PHOTOS: Relieved faces as Electric Picnic Lost and Found opens up
‘It’s your life in your hands’ delighted Electric Picnic fans return to Stradbally to collect lost items gathered by volunteers
Dozens of phones, car keys, glasses, jewellery, wallets, coats and personal documents are all now collated and waiting for owners to collect them in the Stradbally Steam Museum, thanks to the volunteers in the Electric Picnic Lost and Found team.
Carmel Farrell led a 20 strong team throughout the festival, taking in found items, and now with a smaller group is returning them to their relieved owners, keeping phones charged and replying to messages and calls.
Among those anxiously waiting when it opened on Tuesday, 2pm was Senan Ford from Galway who had to be in Dublin airport to fly to Spain that evening.
“I’m super relieved, I’d be fecked if I didn’t have it on holidays, I’d have no access to my money. I woke up on Monday panicked and spent the whole day looking for it,” he said.
Charlene Mangan and Evan Moylan also from Galway were also back in Stradbally to reclaim an iPhone.
“We realised it was gone on Sunday night but it was so dark and muddy, we kept calling it, we walked for an hour to the lost and found on site. The next day it said it was in Stradbally. The find my phone feature is very handy. We are delighted, very relieved. It has all our photos, our engagement, our fake wedding in the blow up church, our Electric Picnic photos. It’s your life in your hands,” Charlene said.
A “sound sound man” handed in the phone of Cillian O’Donnachadha from Dublin, lost as he worked in the Phobail na Gaeilge tent. He was so delighted he left a donation in the box at the Lost and Found centre.
“It’s a brilliant service, they’re doing god’s work,” he said.
The volunteers are working since Thursday before the festival, a service they are doing since 2015.
Carmel said there are less and less items given in to them every year. They are not allowed back into the site, but rely on good people to hand over found items.
“I don’t know why the number is falling but maybe people are learning. I still have 1100 unread Whatsapp messages and 400 or 500 emails on the laptop.
“If personal items have an address on them, we post letters to the person to inform them, and ask for proof of identity and postage paid so we can send them back.
“We’re the only festival that the Gardaí don’t do the job of lost and found. We’ll be here until October,” she promised.
The service is open in Stradbally Steam Museum, Main Street R32YT65, right up to Saturday this week from 2pm to 6pm. Then from 6pm to 8pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 2pm to 6pm on Saturdays for the rest of September. Proof of ownership is required. Text Carmel on 0874097011, no calls answered.