Thank you for your interest in the Celtic Colours International Festival volunteer program.
Our festival could not operate without the dedication and long hours provided by over 1,700 volunteers. For your effort you get an opportunity to be part of an amazing and exciting event. You will experience the creative energy of 400 performers and know that you have been right in the heart of action. Our audience knows the excitement very well and, like so many of our volunteers, comes back year after year. You will also have the satisfaction of contributing to an event that brings more than $6 million into the local economy every year.
We have two categories of volunteers at Celtic Colours:
1) Community Volunteers – work in their own community with a hosting organization either for a concert venue or a community cultural event. If your community is hosting an event, they may need your help. Please contact them directly.
2) Festival Volunteers – work throughout the festival in a wide variety of roles as drivers or at concert venues under the direction of the festival staff or experienced volunteers. If you are interested and available to be a festival volunteer, the following information should help you decide what you would like to do.
Types of Positions Available:
1. Site and Stage Management
All of our concert venues require Site Managers and Stage Managers. These are highly skilled positions, but have always been carried out by volunteers.
In general, site managers are responsible for all aspects of the audience and the venue and work directly with the community hosting committee. Stage managers are responsible for everything to do with the show and the stage. They work directly with the artists and technicians. Site and Stage managers must work together on some aspects of the event. Strong and positive communication skills are essential for both positions.
Both Site and Stage positions require the volunteer to have experience in customer service or working with the general public. Stage positions also benefit from previous experience with music events and/or musicians. Both require volunteers to have participated in training or professional development workshops provided by Celtic Colours. Volunteering as a site or stage manager is a commitment of at least an 8 hour day, sometimes more depending on the venue and distances for driving. Site and stage managers must be on site one hour before sound checks begin and stay until their work is completed after the show.
We also have apprenticeship roles for Assistant Stage and Assistant Site positions for people who are new to our system. If you would like to volunteer in a Site or Stage Management position and have not done so before you must attend the training sessions in September and understand that first year Site or Stage Management volunteers can only serve as assistants. The basic training and Professional Development workshops for 2012 will take place on September 22nd at the Gaelic College.
If you have attended a Site or Stage Manager training session in the past and have served as a Site or Stage Manager or assistant we request that you upgrade your knowledge by attending the advanced Professional Development workshops on September 22nd. These are on very specific topics in areas that may help you develop new skills.
To learn more about the Site and Stage management job descriptions please download the documents available at the bottom of this page. You will need to complete the 2012 Volunteer Application Form to begin the process. This year we are also requiring all previous volunteers to complete the form so that we have accurate and consistent information in our database.
Contact our Volunteer Co-ordinator Rhoda MacCormick at volunteers@celtic-colours.com or at 562-6700
2. Transportation / Drivers
Contact Blair or Gerardette Brown – blairgerardette@bellaliant.net
3. Emcees
Contact our Artistic Director, Joella Foulds (joella@celtic-colours.com) or by phone at the Celtic Colours office – 562-6700
4. Casual Positions
Casual positions require no specific training. The majority of our shows do not require casual volunteers because the community hosting organizations provide all of the volunteers at the venue. However there are a few of our larger shows such as those in Sydney and Port Hawkesbury that do require help with ushering, handing out programs and taking ballots. Casual opportunities also exist at other Festival events including the late night Festival Club and the Volunteer Reception. Help is also appreciated in the office leading up to and during Festival time with tasks like assembling Site and Stage kits, getting volunteers ready for shows and answering phones.
- Festival Club
The Festival Club occurs each night of the Festival from 11PM – 3AM at the Gaelic College in St Ann’s. The volunteer roles there include selling tickets at the door, selling bar tickets and working in the bar. The Festival Club volunteers are generally people who live in the immediate vicinity of the Gaelic College and they are scheduled and supervised by the staff at the Gaelic College.
Documents to Download:
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