DOSE Fest

Wellbeing festival built on joy, connection and community
☀️ For 0-99 years
Rooted in the science of DOSE
📅 18 July 2026
📍Chelmsford 👇 Get involved

28/09/2026

DOSE Fest 2026 was the first step.
Our first festival showed what can happen when wellbeing, education, creativity, support and human connection are brought together within the community.
But the vision has always been much bigger.

As founder Myra Merchant explains:
“DOSE Fest was never intended to be just a festival. It is the first step in a much bigger ecosystem of preventative healthcare, rooted within communities and extending support beyond GP surgeries and hospitals.”

The aim is to create more opportunities for people to understand their own physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, discover what works for them and connect with support before they reach crisis point.

Festivals are one part of that.

The wider DOSE Ecosystem will continue that work through events, pop-ups, community projects, workplace wellbeing initiatives and other accessible ways for people to connect, learn and take positive action for their health.

The festival may be over, but the work is only beginning.

Want to follow the journey and hear about what’s coming next?

Join our mailing list at www.dosefest.co.uk.

23/09/2026

We’re growing the DOSE Fest team!

Following the success of our first festival, we’re already building towards DOSE Fest 2027, and we’re looking for two brilliant volunteers to join us on the journey.

We currently have opportunities for:

Social Media & Content Creation Volunteer
Help us bring the DOSE story to life through social media, graphics, short-form content and creative ideas.

Administration & Festival Support Volunteer
Help keep everything moving behind the scenes, supporting communications, vendors, information, forms and the practical details involved in bringing DOSE Fest together.

Both roles are around 2–4 hours per week, predominantly remote, with opportunities to get involved in events and activities along the way.

You don’t need previous festival experience. We’re looking for people who are enthusiastic, reliable and excited by what we’re building.

It’s a chance to gain real-world experience, develop your skills and become part of a growing project focused on building happier, healthier and more connected communities.

Interested?

Find out more about both roles and apply at dosefest.co.uk.

And if someone immediately came to mind while reading this, please send it their way!

21/09/2026

Peace can feel like a huge global idea, but it also starts much closer to home.

It’s in the way we speak to each other. The spaces we create for people to belong. The relationships we build with our neighbours. Our willingness to listen to people whose experiences may be different from our own.

Strong communities don’t happen by accident.

They grow when people feel seen, heard, valued and connected, and when there are opportunities for people from different backgrounds, ages and experiences to come together.

That sense of connection and belonging is a big part of what we want to create through DOSE.

Our first festival brought hundreds of people together, but it was the conversations, shared experiences, laughter, learning and new connections happening throughout the day that really brought the idea to life.

So, for International Day of Peace, we’d love to hear from you:

👉What makes a community feel like somewhere you belong?

Tell us in the comments.

17/09/2026

Sometimes the impact of bringing people together is as simple as helping someone finally find what they’ve been looking for.

One attendee told us:
“Having everything in one place helped me access information I had been trying to find online for over a year.”

That’s a big part of what DOSE Fest is about.

There is so much support, knowledge and expertise within our communities, but finding it can be difficult. Information can be scattered across different websites, services and organisations, and people don’t always know what’s available locally or where to begin.
By bringing practitioners, community organisations, wellbeing services, activities and information together in one welcoming space, DOSE Fest gives people the opportunity to explore, ask questions, make connections and discover support that could make a real difference to their lives.

Because preventative health isn’t only about telling people what they should be doing. It’s also about making knowledge and support easier to find and access, and helping people connect with it before they reach crisis point.

This is exactly the kind of impact we want to build on as DOSE continues to grow.
Want to follow the journey and hear about what’s coming next?

Join our mailing list at www.dosefest.co.uk.

15/09/2026

What happens when you bring wellbeing, creativity, learning and human connection together in the heart of a community?

Our first DOSE Fest gave us an exciting glimpse of what’s possible.

370 people joined us in Chelmsford, alongside 40+ organisations, businesses and community partners, all bringing different opportunities to connect, learn, move, create and explore wellbeing.

And the impact wasn’t just in the numbers attending.

90% of the written reflections we received included at least one positive emotional descriptor, with people telling us they felt happy, calm, inspired, connected, hopeful, supported, relaxed and joyful.

People spoke about meaningful conversations, meeting new people, spending time together as families and feeling welcomed. They discovered new organisations, tried activities for the first time and found support they hadn’t previously known how to access.

Others left intending to make practical changes to their everyday lives, from moving more and spending time outdoors to prioritising self-care, strengthening relationships and joining local groups.

