Morning Campaigners, Welcome To Bestival 2011!

Campaigner Kate Wilkinson reports from the last festival of the season where she asked punters to ‘get your hands dirty’ for Oxfam

There is so much to be said about campaigning for Oxfam at Bestival 2011 that it’s difficult to know where to start. The music, the venue, the food stalls, the fancy dress costumes, the weather, the vibe, the Oxfam campaigners presence… everything was so in-tune. But I guess to start at the beginning would be the ‘best-of-all’.

Panic kicked in on day one as we were informed last minute that the initial staff campsite had been closed due to the gusty gales sweeping over the Isle of Wight. However the festival production team directed us to a new, more sheltered site just a ‘short’ walk away from the festival main-site (wink-wink!). The 45-minute walk to the main Oxfam marquee was not enough to dampen the spirits of our motley campaigning crew, who were eager to jump into their wellies and roam the festival in search of bare patches of flesh or fabric on which to stamp the signature green handprint.

On day one we focused mostly on helping the weary campers locate their pitches. Laden like camels with camping gear and festival supplies, it wasn’t just the ladies who looked as though they were about to break down in tears under their heavy loads. Thankfully, we were ready and willing to help, relieving the exhausted in the best way we knew – with our hands!

It wasn’t long before the green paint made its debut appearance on the fields and the initial response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Punters were instantly keen to enter into the festival spirit and sport the green handprints that were soon to become the trademark stamp of Bestival 2011. With six teams of three spread out across the site, it was impossible to miss the happy, smiling, hand-printing Oxfam groups and their giant pink cardboard hands crying out for emphatic high-fives.

The deeper into the festival we ventured, the more receptive the crowds became. Handprints were to be seen on all sorts of body parts, articles of clothing and costumes. Some people were so green-happy that they pleaded to be entirely painted!  People queued up at the main Oxfam marquee to have their faces painted and to have a chat about Oxfam’s Grow campaign and its goal of a world where no one has to go to bed hungry.

On the sunny Saturday morning, everyone gathered in front of the main stage to participate in an energetic morning workout led by our favourite Mr. Motivator. We were in the front row, donning wigs, costumes and face-paint. Straight after, Oxfam enjoyed its moment in the limelight when group leader Cassie went onto the main stage to talk about Grow. The huge supportive cheer from the crowds at the end of the speech warmed our hearts and gave us a fresh energy to for the days ahead.

As the wind blew across the site on the final day of the festival, it carried with it a final festive spirit that seemed to infect everyone. Despite several days of little sleep and hard core partying, punters remained enthused by the music, the food and, of course, the green paint. Despite our sore feet from long days of trudging the festival site in wellies, we kept their energy levels turned up to the max and continued to encourage people to ‘get your hands dirty’. Campaigning was ended on a fun note as all the campaigners, armed with their giant pink hands, lined up to do a final conga down near the main stage.
 
On behalf of the team of campaigners I’m delighted to announce that we have collected over 1,000 sign-up for Oxfam’s Grow newsletter at Bestival alone. These people, added to the thousands collected over the festival season, will play a great role in supporting Grow over the next four years.

The days spent together with the campaigning team at Bestival were educational, inspirational, satisfying, gratifying, impressive, humbling, encouraging and extremely fun! I feel so privileged to have been part of such an enthusiastic and energetic team and to have represented and supported a fantastic organisation like Oxfam. I’d like to say a massive thank you to Oxfam for giving us the opportunity to ‘get our hands dirty’. The experience, true to the nature of Bestival, was the ‘best-of-all’.

To learn more about Grow, visit www.oxfam.org.uk/grow.