Privacy Policy

BACKGROUND

Winterval is a Christmas festival in operation in Waterford City since 2012. It is an initiative of Waterford City & County Council and is run under the auspices of the Economic Department of the Council.

For 2020 the following structure is in place:

  • Festival Director - Contact Email hello@winterval.ie
  • Website www.winterval.ie
  • Marketing/PR Manager Contact Email hello@winterval.ie


PURPOSE OF THIS POLICY

This Privacy Policy relates to our use of personal information collected by Winterval/Waterford City and County Council from you via the following online services:

  • The Winterval Festival Official Website (www.winterval.ie)
  • Winterval Festival official social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Tiktok).
  • Winterval Mailing List (hosted on MailChimp)

It also relates to our use of any personal information you provide to us by phone, SMS, email, in letters and other correspondence and in person.

In order to process your ticket bookings, trader applications or other enquiries, we will need to collect and use some information about you.

Waterford City and County Council is committed to safeguarding your personal information; we are committed to complying with the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

We have implemented generally accepted standards of technology and operational security in order to protect personal data from loss, misuse, or unauthorised alteration or destruction. We will notify you promptly in the event of any breach of your personal data which might expose you to serious risk. If you have any concerns about your data, please get in touch straight away.


BOOKING TICKETS

Please note, when you book tickets for an event using a link from www.winterval.ie you will leave www.winterval.ie and make the booking directly with the event provider on a third party website.

For Winterval 2023 the event providers are as follows:

Event

Operated by

Santa’s Grotto

Every Event

Fly With Santa

Adventure 001



Who has access to personal information provided for the purpose of booking tickets:

Bookings for Winterval Express Train:

  • The online booking system Booking Hound (https://www.bookinghound.com/) is used for these events
  • It is managed for the event providers by Beyonk.
  • Your information will not be shared with any third parties for the purpose of marketing.

Bookings for Santa’s Grotto:

Bookings for Santa’s Grotto are made directly with EveryEvent Ltd. using their ticket provider Booking Hound.

  • Your information will not be shared with any third parties for the purpose of marketing.

Bookings for Fly with Santa:

Bookings for Santa’s Grotto are made directly with Adventure 001 using their ticket provider.

  • Your information will not be shared with any third parties for the purpose of marketing.


DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY

Data is only held for the specified purpose made clear at the time of collection. Your data will only ever be shared with a third party for explicit, necessary processing purposes; for instance:

  • The Festival mailing list (administered on MailChimp) will be processed by Springboard PR on the Festival’s behalf.
  • Springboard PR will act as the Data Processor on behalf of the Festival and Waterford City and County Council. (The Festival reserves the right to appoint a new Data Processor for the mailing list. ) Whilst the Festival newsletter data is stored on MailChimp and processed by Springboard PR, it is entirely separate to Springboard PR’s own mailing list, and neither they nor any other third parties will be given access to use your data for any other purposes.

Please note that sometimes we will require you to provide additional personal information, and sometimes sensitive personal information. When we do this we will provide further details about why we are collecting your information and how we will use it. We comply with all relevant data protection laws in all our dealings with your personal data, and we will ensure that our Data Processors do the same.

The Festival will use your personal information for a number of purposes including the following:

  • To contact you with information about Winterval events.
  • To contact you about a submission you have made, including any content you provide for the website, or CVs or applications uploaded to our contact form or applications to trade at Winterval.
  • To deal with your requests and enquiries;
  • To use IP addresses and device identifiers to identify the location of users, to block disruptive use, to establish the number of visits from different countries, and to determine whether you are accessing the services from Ireland or not.
  • For statistical analysis and research purposes so that we may improve the services offered by the Festival.
  • To notify you of any changes to the Festival’s policies and practices.


RETENTION OF DATA

We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity.


NEWSLETTER

  • The Festival Newsletter will bring your periodic updates on the Festival and its activities.
  • The Festival mailing list will be processed by the Winterval Marketing Manager using MailChimp on the Festival’s behalf.
  • You can subscribe to the official Festival Newsletter directly via the subscribe link on the Festival website.
  • You can unsubscribe from the list at any time, using the unsubscribe link in each newsletter email.


COOKIES

We collate information on all our Website traffic that is represented in aggregate format through cookies. We use third parties such as Google Analytics to collect user information, including through the use of cookies (flash and non-flash) and web beacons. They help us to improve our website and to deliver many of the functions that make your browser experience more user friendly.

You should also be aware that there are cookies which are found in other companies’ internet tools which we are using to enhance the website. You will see ‘social buttons’ on our website, which enable you to share or bookmark the web pages. By using the website you are agreeing to the use of cookies as described.

The help menu on the menu bar of most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie and how to disable cookies altogether. You can also disable or delete similar data used by browser add-ons, such as flash cookies, by changing the add-on’s settings or visiting the website of its manufacturer. For more information about cookies and managing them, including how to turn them off, please visit www.cookiecentral.com.

However, because cookies allow you to take advantage of some of the Website’s essential features, we recommend you leave them turned on.

The Festival website contains hyperlinks to websites owned and operated by third parties. These third party websites have their own privacy policies, and are also likely to use cookies, and we therefore urge you to review them. They will govern the use of personal information you submit when visiting these websites, which may also be collected by cookies.


MOBILE DEVICES

Applications developed in connection with the website for mobile devices will operate and capture information as set out above. Applications developed by us but deployed on other platforms such as social media channels may provide feedback to us on activity and usage specific to a user.

Note: If you are aged 18 or under, please get your parent/guardian’s permission before you provide any personal information to us.

Rights in relation to personal data

Under the General Data Protection Regulations individuals have rights in relation to their personal data.

If an individual wishes to make a Data Protection enquiry or an access request, it should be submitted in writing (this can include email) to:

Data Protection Officer, Waterford City and County Council,

City Hall, Waterford X91 PK15

Tel: 0761 10 20 20 Email: dataprotection@waterfordcouncil.ie

Making a Complaint

If any person has any concerns regarding the security of the personal data that Waterford City and County Council holds on them in relation to activities/events associated Winterval , they should in the first instance raise the matter with the Festival Director or the Council’s Data Protection Officer (contact details above).

In any event, an applicant can Raise a Concern directly with the Data Protection Commissioner.

This Privacy Notice was last reviewed in September 2023