After having an amazing and successful time at Knockengorroch Festival last year, we decided that we definitely wanted to come back again this year if we possibly could. Thankfully not only was our request to be part of the festival accepted, but we also were given a spectacular pitch right next to the main stage!
We took the #ILoveArctic campaign with us, collecting nearly 200 photo petitions from festival-goers and crew, with almost all of those photos having more than one person in them! The response was incredible; once we explained a bit about the campaign to people, their enthusiasm for creating a sanctuary around the North Pole blew us away!
As well as collecting photos for the campaign, we also encouraged adults and children to get involved with games such as 'Pin the Tail on the Polar Bear' and to get their faces painted for donations for the Survival Pod fundraising campaign. We were given about £120 in donations over the weekend to go towards building a new pod, which was an amazing response, and credit must go to the wonderful and committed team of face painters on the stall who worked so hard all weekend to meet a variety of creative and imaginative requests!
Finally, of course, some mention must go to the incredible power of having a polar bear present at the stall for the weekend. Adults and children alike gravitated towards the friendly and cuddly bear for a stroke, a hug, to shake hands or even simply to wave from a distance. On Sunday, the polar bear even joined in with the Children's Parade walking around the site, at one point even ending up in the dance tent during a Strip the Willow ceilidh dance!
It was a wonderful weekend with fantastic people in the sunshine, campaigning for such an important cause, and we really hope we'll be able to come back again next year.
Photos from the weekend can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilovearctic/sets/72157633759524736/
Local group volunteers get the opportunity each year to go to a number of festivals around the UK with Greenpeace. If you're interested in doing this, find your nearest group at http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/groups and get involved!
Comments