Who we are

Cherry Hinton Festival Society volunteers

Committee

Ali – Chair & Festival Day Steward Supervisor

I am the Chair of the Festival Society and most people will know me as the steward contact for Festival Day. I got involved with the Festival in 2014 when Kate asked if I could read over a couple of policies – I had experience of being a committee chair from my time at Little Cherries Pre-School. Even though I wasn’t intending to join the committee, somehow I was drawn in! Although the Festival is hard work (and in the run up to Festival Day we have some very late nights and very early mornings) it is such a great event to be involved with. On the evening of Festival Day, when everything is cleared up, it’s wonderful to think that we have just entertained 5000 people all day and it hasn’t cost them a penny.

 Treasurer

I have lived in Cherry Hinton since 2012.  I work as an administrator for a department of the University of Cambridge and have a range of interests including keeping fit, TV and movies (with a particular interest in science fiction) and participating in local amateur drama groups. I am also a lifelong supporter of Liverpool FC.

I have been involved with Festival for a number of years, helping to manage the Community Performance Arena on Festival Day on the Recreation Ground. More recently I’ve helped with the logistics and set up for the beer gardens held at St. Andrew’s Church. I joined the committee in 2020, and then took over the role of treasurer from Anna Burrows in 2022.

I hope that I can contribute to the committee and help provide the community with a fun and rewarding festival experience.

Kate – Secretary & Festival Day Event Manager

I have lived in Cherry Hinton for 11 years and had visited the Cherry Hinton Festival many times with my family. I always thought it was a brilliant event for the community and hoped I could be involved in a small way! I became involved with the Festival in 2013 when I was on maternity leave. The old committee had run the event for 7 years and felt it was time to pass on the baton. That first year Mo and I put the programme together and it was fairly low key as we were finding our feet. Then people began to ask when Festival Day would be back on the Recreation Ground. So in 2014 we jumped feet first into planning our  first Festival Day and since then the Festival has gone from strength to strength. We have a brilliant team of volunteers working incredibly hard to put on an amazing Festival. It has been a very steep learning curve for me but it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done!

Zoe – Committee member & Festival Day Food Area Manager

I am a committee member overseeing plans for Festival Week. I am the Food Area Manager for Festival Day.

 

 

Festival Week planning team

Mo – Festival Week Manager

I’ve lived in Cherry Hinton since 1993. I went to the Festival a couple times because of the History Tent which used to be part of it which encouraged me to join the Local History Society when I finished working. Through this I met Sharon and Tracy who organised the Festival at the time and in 2011 they asked me to help with recruiting stallholders for Festival Day. During this time we developed from a one day Festival to the week’s programme that we have at the moment. When Sharon and Tracy stepped back from the Festival in 2013 I worked with Kate to build up foundations for the Festival as it is today involving a group of people to organise the Festival. I stepped down from the committee after the Festival’s 30th anniversary in 2015 but I still help organise the week’s programme.

We decided to live in Cherry Hinton because of it’s location and accessibility to Cambridge. When I worked I knew very few people in the community. Once I stopped working I found there was a lot happening in Cherry Hinton with many groups and societies. There is a great community spirit in Cherry Hinton which the Festival reflects involving as many people as possible especially on Festival Day. Volunteering for the Festival is one of the ways I have connected with people of all ages. I have also been able to use the skills gained during my working life as a teacher in the tasks I have carried out for the Festival.

Cathy – Performance Arena Manager

Originally a northern girl, I moved to Cherry Hinton with my children in 1995. I am severely deafened and am usually seen around Cherry Hinton with my Hearing Dog, Chutney, who is an honorary member of the Festival team! I think that active communities can make a big difference to people’s lives and that the Festival is a brilliant way of getting people together and finding out what goes on locally. Since volunteering, I have enjoyed getting to know lots of new people and I love that we are helping to create great days out that can be enjoyed by everyone right here in Cherry Hinton. My background is in community and advice work but I’m not able to work at the moment so helping out with the Festival is important to me too – and I really appreciate working with such a lovely team!

Becky – Music Stage Manager

I have lived in or around Cherry Hinton since the 1980s, when I moved here from Leicester with my family.  Officially, I’m not currently a Cherry Hinton resident, but my children go to school here and I’m still very much involved in the community, and it’s the community that keeps me coming back.  I was kind of drawn into volunteering for the Festival, by being asked to help out in a small way, and then eventually finding myself managing the music stage!  I absolutely love being part of delivering this key annual event for the community though; it gives me an enormous sense of reward knowing that we are helping to bring the community together, regardless of age and socioeconomic status, to enjoy a free day of fun and educational activities.

I am a Learning and Development Specialist by day, and in my other spare time (!), I enjoy acting with my local amateur dramatics group.

Ambreen – Stalls Manager

I have been living in Cherry Hinton for the past 10 years. I love everything about Cherry Hinton. It has a certain calm and comfortable feeling to it. I feel very safe and secure in the area. Like the way the community is closely knitted together. I’ll be honest about volunteering for the festival,  I joined the group with no knowledge of what I will be doing for the festival just happened to manage stalls for the festival day with zero experience and now have done it for the past 5 years. I enjoy every bit of it. The whole team has been super supportive and helpful. Volunteering for the festival has given me a lot of confidence and it gives me a sense of satisfaction that I am doing something for the community. I haven’t been able to work for a living as such, have been extremely busy in raising my two boys. Have recently got involved in some training related to mental illness issues and am volunteering for a mental illness helpline. I like listening to music and am really fond of singing.

Bhuvana – Children’s Marquee Manager

 

I have been involved with the Festival since 2014 and I especially love working in the Children’s Marquee. There is always such a buzz! I have also been involved with fundraising for the Festival as part of Team Arm and I have organised the Arm quiz night for the past 3 years.

Clare – Beer Garden Manager

I have been involved with the Festival since the new committee started in 2013. I started off as treasurer, before handed over to Anna Burrows. Recently I’ve been managing the music and beer events at St Andrew’s Church.

 

Join us!

If you are interested in volunteering for the Cherry Hinton Festival please drop us a line: stewards@cherryhintonfestival.org