Join “The Midhurst 50!”
A coalition transforming Midhurst into a cultural destination!
A Festival PLUS a year-round programme: the evidence is in….
Something real happened here last November
World-class musicians played to packed rooms across town. People came from across West Sussex and well beyond - people who wouldn't otherwise have come to Midhurst. They ate here, drank here, stayed here, and went home talking about this town differently.
Plans are now in place to take advantage of a huge opportunity.
The evidence is in!
Small towns that anchor a cultural festival and build a year-round ecosystem around it undergo measurable economic transformation. Hay-on-Wye (pop. 1,800) generates £25.6 million annually from one literary festival built from scratch. Wigtown (pop. under 1,000) generates £4.3 million and supports 57 full-time equivalent jobs. Bantry, Ireland (pop. 3,500) generated €7.67 million from three summer festivals in 2025 alone. The Association of Independent Festivals states that every £10 spent on a live music ticket, £17 flows back into the local economy.
In 2026, we go year-round…
The flagship festival returns 19–22 November - bigger and better resourced. But from April, we are also launching a multi-venue, year-round cultural programme across the town, supported by always-on PR keeping Midhurst in front of new audiences every single month.
“The Midhurst 50!”
A coalition of fifty local businesses providing local feedback, generating ideas together, cross-promoting events, display MJFBF materials, and demonstrating to thye world that Midhurst's businesses are organised, co-ordinated and building something special together, with MJFBF as the connective tissue and promotional engine.
The Benefits to Members
One-to-one consultations with the Festival team, identifying short-term and long-term opportunities within the programme for your business - and in colaboration with other local businesses!
Quarterly in-person sessions with all fellow members - the first is in April - sharing local intelligence, swapping ideas, and shaping the programme around real commercial needs.
Founder window signage identifying your business as one of the Midhurst 50 - visible to every customer and every visitor.
Monthly progress reports - attendance, press coverage, audience growth, visitor data. Full transparency on what is happening and whether it is working.
Cross-promotion through our growing email list and social channels - genuine, active promotion of your business to the audience we are building.
Early sight of the full programme and schedule - plan your stock, staffing, and promotions before it goes public.
Named permanently on the MJFBF website as a founding member.
The Commitment: just £39 a month!
A great deal of our programme invovles economic activity for local businesses, and increasing footfall for the whole town, daytime at weekends and Bank Holidays, as well as across the nighttime economy. We need small contributions from each member to help towards the costs of year-round PR & marketing, free events, organisational overheads, insurances, content creation, technology, etc. This small contribution, taken together, makes a significant difference to what we can deliver.