Psychedelic Forest Carnival Volunteers
We’re currently looking for volunteers to help make the Psychedelic Forest Carnival happen. The Carnival is our September one day end of season event, before we all huckle down and hibernate for the winter.
Our events wouldn’t be possible without the work of volunteers. Volunteering is a chance to be on the inside of some of Scotland’s most creative events, and there are opportunities to be involved in many aspects of festival production.
In return for volunteering your time, you’ll get free* entry to the event, we’ll feed you, and you’ll have access to crew camping. As it’s a one-day event we try to keep shifts at 6 hours or less, and make sure that you still have time to enjoy the event.
** As with many festivals, we take a deposit from volunteers – equivalent to the price of a ticket – which is reimbursed after the event, once we have confirmed that you completed your shift and that your conduct on-site was in line with our volunteer agreement. We ask for this because many events like ours face problems with volunteers not turning up for shifts, and it makes life really difficult for everyone involved. Life is stressful enough without dealing with that, frankly. 😉
If this deposit would pose a barrier to you being able to volunteer, please contact sara@kelburnarts.com for a chat. We don’t want folk who are unemployed or skint to be excluded from volunteering, but we may ask for references or some other sort of guarantee.
We’re currently looking for volunteers for the following teams:
Box Office
- This role is public facing, and requires excellent communication and customer service skills. You will be friendly, cool under stress, and provide a great first impression to festival goers. This role could be suitable for those with limited mobility.
Stewarding
- This role is public and crew facing, and involves customer care and handling enquiries from festival goers as well as checking wristbands, and liaising with crew and members of the management team. You will be observant, friendly, and have good communication skills. You will be required to use a radio and you may be on your feet a lot in a noisy environment.
Build & Break Crew
- This role involves working hard within a small team and on your own initiative in the run up to the festival. It is physically taxing and may involve the use of power tools. Full days, but you would be free during the event itself. Lifting, shifting, getting things DONE. This team would especially welcome anyone with skills in areas such as joinery, plumbing, or construction, and there may be some opportunities for those who wish to learn those skills.
Artist Liaison
- This role is artist-facing, and requires attention to detail and excellent admin skills. You will offer a great first impression to artists arriving at the festival. You will be discreet, and you will not be starstruck. Driving license and ability to drive a buggy may be an advantage.
Decor
- This role is non-public facing but does involve intense team working before and after the festival (not during). Some use of power (& other) tools may be involved. Creative spirit and some artistic experience is good, but we’re also looking for skills like carpentry and basic painting. This role may involve a moderate amount of physical activity.
Crew catering
- A good crew marches on its belly. This role is crew-facing and involves working hard in a small team. You will be cool under stress and understand that hot water = tea = happy people. Your will have a basic understanding of food hygiene, good personal hygiene (do we need to say that?) and a good understanding of the importance of getting dietary requirements right. You will be on your feet in a small kitchen area and will be dealing with hot pans and some heavy lifting.
Bar
- This is a public facing role, which may include dealing with drunk people. You will be friendly, and pay close attention to detail. This role will involve a moderate amount of physical activity including some heavy lifting. Previous experience in barwork is essential.
Crew Coordination
- This is mostly a crew-facing role, and will report to the Crew Coordinator. You will be friendly, have great attention to detail, and be computer literate as well as having great admin skills. This role may involve some physical activity and patrolling the festival site.
Traffic Management
- This is a public-facing role, reporting to the Head of Traffic. You will be friendly, outgoing, and happy to work outside. You will be giving information to members of the public arriving in vehicles, and directing them to the correct place to park. This role does involve physical activity and being on your feet.
What we expect from you:
- To fill in the application form and pay the deposit (see below)
- Advance volunteers will work 2-3 days before / after the festival dependent upon team, weekend volunteers will work one shift on the day of the event (or after, depending on the team). Where possible no Saturday shift will be longer than 6 hours. Extra perks are available for volunteers who are willing to take on additional or longer shifts (tshirts, meal tickets etc)
- To be punctual for your shift, and not intoxicated. Any volunteer found to be consuming intoxicants directly before, or while on shift will be removed from site and their deposit forfeited.
- To bring appropriate camping and outdoor equipment.
- To be at least 18 years old and provide legally acceptable photo ID.
- To provide us with your emergency contact details and other important information.
What you’ll get
- A ticket for the event, and time to enjoy it.
- Fed while you’re on site
- Volunteers who complete extra shifts will get extra perks – tshirts, etc
- Access to crew camping
- New friends, new skills, references for job applications, and becoming part of the Kelburn family!
What to do next:
- Fill in the application form: https://forms.gle/dL1MBNb2ZA3AGWLX8
- Pay the deposit. Like many other festivals, we require volunteers to pay a deposit equal to the price of a ticket. This measure is in place to ensure that we only get serious applicants – if you don’t turn up to volunteer, it makes it really hard to run this event. And that’s no fun for anyone…
See you at the Carnival…. <3 Sara, Crew Coordinator
