• Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

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Volunteer Correspondents to make their mark on SIRF

AN EXCITING new addition to this year’s Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF) will see a group of 16-20 year olds going behind the scenes as special correspondents to report on all of the action.

The volunteer SIRF Correspondents will have an access-all-areas pass to the festival to carry out interviews with performers, produce footage for social media streaming and to feedback on the wide range of performances and shows.

Anyone interested in taking part must be available between Monday 31 July and Sunday 6 August and able to dedicate a minimum of four hours each day. Participants will receive an industry recognised ‘vinspired’ award at the end of the project.

To officially launch the project, new SIRF Correspondent recruit Jess Hugill sat down with Councillor Norma Wilburn, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Cabinet Member Arts, Leisure and Culture, to talk about the scheme and to look ahead to all things SIRF.

Councillor Norma Wilburn, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Arts, Leisure and Culture, said: “This is a brilliant new initiative that will really bring an extra feeling of inclusivity for our young people who volunteer to be a correspondent and it will be an excellent way for them to get first-hand experience of being part of a major festival team.

“It was great to be interviewed by Jess who is already clearly very knowledgeable about SIRF and all of the wonderful shows that are going to be performed this year. I think it’s really fitting that as we celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the festival this year that we also opening up new opportunities for the future generations of SIRF lovers to really get involved and provide a new angle on all of the fun and excitement.”

To watch clips from the interview, visit www.twitter.com/SIRF_Stockton or www.facebook.com/stocktonfestival

If you are aged 16 to 20 years old and are interested in taking part, visit www.sirf.co.uk/sirf-correspondent to complete the application form which must be returned to Jane Webb, Growing Up Stockton Project Coordinator, via jane.webb@stockton.gov.uk or by post to Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, Municipal Buildings, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LD, by Friday 28 July.

By Emily