Following two successful festivals delivered in 2023 and 2024 by Neotists CIC and a dedicated team of volunteers, St Neots Festival will return in 2027 under the stewardship of Particle Community Arts CIO.

St Neots Festival was conceived over a number of years by a group of volunteers who navigated many false starts, including the Covid-19 pandemic, to build something unique to St Neots.

Those volunteers included Richard and Clair Slade, founders and directors of Neotists, a Community Interest Company that has played a key role in the area’s cultural life since 2014. Neotists became the organisation responsible for delivering the 2023 and 2024 festivals, as well as a series of micro-festivals that tested the format.

Through a combination of fundraising, sponsorship, income from traders and a huge volunteer workforce, Neotists was able to keep both festivals free to attend. Each event attracted over 12,000 with extremely positive feedback from visitors who were delighted to have such exceptional entertainment in the town.

Running this scale of event is a huge responsibility and commitment for people who are giving their time and skills voluntarily, and so at the end of the 2024 Festival it was decided to pause and reflect on how best to take things forward.

In 2026, Particle Community Arts CIO was registered as a new arts and culture charity, and as several of its trustees were part of the St Neots Festival volunteer team, they approached Neotists with a proposal to run the Festival again in 2027. The Particle team and Neotists have worked hard to make sure the collective effort invested in the first two festivals — thousands of hours from hundreds of people — continues to benefit the town in future.
 
Richard Slade, CEO of Neotists CIC, said:

“St Neots Festival was built by hundreds of volunteers who gave their time because they believed in this town. Handing it on to Particle means that effort carries on rather than becoming a one-off. Several of their trustees were part of the team from day one, so I know the Festival is in good hands.”

James Tortise-Crawford, Chair of Particle Community Arts CIO, said:

“It’s really exciting that Particle can build on years of fantastic work under Neotists, and steward St Neots Festival into the future. As a new charity dedicated to bringing arts and culture to the town that we love, we can’t wait to get going!”

About Neotists CIC

Neotists CIC is a Community Interest Company that has supported creative community projects in and around St Neots since 2014. It delivered St Neots Festival in 2023 and 2024.

About Particle Community Arts CIO

Particle Community Arts CIO (charity no. 1217797) is a charity dedicated to advancing education and raising public appreciation of the arts by delivering cultural programming in and around St Neots, including Farm & Craft Market entertainment and Summer Sessions on the Market Square. Particle will deliver St Neots Festival from 2027.