What is a Festival?

Every year one of the Masonic Provinces in England and Wales holds a Festival in support of one of the four central Masonic Charities. The money raised makes a significant contribution to the income of that charity and is a vital component needed to support its charitable aims. Members of the Province involved are encouraged to support the appeal and the Festival culminates in an event at which the final total is announced and the Province’s fund-raising accomplishment is celebrated.

Province of East Lancashire - Freemasons' Grand Charity Festival 2004

Most Festivals have a figurehead who presides over the whole event, and the President of our East Lancashire RMBI 2015 Festival is the Provincial Grand Master. He has delegated organisation and running of the Festival to the “Appeal Committee” chaired by WBro David H Thompson, PJGD, who many will recall took over this position after completing his term as an Assistant to the Provincial Grand Principals of the Province.

RWBro Jack Price, PGM, Festival President	WBro David Thompson, PJGD, Festival Chairman

For the brethren, the Festival will be the culmination of five years of fundraising – a continuous investment of time and money for which the Freemasons’ Charities and their recipients will be very grateful.  The Festival Banquet at the end will be a happy celebration attended by those who qualified as Stewards during the Festival together with their ladies – a proud occasion to mark their accomplishments.

The Festival is in addition to our normal charitable support and no-one will be discouraged from their support of other Masonic or non-Masonic good causes. The Provincial Grand Master will be encouraging support of the RMBI Festival but each Lodge, Chapter or individual will search their own conscience, means and desires and offer support as they are able and willing.

Every year there are four Masonic Festivals throughout the English and Welsh Craft Provinces, each being in favour of one of the four Masonic Charities. The Festival system spreads the load evenly over the 47 Masonic Provinces - this ensures an annual income for each of the Masonic Charities but also allows those Provinces not currently in a Festival period to alternatively donate to other causes of their own choice.

During the 19th and 20th centuries the United Grand Lodge of England created, what are now, four charities requiring support at the core of our Masonic fundraising. They are:

In addition to other sources such as investment income, a very large proportion of the annual income of these charities comes from the Provinces each year, during and at the completion of their Festivals. We, in East Lancashire, last held a Festival for the RMBI in 1960.

Planning for the Province of East Lancashire RMBI 2015 Festival started in 2008. The members of the Appeal Committee developed training, promotional and information materials and they clearly also have a web presence!

For each Masonic area in the Province there is an Area Festival Manager (AFM). Each District has a District Festival Representative (DFR). In one or two Districts there is an individual with a combined role of AFM/DFR.  Each Lodge and Chapter has appointed a Festival Representative (LFR / CFR). In many cases the latter is the Lodge or Chapter Charity Steward too. They will almost certainly be reporting to the Lodge or Chapter on a regular basis during the coming years and encouraging support from everybody.

The RMBI provides the Province with a series of guidelines on how the Appeal should be run and these have formed the basis on which we are introducing our Festival to East Lancashire. There are many ways in which the RMBI will support our Festival including, for example, provision of literature and promotional material, running Road Shows detailing the work of the RMBI and providing accounting information. There are also mechanisms by which we can transfer our Provincial Festival funds to the RMBI holding account where preferential interest is applied. The RMBI does not interfere – it is our Festival and it will be our ‘Party’ at the end – they just offer help and support whenever it is required.

There will be many brethren and companions in East Lancashire who, if relatively new Masons, haven’t experienced a Festival before, and we hopw the information provided here will assist you with understanding. The last Festival this Province held was for the Grand Charity in 2004 and we hear very regularly about the good works that the Freemasons’ Grand Charity undertakes. Our new focus is on the RMBI and in order to gain support for the Festival it is important that we all understand the work of and need for the RMBI, how it puts our money to good use for the welfare of Freemasons and their dependants, why the RMBI needs funding and why we, the Freemasons of East Lancashire, should consider supporting it.