For us, that’s what the first DOSE Fest was really about.

Not simply creating a great day out, but exploring what can happen when we make wellbeing, support and connection more accessible within our communities.
The first festival was just the beginning.

Want to follow what happens next?
Join our mailing list on www.dosefest.co.uk.

14/09/2026

We spend years preparing young people for exams, qualifications and careers. But how much time do we spend preparing them for the lifelong work of looking after their own wellbeing?

As an educator, this is something DOSE Fest founder Myra Merchant feels strongly about:

“Health education should not end when we leave school. People of every age deserve opportunities to reflect, learn, communicate, and discover the small, practical actions that can help them live happier, healthier lives.”
And this isn’t only about young people.

At every stage of life, we need opportunities to better understand our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, recognise what we need, know where to find support and discover the things that genuinely make a difference to us.

It’s one of the reasons DOSE Fest was designed around experiences as much as information.

Rather than simply telling people what might support their wellbeing, we want to give people opportunities to try things, ask questions, make connections and discover what works for them.

Because the more we understand ourselves and our wellbeing, the better equipped we are to take an active role in looking after our health.

And that learning should last a lifetime.

Want to be part of what comes next? Join our mailing list at dosefest.co.uk.

10/09/2026

Today is World Su***de Prevention Day.

It’s a reminder of something that sits at the heart of DOSE: human connection matters.

We don’t always know what someone else is carrying. Reaching out, making time to listen, noticing when someone seems different or simply asking “How are you, really?” can create an opportunity for someone to feel heard and less alone.
And you don’t need to have all the answers.

Sometimes being present, listening without judgement and helping someone connect with the right support is enough.

Today, we’re encouraging everyone in our community to do one simple thing:
Check in with someone.

Send the message. Make the call. Have the conversation.

And if you’re struggling yourself, please know that support is available. You don’t have to navigate it alone.

If you or someone you know needs support:

Samaritans: Call 116 123 free, 24 hours a day.
Shout: Text SHOUT to 85258 for free, confidential 24/7 text support.
NHS urgent mental health support: Call 111 and select the mental health option (option 2). In Essex this connects you with local mental health crisis support and is available 24/7.
Immediate danger: Call 999 or go to your nearest A&E.

05/09/2026

There’s a LOT that goes on behind the scenes to make DOSE Fest happen, and we’re looking for someone brilliant and organised to join the team and help us keep everything moving.

Our Administration & Festival Support Volunteer will work closely with our Operational Lead and wider team, supporting the communications, information and practical details involved in building towards DOSE Fest 2027.

You could be helping manage enquiries, communicating with vendors and activity providers, keeping information and spreadsheets organised, following up forms and documents, and generally helping us stay on top of all those moving parts.

You don’t need festival experience. We’re looking for someone who is organised, dependable, friendly, confident communicating by email and good at following things through.

It’s a chance to gain genuine experience in administration, communication and event coordination while becoming part of a growing community wellbeing project.

2–4 hours per week | Predominantly remote | Voluntary
With opportunities to get involved in DOSE Fest events and activities.

Interested? Find out more and apply via www.dosefest.co.uk

And if you know someone who would be great at this, please send it their way.

04/09/2026

We’re growing the DOSE Fest team!

Following the success of our first festival, we’re already building towards DOSE Fest 2027, and we’re looking for a creative, enthusiastic volunteer to help us tell the story along the way.

As our Social Media & Content Creation Volunteer, you’ll help turn our content plans into engaging posts, stories, graphics and short-form content, as well as bringing your own ideas to the mix.

You’ll work alongside the DOSE Fest team and an experienced branding and marketing strategist, gaining hands-on experience while helping us grow a movement focused on happier, healthier and more connected communities.

This could be a great opportunity if you’re a student, graduate, emerging creative, or simply someone who loves social media and wants to build real-world experience and a portfolio of published work.

2–4 hours per week | Predominantly remote | Voluntary
With opportunities to get involved in DOSE Fest events and activities.

Interested? Find out more and apply via www.dosefest.co.uk

Please share with anyone who might be perfect for this.

02/09/2026

Lasting wellbeing doesn’t happen in isolation.

It grows through connection, shared experiences and people showing up for each other.

Support makes it easier.
Community makes it sustainable.

That’s the kind of environment DOSE Fest is creating.

Share this with someone you’d want by your side. 💛

Address

Angel Pavilion
Chelmsford
CM17AH

Website

http://www.dosefest.co.uk/, https://www.zeffy.com/en-GB/ticketing/dose-fest-tickets

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