It’s been a really wonderful experience to get involved in…
By Amy Pollock
EIGHT years ago, Tim Daniels swapped Derby for Donaghadee, and since becoming a staple member of the Open House Festival volunteer team, he has ‘never looked back’.
Since Tim (58) traded life in the countryside for the coastline, he has established himself in the Bangor arts scene – not just through volunteering at the yearly summer festival – but by also running The Court House’s Tonic Classic Film Club and playing regular DJ sets at the venue.
Last year, he was crowned Open House Festival’s ‘Volunteer of the Year’ in recognition of his sense of community and passion for making a positive difference to Bangor year in, year out.
Tim said when he made the move across the water with his wife and two children, he knew he wanted to use this new chapter to delve further into his interests.
“I’ve always been a big fan of film and music, and that helped when I started looking at different groups and organisations as I sought to build a life over here,” he said.
He soon realised he didn’t have far to look after attending an Open House Festival event.
“When we first moved over, I went to some of the events that Open House had organised and I really enjoyed them.
“At those events, I saw these people wearing bibs and volunteer t-shirts. I thought, ‘what are they doing?’, ‘how do I get involved in that?’. So I went and had a chat with the team and put myself forward,” said Tim.
“Moving to a new area and being 50, it can be difficult to establish yourself in social groups. You’ve got people that you know through family, but you still want to establish yourself as well and meet like-minded people, and I thought that would just be a really good way to do that and hopefully give a little bit back to the community and see some creative events,” he added.
Eight years on, Tim is one of 100 volunteers who register each festival season, ranging from 16 to 85 years-old to help with stewarding, ticketing, assisting people with special requirements, event setup, looking after artists, event cleanup and conducting audience surveys.
With his longstanding service as a volunteer, Tim has been able to take his interests to the next level by helping bring Bangor its first classic cinema club.
The Court House’s Tonic Classic Film Club, named after the The Tonic cinema which was located on Hamilton Road before it burned down in 1992, is run by a small group of movie buffs who meet every month to watch and discuss classic films.
Tim said he was ‘ecstatic’ at the opportunity to take part in the club when it was offered by Open House Festival directors Kieran Gilmore and Alison Gordon.
“When The Court House opened in 2022, in the first month or so, I was just talking to Kieran about my passion for film, and he said ‘would you like to be involved in helping to run the film club?’,” he said.
“I’m really passionate about film, but I’m not an academic who studied film at university level. I’m an amateur fan. So I was a bit nervous, but said ‘yeah, absolutely’, and since then we’ve been getting some really positive feedback and we’ve now got a regular audience who we’ll have a drink with after the film to chat about what we’ve watched and what they’d like to see in the future.”
“That’s just been a really wonderful experience to get involved in,” he added.
Tim said from becoming more involved in Bangor’s art scene, he has enjoyed ‘many highlights’.
Speaking of his ‘Volunteer of the Year’ award win last year, he said: “It really is a great honour, I was touched, particularly starting from where I did and being involved for eight years. But I think it’s more of an acknowledgement of all the volunteers’ hard work and ongoing commitments, and you’re almost the face of that and taking it on behalf of everybody.”
He said one of his favourite moments from being involved in the festival is working alongside a variety of different artists, including some of the world’s biggest names in the music industry.
“I was fortunate to be involved in the Snow Patrol set at McKee Clock in 2022. I was in the backstage area looking after the artists and their friends and family, which was a brilliant experience,” he said.
Besides working with globally acclaimed performers, Tim credited being part of the Open House Festival family for helping him ‘broaden his horizons’ and have a greater appreciation for local creative talent.
“Because I have a creative interest, seeing some of the artists play has really helped me with developing that interest.
“I tended to be a little bit narrow about the type of music that I would listen to. Then I’d be volunteering at an event that I wouldn’t normally pay to go and see, and you think, ‘wow, these people are so talented and I’m really enjoying it’. So it has completely broadened my horizons as well.”
With a bustling events calendar set for August, Tim said he’s ready for another year of music and arts.
“All of the artists in this year’s line-up are fantastic, there’s so much to look forward to,” he said.
“I think what I’m most looking forward to as always is interacting with people, both the volunteers and visitors.
“It’s great now that I recognise some of the visitors in the audience and they recognise me. It’s lovely to see people coming back to events either the same year or year after year.
“Seeing the audience smiling, laughing, singing along, dancing, just generally enjoying themselves – it’s quite intoxicating and that’s definitely one of the reasons why I keep coming back,” said Tim.
