Community Links for Entrants
Learn how you can get involved in the community as a performer.
In recent years we have placed a special emphasis on working with the community offering performers the chance to bring their talents to local schools as well as elderly people's care homes, a food bank and youth organisations.
Scroll down for some inspirational case histories and at the end of a page a link to performers' community work in previous years.
Our aim is to provide enrichment for local community groups and to give entrants the opportunity to promote their show and maybe earn some extra money if the community group is able to afford it.The work with these groups could involve anything from a full or cut down performance to organising workshops.
New for 2024: We are tweaking our Community Links scheme on a trial basis in order to offer a more personalised service to entrants. After confirming their entry to the Fringe, entrants who have registered their interest with Community Links (via the online Fringe entry form) will be invited to contact our Comms Links team to discuss in more detail what they would like to do in this area. This approach will be made via the acknowledgement email sent to entrants after they have filled in the online form and paid their entry fee. The Community Links team will then endeavour to advise entrants on who they may wish to contact among the community groups on our list. The team will no longer be sending out the full list of all commmunity groups to everyone who ticks the Community Links box on the entry form.
The task of the Fringe organisers will be solely to provide intital advice and contact information. All arrangements including funding and contracts will be agreed between the entrants and the group managers / leaders.
Clearly, the earlier you confirm your Fringe booking the more likely it is that you will be able to organise your community project given that schools in particular often plan their activities months in advance.
We very much hope that entrants will want to take advantage of this scheme.
If you have any queries about this scheme, please Send message to Community Links.
We would also very much welcome feedback from both entrants and hosts in order to improve the scheme for the future and celebrate successful collaborations on our website.
Community Links is part of our wider commitment to the community as evidenced in our ongoing links with the Buxton Community School, our participation in the Buxton Carnival and many other initiatives.
A Case History from 2023 - with thanks to Poets, Prattlers and Pandemonialists
This spoken word group performed for people at Zink (High Peak Food Bank). They told us: "It went really well, and everyone seemed to enjoy it – it was also a great opportunity for us to talk to the folk there – both staff and clients – about what they do. We’d definitely be happy to do it again."
A Case History from 2023 - with thanks to Belinfante Quartet
The Quartet's Henrietta Hill told us that they gave two different community events... "...one live concert at The Haddon Hall Care Home, where we enjoyed getting to know the residents very much. A lot of singing and dancing! The other was a concert at the Zink Project's Community Cafe at lunchtime, which was completely different to anything the group had done before. We felt very much appreciated there and we loved sharing music with people who would likely not make it to ticketed events. They had a great time and were very engaged. It was a hugely varied audience, and we really enjoyed getting to know them. The staff there were super, it's a wonderful organisation - the cake was amazing!"
A Case History from 2021 - with thanks to Buxton Art Trail 
Buxton Art Trail gave a mosaic workshop to residents at Haddon Hall as part of BFF 2021. Here's their report on how it went:
"We were very happy to be back at Haddon Hall Care Home with a new workshop. The residents really enjoyed it and so did we. They selected their coloured mosaic pieces and arranged them with great care and concentration. The finished results were amazing! Big thanks to Jo Spencer, mosaic artist and BAT team member, for leading this workshop."