Thanks for considering sharing your story and talents at Yestival. You’re reading this because we really really want you to come and enjoy the weekend.

Yestival is the main ticketed event for SayYesMore, and the event covers the costs of annual running for SayYesMore and the YesTribe. In case you don’t know, nobody is paid through SayYesMore, our voluntary team of just over 100 folks host several hundred (just over 1000 in the year pre-pandemic) free outdoors events each year, encouraging local groups to get out on wild camps, hikes, paddles and other wholesome activities. We don’t charge, it’s all community based fun bringing good people together.

By contributing to Yestival you’d be joining our voluntary crew and while we wouldn’t ask you to do any of the background work (unless you offer!) you’d be so so welcome behind the scenes, and before/after the fest too if your schedule allows.

We’re holding Yestival at the Big Sky Hideaway near Boston in Lincs, the home of Dave and Em since the end of 2020 and an awesome little project that is designed around all of our yes-shaped values. The whole site is about 98% renewables-powered and we use our day-to-day profits to create spaces to encourage people into nature.

Yestival 2024 begins on the evening of Friday 21st June and ends early afternoon on Sunday 23rd, although the crew will be on site a few days before things kick off.

What we can offer

While we can’t pay a fee we can offer up to £100 travel expenses if that would help (we’ll send you an expenses form after the event upon request), and you will get a free weekend ticket to Yestival which includes all meals from Friday evening through to the Sunday lunch.

If you have books, films or any other product to sell or promote, we’ll have a place for you in our shop to do this.

We also have at least one photographer on site and plan to record some of the talks in audio and film form, and all content of you at Yestival will be yours to use how you like. Of course, we’d be more than happy to give you a testimonial too, for future talks :)

As an aside, we always try our best to support anyone who has contributed to the YesTribe or Yestival. It’s brought together by community values and while we don’t often allow promotions of any kind on our main Facebook group, past speakers have found great value in the word of mouth spread by community members.

What we’d like (love) from you

Your talent and story! You’ll be discussing with Dave exactly what this might entail, but we know you can contribute to the aim of Yestival which is to encourage folks to make more use of their time, whether this means coming up with new ideas, projects and adventures, finding a positive and supportive network to help push through these plans, or to conjure up new bravery in the face of challenge.

Please note that Yestival is usually screen-free, although a challenge, speaking without slides does wonders for the feel of present storytelling which brings Yestival to life :) It also reduces the potential for tech dramas!

That said, if you think slides would make a big difference to your presentation do let us know and we will make it so!

Our hope is that the guests go on to create their own amazing stories and end up on the Yestival stage next year.

Most Yestival talks are during the daytime on the Saturday, and the Sunday morning. They last for 30-35 minutes including Q&A. We have three or four talks running parallel and ask most speakers if they’d be happy to do two of the same talk, ensuring as many people as possible get to enjoy your story.

We also have a handful of workshop spaces, 50-60 minutes long, for more hands on or practical sessions and skills. Let Dave know if you’d prefer to run a workshop (or a guided group chat) rather than give a talk.

You can get a feel for the vibe of all SayYesMore/ YesTribe events on www.sayyesmore.com, it’s a lovely feeling of family coming together, a quiet storytelling festival in a beautiful countryside setting. We’re not a political organisation and rather focus on actions, turning dreams into reality and converting passion into practical advice for others. No preaching! Good stories are at the heart of this event, and they’re what people will remember you for.

We really hope you can join us. If you’re in, here’s a little form to fill in (please send us two images to dave@sayyesmore.com - one portrait, one landscape - for use on our webpage and social media ahead of the event.