Harrogate International Festivals
Team & Vacancies
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.
Opportunities
We have a host of volunteer and Festival Assistant roles available to support us at events over the summer. Please get in touch with ellen@harrogate-festival.org.uk for more information or call 01423 562303.
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 for a job in the Local Authority – which was the moment I realised I didn’t have the patience for some of the decision making – before happily ended up at the Festivals.
This year, I’m most looking forward to creating events in the amazing spaces across Harrogate and the district, without the challenges of distancing – I still have dreams about capacities! This summer will be full of fun.
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’m from Leeds, so just down the road, and whilst Harrogate is a much smaller place, I think there is so much on offer here, and I’m happy to be a part of that and work with such a great team!
I’m most looking forward to the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival – it’s a lot of planning but it sounds like it’s going to be a great weekend!
I grew up in the country’s no man’s land that is the midlands and moved to Nottingham to study Fine Art. I’ve moved around working for many arts organisations and many different art forms from contemporary dance, theatre, visual art, literature, and opera – and fell in love with the countryside on my journey.
What I love most about a really good festival is the ability to combine all art forms, bring together audiences and create an everlasting atmosphere. I’m looking forward to seeing Harrogate come alive this year, and I hope you are too.
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.
I’m most excited for #TheakstonsCrime this year – the enthusiasm from our social media communities is infectious!
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.
On our Festival line-up this year, I am most excited about the Spiegeltent, which will be showcasing an array of diverse performers and creative events, bound to engage and immerse all our audiences.
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 think the arts bring people together, and that’s what I’m most excited about this year – collective experiences for communities. I’m also incredibly excited for a dance in the Spiegeltent!