Volunteer Opportunities
Admissions
The all-important ticket sales and ticket takers. We will probably only have one admissions gate this first year, but there will be two ticket and program sales windows - one located each side of the gate. Ticket sales volunteers will need to take money, give the correct change, operate credit card machines (training will be provided) and answer simple questions regarding admissions.
Ticket takers will check that all visitors have tickets, stamp wrists for re-entry, give directions to activities within the festival and assist in providing wheelchairs as needed.
Beer
Beer concessions will be managed by the contracted food and beverage company. However, we are allowed to staff two or three beer booths under their license and direction. Volunteers are needed to staff these booths. You must be TABC certified (we pay for the training) and you must be 21 or over.
Some knowledge of traditional beers is required, such as the difference between an Ale and a Larger, and how to pour a "Black and Tan" or a "Half and Half".
Decorations
It is a long-standing tradition of SCMA festivals and events to decorate the various public areas with culturally significant banners, shields, stage backdrops, signposts etc. If you have a strong artistic talent, like to draw or paint, or have a flair for making a horse barn look like a Celtic croft, you are certainly needed by the Decorations crew.
Volunteer Area
When volunteers first arrive at the festival they will pass through the Volunteer sign-in area. Here a team of volunteers will verify their shift and volunteer location, issue them a badge and souvenir shirt, and give them any last minute instructions or directions needed.
Children's Area
Within the festival there is one area devoted to children with educational arts and crafts, musical entertainment and story telling. This is a perfect area for parents and their children to volunteer together, for pre-school and kindergarten teachers and anyone with experience in working with young children.
We require all volunteers under the the age of 15 to be accompanied by one or more parents, and we do reserve the right to run background checks on all volunteers in this area.
Instrument Storage
Musicians and other entertainers often need to leave their instruments and other belongings in a safe and secure area while they are not performing. Our Instrument Storage volunteers will be responsible for checking in, labeling and storing all such items, returning them to their rightful owners as and when requested.
Main Office
The Main Office is the hub of operations for the festival. Volunteers in this area may be required to answer phone calls and give information to visitors, volunteers and media; handle lost and found items; lost children and parents and generally provide assistance to whomever may need it during the festival.
In the event that the weather turns bad, they will also be required to keep staff updated with information from local TV and radio.
Vendors
The various craft vendors that attend the festival are an important source of income for us. Each vendor makes an application to be a part of the event; is assigned to a specific booth location and is provided with tables, chairs and power as requested.
Volunteers are needed to assist in the registration process, which generally takes place the month prior to the event at our offices in Dallas. We then need help checking in vendors and get them set up on the Friday and possibly Saturday morning of the event and ensuring that they clear out in an orderly fashion on the Sunday night.
Stage Managers
Each stage will be under the overall control of a volunteer Stage Manager who will be responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the stage at all times. This will include ensuring the the bands are in place and ready to perform at least 15 minutes prior to their scheduled start time; know the scheduled end time and understand the cues to be given 10 minutes and 5 minutes before the end and have sufficient water, towels etc.
The stage manager will work with the sound engineer (but not get in his/her way) to ensure that the transition from one band to the next goes as smoothly and quickly as possible. When both the band and the sound engineer indicate that they are ready to perform, the stage manager will introduce the band and signal them to start.
Product Sales
There are a number of festival product sales booths that are staffed by volunteers. These include booths selling t-shirts, programs, past NTIF festival merchandise, performers CD, and other merchandise that we decide to produce for the event.
Setup
The festival will start the move in process at around 9:00 am on the Thursday morning. A large team of volunteers is needed to arrange all the decorations, stage backdrops, vendor tables and chairs, posters, banners, etc. Working all Thursday or Friday qualifies as two shifts and allows you to spend the entire weekend enjoying the festival wearing your brand new T_Shirt.
Teardown
The festival will end at 7:00 pm on the Sunday. We then have five hours to dismantle, remove, pack up, throw away or otherwise clear every item from the Will Rogers area. The following day the entire area will be transformed into a Circus, and anything left will likely be buried under a foot of sawdust!
This will be a massive task, but if coordinated correctly can be accomplished OK.