Orkney Folk Festival is launching a new supporter scheme, Orkney Friends, ahead of the 2023 event, giving festival fans the opportunity to play an important part in its continued success.
As a charity, and entirely volunteer run event, the festival relies on the generosity of supporters and sponsors to produce a varied programme of visiting and local artists each year.
Over the years thousands of people have demonstrated their support by being members of the annual Patronage or year-round Patron Plus schemes in return for a range of exclusive benefits.
While this adds to people’s festival experiences and helps raise crucial funds to keep the event running, customer feedback has shown that the schemes have also brought challenges.
Having two very similar but separate schemes has made it overly complicated for people to know how and when to support the festival, and added to the back of house administration for its voluntary committee to manage.
The popularity of the schemes has also placed pressure on the festival’s online ticketing system, creating a poor experience for customers when early access sales launch.
Orkney Friends
Orkney Folk Festival’s new simplified supporter scheme, Orkney Friends, is launching to give people the chance to make a year-round commitment to supporting the volunteer-run event and the part it plays in celebrating Orkney’s rich folk music, while delivering a world class festival right here in the county.
For an annual rolling membership of £60, which can also be paid monthly via a £5 direct debit, supporters will receive benefits including early access to tickets, 10% off festival merchandise and travel discounts with NorthLink Ferries, pending our sponsorship application being approved each year.
Additionally, Orkney Friends will have the chance to book free tickets for exclusive events during the festival weekend, providing more opportunities to hear from the fantastic range of visiting and local artists.
Orkney Friends is on sale now until 28 February 2023 ahead of the 2023 festival. Visit the Orkney Friends page of the website to find out more and sign up.
Improving the ticket buying experience
To coincide with these changes the festival committee is also introducing improved ticketing software ahead of this year’s festival which is more user-friendly and able to withstand the demand experienced at ticket launches.
This change will help to reduce the number of technology issues customers have experienced when booking with Orkney Folk Festival so it’s quicker and easier to buy tickets. Look out for more information being shared on this soon.
By making these changes Orkney Folk Festival is determined to improve the experience for all customers, so it’s easier than ever before to get involved as a supporter or ticket buyer. Its volunteer committee will continue to ask customers for feedback on this new approach and other areas after the 2023 festival.
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