Totnes Fringe Festival secures £2,000 grant to boost digital reach and community engagement

Totnes Fringe Festival has been awarded a £2,000 grant from Totnes Town Council to strengthen its digital presence and expand community engagement ahead of the 2026 event.

The festival, which returns from 9 - 12 July 2026, will use the funding to improve its website, increase targeted social media promotion and carry out outreach work with local groups. The allocation includes £1,000 for website development, £400 for social advertising and £600 for community engagement activities.

Organisers say the investment follows a strong inaugural year in 2025, when the festival welcomed more than 3,000 attendees and attracted over 5,000 new website users. Planned digital upgrades aim to deliver smoother online ticketing, easier site maintenance and better integration between marketing, box office and audience data systems.

As part of the development process, the festival has been working with a local computer science graduate, providing structured mentoring during an initial evaluation and scoping phase. The team is now seeking a commercial partner to carry out the next stage of website development.

Targeted campaigns across the festival’s Instagram and Facebook channels are already supporting volunteer recruitment, which closes in May 2026, and the artist call-out, which closes on 1 March 2026. Promotions are also underway for the festival’s first 2026 fundraising event - a Drag Bingo night at the Royal Seven Stars Hotel on 1 April.

Organisers report strong early interest, with more than 70 volunteers signed up for 2026 and over 110 artists and companies having applied to take part.

The festival has also launched Fringe Futures, a new initiative offering two recent graduates the chance to perform at the event with mentoring support and a small bursary.

Alongside digital improvements, the grant will support outreach sessions with volunteers and community groups, particularly focusing on teenagers and young adults, vulnerable adults and older residents. These sessions will explore barriers to participation and ask what would encourage people to volunteer or attend.

Festival director Danielle McIlven welcomed the council’s support, saying: “We are incredibly grateful to Totnes Town Council for investing in the future of the festival. This support enables us not only to strengthen our digital infrastructure and expand our reach, but to listen more closely to our community. Totnes Fringe is volunteer-run and community-rooted, and we want to ensure it genuinely reflects and welcomes the widest possible range of people.”

The 2026 festival will feature an expanded programme across multiple venues in Totnes, building on a first year that achieved more than 80% seat occupancy and strong local backing.