Your Festival needs YOU!
We are looking for volunteers to help us make the 2026 York Beer and Cider Festival another resounding success.
Once again, it will be held in the magnificent St. Lawrence Church in Lawrence Street, York, YO10 3WP.
Set-up begins on Thursday 10 September until Tuesday 15 September 2026.
The festival opens on Wednesday 16 September, running until Saturday 19 September.
Take-down will be on Sunday 20 and Monday 21 September.
Many volunteers are needed, especially for the set up and take-down sessions. It’s not just for serving behind the bar during the festival.
There are no “shifts” during the set up and take-down days, all we ask is that you give at least 5 hours of your time on any day that you volunteer. We usually work from 09:00 to18:00.
On the festival open days, the shifts are: 11:30 to 15:30, 15:00 to 19:30, 19:00 to 23:00.
We need people to help in other non-bar areas such as on the entrance, glass sales, catalogue, membership desk, to name just a few. There may be times when we could be oversubscribed for any particular area so we ask that you are flexible and be prepared to help where needed, however, we will always try to allocate you in your preferred areas wherever possible.
We may be unable to accept everyone who requests an opportunity and we will advise you should that be the case. The decision of the organising committee is final in such circumstances.
We do hope you will consider giving us your time to help us because, without our volunteers, the festival cannot happen.
The form has changed this year so please read it carefully.
ALL CAMRA members must provide their membership number and present their card every time they sign in, for set-up, open sessions, and for take down.
Non-CAMRA members must provide I.D. and their address, and the membership number of the CAMRA member who is responsible for them.
Please go to the YBCF Volunteer Registration 2026 form to enter your preferences – the sooner you complete it, the more chance you have of getting your preferred areas of working.
Please make sure you click through and read the CAMRA Health & Safety booklet and the Volunteers Charter Information document plus read the attached Licensing Information and Local Volunteer information as you will have to sign to say you have read and understood them.
SAFEGUARDING for Volunteers
As we are on St Lawrence Church property, they have asked us to include supplementary safeguarding information to complement the CAMRA code of practice. We are asking for this information as, in a voluntary role, you may come into contact with vulnerable people. They are covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and we are entitled to ask volunteers to declare if they have:
- Any unspent convictions or conditional cautions
- Any spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected by the Act (Exceptions) Order 1975 as amended in 2020.
Answering YES to either will not necessarily bar you from volunteering as each case is individually examined.
Please complete this section of the YBCF Volunteer Registration 2026 form. These responses will be strictly confidential. This information will be deleted within one month of the end of the festival in accordance with GDPR rules.
A quick heads-up. Our volunteers’ thank you party will be held on Saturday 20 February 2027 in the church hall at 18:30. This may be the date of the Jorvik Viking Festival, which has not yet been released. Those of you who may be staying in York overnight might want to consider booking your hotel accommodation sooner rather than later.
Thank you for submitting your application to volunteer at York Beer and Cider Festival 2026. We look forward to seeing and working with you in September.
Les Turnbull, Staffing Manager.