Kiwi ‘Woody’ proud to be part of the Arundel Festival

Andrew, 26, usually known as Woody, came to Arundel on a visit for the wedding of his brother, who has lived there for about 12 years, and says he simply ‘never went home’.

Originally from Christchurch, on South Island, where he was a sales and marketing manager, he has become so much part of the Arundel community he can’t envisage leaving.

“I love the place. It’s so historical, with the castle and the cathedral, very different from home. It’s a very friendly and open town and the people have been so welcoming.”

Within a few weeks of his arrival, Woody caught festival fever, proving an invaluable volunteer, happy to turn his hand to any task. This year he is taking a full two weeks’ holiday to coincide with the event, enabling him to help on the management side, as well as with plenty of hands-on involvement over the hectic nine days of festivities.

“I got a job in Arundel straight away, the first day I started looking, in fact,” he recalls. “That was at the Red Lion and while I was working there I met a lot of people from all walks of life, including local tradesmen and businessmen, in a very short space of time. That’s how I got so heavily involved in the community so quickly.

“Since then I’ve done kitchen work, building work, painting and decorating and now I’m working as an electrician. It’s been a very interesting 18 months – exciting and different from anything I’ve done before.

“I’d heard about Arundel Festival before I came here and last year, when I was working on the bar in the Jubilee Gardens, I noticed how stressed and busy the organisers and helpers were. Ash Kent, who is the co-chairman, was a friend anyway, so I asked him if I could help and he said yes.

“That spiralled into the next nine days of helping out in the Jubilee Gardens or anywhere else in the town where I was needed. Anything from putting up signs, banners, flags and bunting or delivering lunches to other volunteers to general front-of-house management, doing a bit of compering and backstage management. I even got to sing and play guitar on stage when there were some slots to be filled.

“Last year we had about 30-40,000 people in the town over the festival. This year we’re expecting 50-60,000 over the nine days from August 17.

“I expect to be just as involved this year – it’s a privilege to be part of Arundel Festival, which has now been going for 36 years and brings a real sense of community spirit to the town. For me, it’s nice to be able to give something back to the town which has welcomed me with open arms.”

To find out more about volunteering at the festival, visit the volunteers page on the website, www.arundelfestival.co.uk