FOUR of Dorset’s most popular summer festivals are looking for Volunteer Champions to lead a field survey force.

Dorchester Festival, which runs from May 22 to 26, B-Town Throwdown (June 6-8), b-side (September 5-14) and Inside Out Dorset (September 12-26) are each looking to recruit dedicated and enthusiastic Volunteer Champions, who will assist with a concerted effort to find out who comes to their festivals and why.

A free training course will run on April 3, where these Volunteer Champions will learn about the information gathering process and how the field survey teams will be organised to carry out mini surveys at festival events, many of which are free.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for people to help with some of Dorset’s most popular festival events and gain some valuable skills in the process. By finding out more about our audiences we can make future events even better,” said Mark Tattersall, artistic director of Dorchester Festival and Dorchester Arts Centre.

The 11th biennial Dorchester Festival is run by Dorchester Arts will once again bring a world of music, dance, theatre, comedy and community arts to the county town.

B-Town Throwdown run by Pavilion Dance South West, is a three-day hip hop event in Bournemouth, packed full of performances, masterclasses and free outdoor events.

Multimedia arts festival b-side is back again with its distinctive brand of specially commissioned artworks for unusual and often overlooked sites and spaces.

This year’s focus is the enchanting and sometimes mysterious Isle of Portland as artists invite the public to take another look at the familiar landscape.

With events planned across Dorset, including Poole, Bournemouth, Purbeck and along the South Dorset Ridgeway, Inside Out Dorset will bring large scale, site-specific performances to the county’s landscape.

There are opportunities for volunteers at all four festivals.

To find out more go to volunteeringdorset.org.uk or phone 01305 269214

For further information on each organisation visit:

activateperformingarts.org.uk

pdsw.org.uk

b-side.org.uk

dorchesterarts.org.uk