making next year’s festival, which all being well is planned for June 2026, a huge success.
Mr Batch added: “We’ve faced increasing financial challenges in recent years, due to mounting operational costs and a decline in grants and corporate sponsorships, leading us to take a fallow year in 2024 while rebuilding for 2025.
“It’s a really difficult environment for festivals, even the Cambridge Folk Festival has been cancelled for 2025,” he added. “Over 200 UK festivals have disappeared since 2019. That mustn’t happen in Leigh, so we’re trying something slightly different.”
Attendees will be kept up to date on card donations to celebrate the fundraising progress, throughout the weekend, and the amount of cash donations will be confirmed soon after via social media.
To make a donation, please visit: www.bit.ly/HelpTheShowGoOn
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