Monday, July 8, 2013

Gee, the privilege of paying $26 bucks (for volunteering and t-shirt) to work 6-7 hours PER DAY for 3 days...



For a 5-6 year period I was a Falcon Ridge "Folk" Festival volunteer. A friend tipped me off* to the festival's current expectations for their volunteers, things certainly have changed since then, when, in exchange for four hours labor/day and a $6, then $8 charge for a tee shirt, volunteers were given 
  • festival access
  • camping
  • three meals per day
From my friend (her name and her and the volunteer coordinator's email addresses have been removed).
*Did you get this? 
Gee, the privilege of paying $26 bucks (for volunteering and t-shirt) to work 6-7 hours PER DAY for 3 days...
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: (volunteer coordinator)
Date: Sun, Jul 7, 2013 at 4:02 PM
Subject: Volunteer positions still open at Falcon Ridge
To: (friend)

Dear (friend),

We still have a few positions open to volunteer at this years festival, August 2, 3 and 4, 2013.  If you have not yet signed up and are interested to see what's available, log into the website at http://www.falconridgevolunteers.com.  Your user name is (xxxxxxxxx). We would be glad to see you again!

Barbara and Paul

Read its volunteer page:






Welcome to the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Volunteer Website

New Festival Dates: August 2nd, 3rd, 4th 2013

Our volunteers do a variety of tasks that make our festival possible, from parking the patrons, taking tickets, checking in other volunteers and performers, aiding our camping patrons, providing safety and security, to preparing food for our volunteers and/or patrons.

For a small fee of $14 ($20 after July 15th) , a volunteer gets access to the festival as well as camping and staff meals provided two times a day from the day they start their responsibilities. Being a volunteer is a great way to meet a community of other like-minded individuals, where friendships and memories are made and remembered for a lifetime.

The festival is three days and we expect our volunteers to be able to work all three days. Most volunteers will need to work 6 to 7 hours each day for a total commitment of 18 to 20 hours. We do have a small number of pre-festival crews that require a substantially heavier time commitment for the privilege of not working during the festival. Check the required commitment of a crew carefully before volunteering.  All festival volunteers are expected to work a full shift on Sunday. Exceptions must be worked out with your crew chief prior to the start of the festival.

T-shirts are required by most crews during shifts. A payment of $12.00 is needed for the t-shirt. Payment for the t-shirt and the volunteer fee are due when your volunteer application is approved.  Log on to this site and select the Buy T-Shirt menu option. Credit Card or PayPal is accepted.

We have an excellent kitchen where vegetarians and vegans are well cared for. Breakfast meats (cooked elsewhere) are offered to our volunteers for breakfast. Drinks and snacks are available all day.

We have a limited number of pre-festival volunteer positions. Returning volunteers fill many of these positions. Tasks involve site set up, site kitchen operations, early parking, security and ticketing. If you think you qualify to fill one of these positions, use the comment section of the application.

We are unfortunately not able to accept volunteers for less than the full three-day commitment.
 
No wonder a couple weeks before it begins Falcon Ridge is soliciting former volunteers. 

My advice? Skip it, buy a three day pass to the Brantling Bluegrass Festival August 1-3 in Sodus NY ($55 for a three day pass that includes camping and workshops) or go to the Salem Maritime Festival August 3 for free.

See other festival suggestions here.

 
 

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