February 2024 Newsletter
Hello everyone. February seems to have whipped past! This is a very details-focused newsletter, so if you are wondering about booking for this year’s events, about being a volunteer, or want to know more about Glamping, then please follow the links or simply read on. But first up, please do book for the…
Online Festival
It is now less than four weeks till our Online Festival on Sunday March 24th, so don’t forget to book your tickets. It’s just £10 (£5 for Friends) for a day of great music and company. Here’s the link.
The Online Festival takes a look back at the September Festival, as we will be showing video of many of the concert performances. There are some real delights here, especially if the fifteenth century is your thing! As well as this retrospective, there is a vocal workshop with our very own choirmaster Richard de Winter, and a visit to the instrument making workshop of Dodd Lutherie. These visits with instrument makers are always a highlight of the Online Festival - after all, this is something we can’t do at the ‘in real life festival’ - so come and meet with the Dodds and find out more about their research and practice.
Friends, you should have received your link to reserve places at the Friends Reception on Saturday March 23rd, and for your discount on the Sunday event - but if for any reason the crucial email has not appeared, just drop me a line and I’ll send all the information through.
Glamping in September
I’m pleased to be able to announce that we will indeed be offering a Glamping option at this year’s festival! We got funding from the Shared Prosperity Fund to support the acquisition of additional lighting and signage, so this year, to be official, “MMitD is part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.”! Medieval Music in the Dales generally proceeds without public funding, but this is a really useful injection that means we can proceed with our ‘enhanced camping’, as we like to call it.
If you are thinking of glamping at this year’s festival, here’s what you need to know:
book quickly once the Box Office opens. There are a total of 10 glamping units available - we have to treat this as an experiment this year, but if it proves popular we will provide more units in the future.
each unit accommodates two people and you can choose between double or twin beds. If you are desperate to fit in a third, that may be possible but please get in touch before booking.
each unit costs £425. This includes two camping passes - you don’t need to get camping passes as well. The glamping option will be clearly marked in the box office under the Camping heading.
your unit is available from 5pm on Wednesday 11th September through to 10am Monday 16th September
the tents are in their own area on the lower field, handy for the toilets, showers and castle
What do you get?
a lovely canvas bell tent with everything ready for you, namely:
camp beds - raised, not just mattresses
bedding including bed toppers, duvets, pillows and linen
side tables, entrance mat and side mats, solar lights, bunting
a five litre bottle of water
a MMitD hot water bottle!
Please note that we don’t supply cooking equipment, crockery or cutlery, so if you do want to cater for yourselves at all you will need to bring these. There are plenty of catering options at the Festival, so you shouldn’t need to do much unless you really want to.
Booking for this year’s Festival
I’m taking this opportunity to confirm prices for this year’s festival, the dates that the Box Office opens, and how to go about booking
Ticket prices
Festival Pass Three Days £125 / Festival Pass Two Days £95 / Festival Pass One Day £60
Evening Concerts on Friday and Saturday £20. Remember these are NOT included in the Festival Pass
1-2-1 Tuition £40 (50-55 minute session)
Study Day £50
Camping £25 per person
Friends get a 50% discount on all of the above exept 1-2-1 Tuition (and Glamping).
Participants (you’ll know if this applies to you!) get a similar 50% discount.
When can I book?
The Online Box Office opens to Friends at noon on Wednesday 20th March. Friends will get an email with all the information they need.
The Online Box Office opens to everyone else at noon on Thursday 4th April.
What to remember when booking
The first and most important thing is to get your Festival Pass, for 1, 2 or 3 days. This gives access to all the daytime concerts in St Oswald's, the Chamber Concerts in Queen Mary's Chamber, and as many workshops as you want. Your Festival Pass also gives you access to the evening sessions in the Tavern and the Castle. You can't attend Medieval Music in the Dales without a Festival Pass (unless you are a Participant - you’ll know if this applies to you).
Once you have your Festival Pass, you can book for
Camping
Glamping
The Sunday night Party in the Castle
NB: you can only book for Camping, Glamping and the Party in the Castle with a Festival Pass. No Festival Pass, no camping, no party!
Some things aren’t included in the Festival Pass, so you can also book separately for
Evening concerts on Friday and Saturday
1-2-1 Tuition
andThe Study Day on Thursday 12th September with Leah Stuttard.
To be clear, you DO NOT NEED a Festival Pass to book Evening Concerts, Tuition, or the Study Day. And the Festival Pass does NOT include these.
Under 18s
There are separate tickets for Under 18s, as they get hefty discounts on everything except Tuition and the Study Day. So if booking for youngsters, don't miss these Under 18s tickets. All Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult, and accompanied under 8s go free.
Be a Volunteer Steward at MMitD 2024
I say it every year, but every year it is true - MMitD could not happen without its team of volunteers. So, as ever, if you would like to join the team please do get in touch. There are a couple of levels of volunteer helper:
STEWARDs are the full-timers. A Steward commits to giving at least 20 hours over the course of the festival (this can include set-up and strike, so if you are prepared to arrive early and leave Monday afternoon you can actually have a lot of free time on the actual festival days). In return Stewards get a Free Festival Pass, food vouchers to a total of £45 to use with the festival caterers, free camping at the festival OR £25 per night towards accommodation off site OR 25% off Festival Glamping (depending on availability of course), three drinks vouchers to use at the festival Taverns, and as much tea, coffee and biscuits as you can take. If you are on a budget, being a Steward is a great way to attend MMitD for free, and most Stewards seem to enjoy themselves a lot - they keep coming back anyway, thank goodness!
HELPERS offer around 6 hours over the course of the festival, so this is a great thing to do if you want to help out a bit but know you are actually going to be pretty busy with concerts and workshops. Helpers get £15 of food vouchers, a drinks voucher and tea, coffee & biccies.
If you would like to be a Steward please do get in touch as soon as possible - here’s a link to the application form. If you are interested in being a Helper, there’s a box to tick when you buy your Festival Pass - tick that, and I’ll be in touch nearer the time.
Phew! This has been an information-heavy newsletter! Congratulations if you have made it this far…
I hope to see many of you next month at the Online Festival - go on, hop over to the box office and get your ticket now!
Best wishes
Gill
Gill Page
Director
Medieval Music in the Dales
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