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FloFest was created in 2013 when it was started by Abi and Sara, who had the idea to celebrate their lovely, local park and to get the band-stand being used by some bands again. They organised a bit of a tea tent, a couple of bands, some family crafts and the Oxford Playhouse joined in at the last minute also. The day was a lovely, gentle success so they thought they'd do it again the next year......
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The next year was 2014 and the 80th anniversary of the estate being built so they thought they'd make it all a bit bigger, to include more of the local history and more of the local community groups. No one was really prepared for how big it ended up being or how successful it was - or how many people came.
The day was funded, like the first year, by a couple of grants they'd secured and by money from their own pockets.
Since then, Alan has joined the ranks as one of the main trio who organises the entire day.
We start work on organising the festival in December of the year before & things trundle along quite nicely until about March when it all gets a little insane.
Jon Flint who is our Music Director for our Flo and GloFest line ups - this is an awesome feat and the results blow us away each year - Jon also takes on the organization of the bar and is our 4th main team member.
Dave Nobel is essential help at the Music stage on the day and for his band knowledge.
DJ James Ussher lends his genius to the lazer and DJ finale of GloFest - this has to be seen to be believed.
Neil Marsh - adds in even more genius around the lights (stepping it up unbelievably for Finding the Light)
Heather Dunmore (has taken over from Viv this year) and Rob Earl coordinate and direct the ever successful smaller 'V'stage - bringing together a true local flavour.
Natty Mark coordinates and runs the ever popular Reggae area each year.
Keith & Zoe get the Woofers sorted to run a brilliant dog show - which raises money for a local animal charity each year. (Sponsored by Hot Diggity Dawg Day Care) - we are looking for new organisers this year as Keith & Zoe have moved on, thanks to them for all the wonderful work they have done with us over the years!!!
We are always looking for more people to join our ranks - get in touch if you enjoy marketing, outreach, or just plain organising and contributing to creating this event.
We start work on organising the festival in December of the year before & things trundle along quite nicely until about March when it all gets a little insane.
Jon Flint who is our Music Director for our Flo and GloFest line ups - this is an awesome feat and the results blow us away each year - Jon also takes on the organization of the bar and is our 4th main team member.
Dave Nobel is essential help at the Music stage on the day and for his band knowledge.
DJ James Ussher lends his genius to the lazer and DJ finale of GloFest - this has to be seen to be believed.
Neil Marsh - adds in even more genius around the lights (stepping it up unbelievably for Finding the Light)
Heather Dunmore (has taken over from Viv this year) and Rob Earl coordinate and direct the ever successful smaller 'V'stage - bringing together a true local flavour.
Natty Mark coordinates and runs the ever popular Reggae area each year.
Keith & Zoe get the Woofers sorted to run a brilliant dog show - which raises money for a local animal charity each year. (Sponsored by Hot Diggity Dawg Day Care) - we are looking for new organisers this year as Keith & Zoe have moved on, thanks to them for all the wonderful work they have done with us over the years!!!
We are always looking for more people to join our ranks - get in touch if you enjoy marketing, outreach, or just plain organising and contributing to creating this event.
We are often asked how much we pay ourselves to organise Flo/GloFest.
The answer is quite simple - NOTHING.
All of our time (which seems to grow each year), and the other key people's time, is given freely - we take no wage, we take no cut of any profits, we don't bung ourselves a lovely little bonus at the end of each year.
Each year any money that is raised from the day gets ploughed straight back into the following year.
The reason we added GloFest was so that FloFest could be more self sustaining, without us having to spend days writing funding applications.
In 2019 we took on the running of the bar concession so that the profits (hopefully) can be fed back into the next year and are happy to work with TAP Social on this.
This is all so that the festival can continue year after year, but also so that we can add more and more things that will remain free for the community attending (2024 we had a fantastic sports area, drama & dance classes, Archery all for free, all paid for by fundraising, donations from local Councillors and money raised from the previous year) - not to mention all the fantastic bands on the main stage during the day.
The answer is quite simple - NOTHING.
All of our time (which seems to grow each year), and the other key people's time, is given freely - we take no wage, we take no cut of any profits, we don't bung ourselves a lovely little bonus at the end of each year.
Each year any money that is raised from the day gets ploughed straight back into the following year.
The reason we added GloFest was so that FloFest could be more self sustaining, without us having to spend days writing funding applications.
In 2019 we took on the running of the bar concession so that the profits (hopefully) can be fed back into the next year and are happy to work with TAP Social on this.
This is all so that the festival can continue year after year, but also so that we can add more and more things that will remain free for the community attending (2024 we had a fantastic sports area, drama & dance classes, Archery all for free, all paid for by fundraising, donations from local Councillors and money raised from the previous year) - not to mention all the fantastic bands on the main stage during the day.
