Festival Impact 2026

A Festival for the Community

With the theme of ‘It’s a kind of magic’ Lafrowda Festival 2026 brought St Just together for an enchanting week of music, arts, workshops and community celebration.

From 12–18 July, the festival delivered free performances, family activities, creative workshops, community events and the parades, culminating in a vibrant Lafrowda Day.

The festival was safely delivered, strongly supported by the community and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from residents, visitors, performers and volunteers.

Musicians playing accordions in a daytime Lafrowda Festival street procession. The performers wear hats, sunglasses and traditional-style outfits as they move through a busy street lined with festivalgoers and bunting.

What We Delivered

The festival organising committee provided:

  • Live music, theatre and street entertainment
  • School and community workshops
  • Children’s and family activities
  • Community stalls and markets
  • Safe event infrastructure, including staging, security, fencing, toilets and medical provision

Community at the Heart

Community participation remained central to Lafrowda.

Moving the community workshops to The Nancherrow Centre improved accessibility and inclusion, while schools, young people, artists and community organisations, including St Just Memory Café, all played an important part in the programme.

Young people participated in the parades in greater numbers, and Lafrowda Week provided a diverse programme of events enjoyed across the community.

Above all, the festival continued to demonstrate the extraordinary contribution made by its volunteers.

Safe Welcoming and Well Organised

The festival was delivered safely through close cooperation between volunteers, Devon & Cornwall Police, our security team, first aid providers and other partners.

The committee also worked proactively with local residents before the event to address concerns around antisocial behaviour, helping ensure a positive experience for both the festival goers and the wider community.

Festival Finances

The 2026 festival cost approximately £40,000 to deliver, funding free community events, performances, workshops and the infrastructure needed to run a safe public festival.

Where the Money Was Spent

Pie chart showing Lafrowda Festival expenditure in 2026. The largest expense is School and Community Workshops (26%), followed by Music Performance (12.2%), PA Hire (10.9%), Toilets and Fencing (8.5%) and Security (8.4%). Other costs are Medical (5.3%), Lafrowda Week events (5.4%), Admin, Storage and Miscellaneous (5.4%), Insurance (4.1%), Parades (3.2%), Street Performance (3.2%), Programme (3%), Plen Activities (2.8%) and Stage and Sound Booths (1.6%).

The largest investment was in school and community workshops (26%), reflecting Lafrowda’s commitment to participation, creativity and community engagement.

Where the Money Came From

Pie chart showing Lafrowda Festival income in 2026. The largest income source is Committee/Community Fundraising (38.3%), followed by Stalls (14.1%), Donations/Collections (10.7%), Sponsorship (10%), Town Council SLA (9.7%), Merchandise (7.8%), Programme Advertising (6.2%) and Friends Badges (3.2%).

The income mix shows that community fundraising was the largest source of income (38.3%), alongside stall fees, donations, sponsorship, programme advertising, merchandise, Friends of Lafrowda badges and support from St Just Town Council.

Committee and Volunteer In-kind Support

Lafrowda Festival could not be delivered without the substantial contribution of time made voluntarily by the Committee and wider volunteer team from our community. This in-kind support represents a significant contribution to the festival’s overall value, but does not appear as an expenditure in the festival accounts.

Over the 20-month period from 2024 to 2026, the 15 Committee members collectively contributed an estimated 2,100 hours through regular meetings, planning, fundraising and festival preparation. At an indicative hourly rate of £12.71 (National Living Wage), this represents an equivalent value of approximately £26,691.

During the 2026 festival itself, Committee members contributed a further 450 hours, equivalent to approximately £5,720.

The community volunteer team also made a substantial contribution. Around 63 volunteers contributed an average of three hours each during the festival, representing approximately 189 hours, with an equivalent value of £2,402. In addition, eight volunteers provided an estimated further 15 hours each above and beyond their normal volunteering commitment — another 120 hours, valued at approximately £1,525. 

Table showing the estimated value of volunteering for Lafrowda Festival. From 2024 to 2026, committee planning and fundraising contributed 2,100 hours, valued at £26,691. Committee festival work in 2026 contributed 450 hours (£5,720), community volunteer support contributed 189 hours (£2,402), and additional volunteer commitment contributed 120 hours (£1,525). The total in-kind contribution was 2,859 volunteer hours, with an estimated equivalent value of £36,338.

This gives an estimated 2,859 hours of unpaid contribution, with an equivalent value of £36,338.

This contribution is an important part of understanding the true scale of Lafrowda Festival. The festival’s reported cash expenditure does not reflect the thousands of hours of planning, fundraising, organising, setting up, running and supporting the event provided freely by the Committee and volunteers.

These figures aren’t inclusive of every aspect of voluntary support, just the ones that we can easily calculate. The total would surely be higher with these figures included.

We would like to thank all of the people who volunteered their time to help make Lafrowda Festival happen in 2026. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Lafrowda is, quite literally, powered by its community.

Looking Ahead

Following discussion, the committee voted to hold the next full Lafrowda Festival in 2028, with community events and fundraising activities taking place during 2027.

This approach reflects the committee’s view that the current volunteer capacity is best suited to delivering a major festival on a two-year cycle while maintaining the high standards achieved in 2026.

Thank You!!

Lafrowda Festival is only possible because of the dedication of our volunteers, artists, schools, community organisations and support from St Just Town Council, local businesses, sponsors, funders and audiences.

The Lafrowda Festival Charity Committee would like to thank you one and all for making Lafrowda Festival 2026 such a memorable celebration of St Just and its community as we look forward to Lafrowda in 2028.