Norwich’s Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust (HEART) is calling for volunteers to take part in Heritage Open Days (HODs), which runs from Thursday 10^th to Sunday 13^th September 2015.

HEART are seeking volunteer office assistants, event stewards, photographers, social media assistants, festival ambassadors, and even models for a vintage fashion show at Norwich’s Guildhall. 

Last year, HEART’s dedicated army of volunteers played a huge part in making the Norwich and Norfolk HODs weekend the UK’s largest outside of London. The HODs booking team dealt with a record number of bookings for local events – a staggering 1261 in total – and 38 very special volunteers helped at HEART’s headquarters in The Guildhall across a variety of roles, from bookings to brochure distribution, photography to stewarding, and being HODs ambassadors.

Volunteering during Heritage Open Days is perfect for those who want to get to know the Fine City better, update their skillset, or simply want to share their love of heritage.

HODs is England’s largest and most popular voluntary cultural event, celebrating the country’s fantastic historical architecture and culture by offering free access to events and interesting properties that are usually closed to the public, or normally charge for admission. The annual programme includes open buildings, guided tours, exhibitions, talks, family activities, music recitals and re-enactments.

This year’s national HODs campaign theme is ‘Do Something New’ with a focus on refreshing, reinvigorating and reinterpreting local HODs locations, sites and events.

2015 marks the 21^st anniversary of the national free heritage event, and the 11^th for which HEART has co-ordinated events locally.

Jo Archer, HODs Project Lead at HEART, said: “We are very excited about this year’s HODs and already the programme is looking more impressive than ever. Last year HEART coordinated 226 free events across Norwich and Norfolk. But all these 100% free to attend events are only possible with support from a legion of volunteers each year. Do something different – support the Heritage Open Days festival in Norwich and the surrounding area, and become a volunteer!”

If you are interested in volunteering in any capacity, please make contact via [email protected].

For more information about previous Heritage Open Days organised by HEART see www.heritagecity.org/hods, or follow HEART on Facebook and Twitter.

About Norwich HEART

Norwich’s Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust (HEART) is an independent charitable organisation which champions remarkable heritage in Norwich and beyond.  Working in collaboration with local and European partners, we have helped to contribute to the local and regional economy through heritage regeneration, tourism and major cultural events.

To find out more about HEART please visit www.heritagecity.org

About Heritage Open Days

Heritage Open Days was established in 1994 as England’s contribution to European Heritage Days (EHD), The Council of Europe created European Heritage Days to bring people closer to their cultural heritage by throwing open the doors to historic monuments and buildings – preferably those which are usually either closed or are only partly accessible to the general public.

Today, Heritage Open Days is England’s biggest heritage festival involving over 1,500 organisations and 40,000 volunteers who organise thousands of site openings and events, jointly attracting over 3 million visitors. It celebrates our fantastic history, architecture and culture; offering people the chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – all of which are FREE to explore.

Every year on four days in September, the bunting is unfurled and buildings of every age, style and function throw open their doors. It is a once-a-year chance to discover the often hidden or forgotten gems on our doorsteps and enjoy a wide range of tours, events and activities that bring local history and culture to life.

On a national level, the programme is managed by the National Trust and funded by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery and Historic England.

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