Staithes Festival Cancelled

At the start of the pandemic we took an early decision to cancel the 2020 Staithes Festival based on the nature of the village, the narrow streets, the small cottages and the lack of public space. This proved to be the right decision, though at the start of 2020 we never imagined the pandemic would make our lives so difficult and go on for so long. While we are optimistic about the vaccination programme, we feel there is still so much uncertainty about the future that we have decided we cannot safely go ahead with a festival in 2021.

We have no idea how things will pan out in the months to come but we feel sure you will understand that this is the right decision in the circumstances. We look forward, with renewed energy and vigour, to welcoming everyone back for a cracking festival in 2022.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Calling All Buskers

If you would like to come along and busk in the streets during the Festival you should contact our Musical Director Chris Wade on chris.wade@adastra-music.co.uk

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artist Registration

Last year we made significant changes to the way artists register for the Staithes Festival. This is in order to meet our running costs, which have grown considerably over the last seven years as visitor numbers have increased. The changes also help us to reduce and simplify administration and the workload of volunteers who work all year round to put on such an enjoyable and worthwhile event.  

Fees

Artists exhibiting at the Staithes Festival 2020 will not be required to pay any commission on sales, instead they will be asked to pay a one-off registration fee of £250. All participating artists will be charged this fee, whether or not they are sharing a venue.  Students in full-time education and permanent Staithes residents may register free of charge. They should submit commission of 10% of sales at the end of the Festival. 

Car park management costs covering both Staithes and Cowbar are now substantial. We also now have to commission professional car park stewards, insurance and an independent accountants review. We provide portable toilets, first aid and a taxi service to make the festival accessible to less mobile visitors.  

The speakers, musicians and public artists provide their services free or at reduced cost. Each year the Festival committee also makes contributions in support of good causes in the village. One volunteer receives a small honorarium because of the very substantial amount of time dedicated to the festival; all committee members give their time free of charge. 

The registration fee allows us to support the people who help to make the Staithes Festival so special and distinctive and which in turn attracts more visitors to the events and to the galleries.   We feel strongly that Staithes Festival still provides excellent value, bringing several thousand art-lovers into the village over the weekend, and we hope you share our view.  

Venues

As the Festival has grown, more and more artists are wisely taking it upon themselves to find venues in the village.  This means that each year we have fewer and fewer options for helping artists without venues to find somewhere to exhibit and our volunteers simply don’t have the time to do it.  For this reason we have decided that artists registering for Staithes Festival 2020 must have a venue.  You can search for a venue on the Accommodation pages of this website via the Plan Your Visit page.  

Late Registration

 Artists registering after the closing date cause a considerable amount of extra admin work for our volunteers as the Festival draws closer.  For this reason we will charge a late registration fee of £50 for registrations after 30th April 2020.

We hope artists will understand the reasons for these changes and accept that they are essential if we are to continue to host such an entertaining and worthwhile event for years to come.     

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You can see who is exhibited in 2019  by clicking on Artists

To find what's on click on  Events and Music

For the latest festival news visit our Facebook page. 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Staithes Festival Good Causes  

The Festival has given financial support to the following good causes:

Pensioner's Christmas Party

Children's Christmas Party

Roxby Church Christmas Candlelit Service

War Memorial Fund

Hinderwell Church

Staithes Sports Association 

Staithes Community Fund

Coble Courier Bus Service

Village Hall Fund

Staithes Youth Group

Seton Community Primary School Art Fund

St Peter's Church Repair Fund

Fishermen's Lifejacket Servicing

Batteries for the village defibrillator

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________