35 volunteers from a range of ages, abilities and ethnicities were recruited to help support the activities and events during 2009.  The volunteers were encouraged to work together on a range of roles and as a result the sense of a Festival team was created.  As part of the ‘We Made It!’ project, five Creative Support Volunteers assisted the ‘We Made It!’ artists to run workshops at six Festival events. From the first workshop at the Mela to the final event, there was a noticeable progression in the volunteers’ confidence and abilities.

A team of Event Support volunteers helped with the general running of the events. A large number of these volunteers were adults with learning disabilities as the Festival office worked closely with the link centre to provide opportunities for their service users.  The Festival commissioned photography artist Pete Walker to work alongside and support the volunteer Festival photographers, providing the opportunity to build on their skills and expand their portfolios. Volunteering proved to be an invaluable experience for many of these volunteers as they were given the opportunity to get involved and feel part of a team.