The Bog Rolling Stones at Gang Warily, at the start of this year's Waterside Arts Summer Festival 2005

The Waterside Arts Committee is a group of volunteers who, each year, organise the fortnight long Waterside Arts Festival.

Each year, as well as the actual organisation of the venues, programme and the participants, there are more and more requirements which have to be met such as licensing, health and safety, crowd control, building regulations, emergency services etc. before the Festival can happen.

All this takes time and effort, the Committee is now only 8 people and we desperately need more volunteers or 2006 will be the last festival.

As it is, to allow the 2006 Festival to happen, it is being shortened to one week as there are not enough volunteers to cope with a full fortnight.

We need volunteers to learn the ropes so they can assist in getting the festival up and running in 2006 and allow it to continue in to the future as the present committee members retire.

The crowd on the last night of the Waterside Arts Summer Festival 2005

We need people to assist, or learn how to, organise staging, lighting, PA, collections, ticket sales, bookings, venues, marketing, refreshments and the million and one other things that need to be done to make each Festival a success.

We particularly need volunteers, who have free time during the day on the run up to the festival, (but we need you even if you are only able to help out during festival week).

We can’t pay you but you will earn the gratitude of both the Committee and the residents of the Waterside who enjoy the Festival every year!

If you are able to help in any way please contact Brenda Smith on the following numbers Southampton: 023 8084 9696 or Mobile: 078 9120 7873