What will volunteering entail/require from me?
- Volunteers commit to at least 12 hours of service on a team. Depending on the team you are on, you might have to attend a training before the festival. A lot of our teams have scheduled shifts and those Team Leaders will communicate that ahead of time. Most shifts are at least 4 hours.
What is the process for volunteering?
Check this page frequently. Once available, we will have a link on this page to fill out an application. To stay updated, follow our social accounts and join the newsletter!
When you fill out your application, select the projects/teams you’re interested in being involved in. We’ll review your application and get back to you with more details.
Team Leaders will follow up with any training info, or other instructions by email or phone call, and in groups the week of the festival.
What are the benefits of volunteering?
- Ask 100 volunteers and you may get 100 different answers.
- Volunteers receive a full-festival pass, camping, parking, t-shirt, and access to our Mess Hall – with snacks and beverages.
- Use your skills and talents to help make the festival come alive for everyone.
- Try something new and discover things you didn’t know you would enjoy.
- It’s a great conversation starter in interviews. Put it on your resume.
- Sometimes it’s hard (because it’s hot, or it rains, or…) and hard can be good because sometimes it can help us to grow.
- Make friends you can stay in touch with, encourage, support, post cat videos…or crash on their couch when you travel across the country.
If I’ve never been, can I volunteer?
Volunteering is a unique way to experience the festival. It can be a great way for first-time participants to jump in with both feet and plug into the festival community. An advantage of being a volunteer is that you will automatically get to know a smaller group of people by seeing them every day or working closely with them.
Plus, volunteers often are interacting with other festival participants so they connect with many stories, get feedback about how the sessions are received, glean highlights and go deeper in conversation. Volunteers may not get to attend every session; however, they usually say the volunteering was the highlight of their weekend.
How old do I have to be to volunteer?
Some teams have age requirements of 18 and older. We also have several teams for 14-17 year olds with Parental Consent. We love having responsible, enthusiastic, hard-working young adults jump in. They often say volunteering was their favorite part of the festival because they met people and they felt a part of the big picture.
How do parents with children volunteer?
Our hope is that volunteering is an option that makes the festival a more affordable experience for families. Here are some creative ideas on how to make the commitment of service work for you:
- Sign up for pre-festival or post-festival shifts. This may provide more flexibility for your childcare options (you’ll need to come early and/or stay late, which might also help with winding down and packing up, while also fulfilling volunteer duties).
- Sign up to work in the kids programs. This way your schedule will be mostly concurrent with your child’s schedule.
- If you and your co-parent both sign up as volunteers, sign up for different schedules in order to alternate child-care.
- Sign up to volunteer and communicate with your Team Leader about the possibility of splitting the shifts with a co-parent/friend/family.
Can I schedule my volunteering around all the sessions I want to go to?
Great news is that you will have some freedom to balance your volunteer work and your festival experience. Unfortunately, the program schedule will not be finalized until much closer to the festival date, but most of the time you can work with your other team members and Team Leader to switch shifts where possible.
Is there a volunteer handbook?
Yes! Just click here.
Thanks again for your interest in volunteering!
