MCF Festival 2030
At its most simple, a Festival is an extended, focused, fundraising effort by a particular Province in support of the national Masonic Charities. Since the amalgamation of the four separate national charities, this is now all focused on the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF, the Freemasons’ charity).
The length of the Festival is determined by the Festival committee but in general is four to five years. This Bristol Festival will reach its destination in 2030. During this time, members are encouraged to commit to a monthly donation, usually via a direct debit, whilst Lodges and
Chapters will be called on to organise interesting and engaging events to raise funds. So, the phrase that “we are now in Festival” will be familiar and well understood by all members.
It should come as no surprise to our Brethren and Companions that charity is at the very heart of the organisation. It is expressed many times during our various ceremonies and meetings. Sometimes it helps to take a closer look at the outcomes from our donations to
the various charities we support.
A significant feature of the work of the MCF has been the support given to Masons and their families in times of great and sudden need. For obvious reasons, the individual stories behind
these grants are not shared widely, but if we look at the MCF publicity, we can get a very strong flavour of both the nature of the support and also the volume of money and recipients. It is important to note that these grants are distributed across the whole country and Bristol members benefit as much as those from any other Province.
A parallel activity is the distribution of grants to charities, who can apply to the MCF for support. In Bristol, this has resulted in significant grants to local charities which we would not have been able to support via our own charitable fund.
The Bristol 2030 Festival is being organised and co-ordinated by a team of Bristol Masons, very ably led by Festival Chairman Jamie Reed. Their commitment to the Festival is already being seen as highly effective and the formal launch of the Festival at the Provincial Grand Lodge meeting in
September 2025, witnessed by the Pro Grand Master, will be seen as a significant milestone in the history of this great Province.
At the conclusion of every Festival Appeal the Province will celebrate their efforts. At the end of our last Festival in 2019, we had a splendid evening at Bristol Rugby Club, Ashton Gate, attended by the then Pro Grand Master Peter Lowndes.
The undisputed highlight of the evening was the announcement of the grand total raised: £1,053,206, but as a close second came the surprise arrival of rock-legend Rick Wakeman to entertain us after supper, which was simply extraordinary. I look forward to joining you at our next gala ball and wish you all a lot of fun and enjoyment in supporting the Bristol 2030 Festival!
