Welcome to Nottinghamshire Festival 2029
Festival 2029 giving gauge:
Members signed up for
regular giving to the Festival
Latest news
No events at the moment
Upcoming events
A welcome from our PGM, and other
messages of support
Julian & Diane Townsend
A message from the Provincial Grand Master and Grand Superintendent
When my predecessor, RW Bro Philip Marshall, launched the 2029 Festival in aid of the Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) at our Annual Meeting in May 2023, he articulated something that lies at the very heart of English Freemasonry: our long-standing and deeply held commitment to making a tangible difference in the lives of those who face hardship and need. This Festival represents far more than a fundraising initiative—it is a celebration of the values we hold dear and a testament to our collective responsibility to support those within our communities.
The generosity of Nottinghamshire Freemasons and their families to this Festival is creating real and lasting change. Through your contributions, the MCF is able to enable opportunity, advance healthcare and education, and promote independence across the individuals and communities we serve. Together, we are building better lives—one grant, one family, one life at a time.
The MCF exists to provide a lifeline for Freemasons and their families when circumstances beyond their control turn life upside down. It offers a comprehensive range of grants and support services tailored to meet financial, health, family and care-related needs. This is support delivered with compassion, discretion, and a profound understanding of what it means to navigate uncertainty.
Beyond our immediate fraternity, the MCF is also tackling some of society's most pressing challenges. Through strategic grants to charities at local and national levels, and through partnerships with leading organisations across the sector, it is amplifying its impact and contributing to solutions that benefit the wider community. Its Relief Chest Scheme further extends this reach, enabling lodges, chapters and Provinces to channel their charitable giving more effectively and support the causes closest to their hearts.
We have made an encouraging start to the Festival. More than a third of our members have already committed to regular giving, whilst lodges and chapters continue to make meaningful donations. The events organised to raise funds have been particularly heartening—and we have learned an important lesson: people give most generously when they are enjoying themselves. These gatherings strengthen our fellowship while advancing our mission.
Nottinghamshire has an outstanding heritage as a champion fundraiser. Until very recently, we held first position for the highest amount raised per capita for any Festival appeal—a distinction of which we can be genuinely proud. Whilst this is not a competition, I believe we have both the capability and the character to reclaim that position and demonstrate once again the generosity and commitment of our Province.
I urge you to keep up this exceptional work—both as individuals and within your Lodges and centres. Whether through direct contributions, organising events, or simply championing the Festival among your brethren, every action counts. By summer 2029, I have every confidence that we will look back on this campaign with pride, knowing that together we have made a profound and lasting difference to countless lives.
Thank you for embodying the true spirit of Freemasonry.
Martin & Flora Johnson
Festival Director
At the Provincial Annual General meeting on the 5th May 2023, the Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master will launch the 2029 Festival to raise funds for the Masonic Charitable Foundation. As we embark on this journey, the first one on behalf of the combined Charity, we look towards the members, for their support through the six years the Province will be in Festival.
I was honoured to be asked by the PGM to lead this festival, having been an acting Steward and part of the DC’s team for the last six years, I have had the benefit of meeting many of the Brethren in the Province and have experienced first hand the generosity of the Members, this will be a tough journey through to the end of the Festival with the current unsteady economic climate and reduced membership compared to previous festivals, but I know in my heart of hearts that the Members of the Nottinghamshire Province will do their level best to help those less fortunate than themselves.
Nottinghamshire Freemasons have an enviable reputation throughout the country for their generosity, having achieved such high per capita totals during previous festivals, in starting this festival we hope to retain that reputation. When you were initiated into Freemasonry you were asked “have you anything to give in the cause of charity “ this festival will enable us all to embrace that virtue, but we also need to be aware that it should be “without detriment to ourselves or connections”.
These uncertain economic times will make this festival challenging, but we as Freemasons have a long history of not looking for the easy way, we always look for the right way to conduct ourselves, charitable giving is in the DNA of every mason and we hope that this festival will enhance our enjoyment, not diminish it.
The MCF distributed £38.5 Million pounds last year to worthy recipients, from early years, Medical research, later life, Hospices and charitable grants to name but a few, there is also an increased direction towards the mental health and welfare of the fraternity and the wider community, without festival support none of this would be possible.
This festival, should not just be founded on the generosity of the brethren alone it should be used as a mechanism to make sure that every brother is in good order, if by our closer contact and communication we discover only one brother in need it will be deemed a success, especially if we can make his life more comfortable.
The best way to donate, will be through the Provincial relief chest by regular giving, those lodges and members that already give to a relief chest will be able to transfer the funds and continue giving throughout the festival, then change them back to the Lodge at the end of the festival, the more members that sign up early the easier and less onerous the task will seem.
We as a festival team look forward to the support and good humour of the brethren over the next six years and hope to meet you all at the many events that will be organised to enhance our enjoyment whilst doing good.
Heads of other Orders in Nottinghamshire
Support statement
Every Freemason, no matter which Orders of Freemasonry he chooses to become a member of, will be familiar with the truth that his Charity will be: “Thankfully received and Faithfully applied”.
This phrase is universally understood by us all and it represents a perfect balance of Charity in harmony. Charity can only be applied after it has been received; and Charity will only be freely given, if it is applied to purposes aligned with those of the donor.
With this vision of a balanced approach to Charity, it is most encouraging that the Nottinghamshire 2029 Festival will be centred around the individual membership of the Craft.
For those of us who enhance the enjoyment of our Freemasonry through membership of Orders in addition to the Craft, we are fully committed to supporting our Provincial Grand Master and the whole of the Nottinghamshire Family of Freemasons in this latest Festival Appeal.
On behalf of the Nottinghamshire members of the Mark Degree, Rose Croix, Knights Templar and the Red Cross of Constantine, we will contribute wholeheartedly and give freely to this Charity Festival, so that the Trustees of the MCF may better be enabled to achieve harmony through our Charity in delivering relief to those in need.
In the spirit of collaboration, our four Orders will work together and contribute collectively in support of the 2029 Festival Appeal. We all look forward to enjoying the friendship and happiness that working together for a common worthy cause will bring, ultimately celebrating the generosity of Nottinghamshire Freemasons.