Harrogate International Festivals
Team & Vacancies
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Volunteers
Harrogate International Festivals relies on enthusiastic and hardworking teams of volunteers to deliver its acclaimed programme. People of all ages, interests, backgrounds and walks of life generously give their time to help us make these festivals possible.
Our Team
Harrogate International Festivals is the flagship arts Festival for the North of England. A charitable organisation, our passion and ambition maintains our position as an arts organisation delivering Festivals of national importance and dramatically increasing the cultural opportunities for Harrogate and the wider region.
Our small but perfectly-formed team support one another to ensure the delivery of our wide ranging programmes of the highest quality.
No two days are the same, from lighting up Harrogate with outdoor events to dealing with national sponsors, publishing houses and artists. Working in a fast-paced festivals charity can be challenging at times, but the varied day-to-day role is something that we celebrate and support within the team.
Meet the Team
I’m from Harrogate originally, grew up here and had the benefit of the Festival offering me BB King, the Halle and a host of world famous artists on my doorstep growing up. Did the obligatory decade away for uni and worked in the travel trade running music tours across the world before returning north to set up the North Yorkshire Youth Music Action Zone, before happily ended up at the Festivals.
I’ve got a background in events and hospitality management. I love that the arts can be whatever you need them to be – deviant, disruptive, joyful, uplifting, vibrant, comforting.
I joined the Festival in 2021 as I found it was a great way to combine my passion of customer service and my love of events, and to work alongside a fantastic team to bring great events to Harrogate – my second home.
I find the arts make you Feel. From reading a book and being able to connect with the protagonists and escape to a different reality, to putting on a song or piece of music that can bring tears to your eye or make you remember a found memory. As a lover of history, I also enjoy Renaissance architecture and will do my best to visit Royal Palaces across Europe.
I was born in Wakefield but migrated South when I left school, eventually making my way back to Yorkshire via London and Bristol. I’ve lived in Harrogate for three years with my husband and young family, enjoying the best of both worlds with the dales on the doorstep and all the town has to offer.
I come from an agency background, having worked in CRM, print fulfilment and media evaluation and planning for clients ranging from small charities to global tech giants.
Art and culture can create connections between individuals, groups, and communities in unique and engaging ways. I think it has the power to enrich lives in deeply personal ways and can create space for enlightenment. For these reasons I decided to study Arts and Cultural Management at university. I particularly became interested in women in the music industry which was the focus of my studies.
Being an avid reader and theatre lover from a young age, I went on to study English Literature and Theatre at The University of Birmingham, where I found particular passions for Gothic literature and immersive theatre. And whilst I continue to be enthralled by both, I have since broadened my interests, and am passionate about storytelling at its core – whatever the medium.
My background has seen me work over a decade in the media, working in Paris for a large advertising firm and back to the UK in the north working in broadcasting. More recently, I have taken time out to be with my children, however I am excited to return to work at the Festivals here in Harrogate and look forward to next step!
I have a very diverse taste in music and love to attend live concerts and gigs, whether it be modern or classical. I also have a love of the written word and enjoy reading crime fiction, historical novels and autobiographies. I also enjoy writing and in the last year or so have started writing a novel, which one day I hope to finish and get published.
I have worked for HIF since January 2019 with a two year break because of Covid, but I am now back and loving every minute of it.
I have worked with Team HIF in various guises since 2015, from supporting teenage mothers and their children through Musical Mums to dealing with the tantrums of some of the world’s most famous artists – you’ll need to buy me a beer if you want to hear those stories!
Although I am not from Harrogate, (I currently live in Huddersfield), it is always great to deliver events in such a beautiful town that is filled with friendly and welcoming audiences.
I have worked in hospitality and events around the Harrogate district for more years than I want to admit to and went freelance in September 2019 – started off well and very busy – then Covid hit in March 2020, so that was an interesting time!! I spent a huge amount of time during the first lockdown doing free online courses and learning pilates! (Not at the same time!). Happy to be back being busy again and working in several different areas of hospitality, events and of course, with Team HIF!