Volunteering

[M!!!]

I'm thinking of possibly volunteering next year and wondered if any of the good folk on here could offer any advice/info on how things work?

Is it hard to get a volunteer place? From the snippets I've seen here previously and reading a couple of websites it looks like applications go live on certain dates - is it then first come first served so to speak or is there some kind of selection process? If you have volunteered previously do you get priority? 

I've volunteered at festivals previously but am new to the way it all works for Glastonbury so any info would be gratefully received!

[fat_man_joe]

Do you mean with Oxfam, for example? I did that in 2011 and it's managed and sorted brilliantly. You have to apply in a similar way, but as long as you do so early you'll almost definitely get a place.

You also only do three shifts and can swap them if you want to as well, so it's a great way to do it. Especially as it means you can go down there on Monday or Tuesday, too!

[Tuttifrutti]

32 minutes ago, fat_man_joe said:

Do you mean with Oxfam, for example? I did that in 2011 and it's managed and sorted brilliantly. You have to apply in a similar way, but as long as you do so early you'll almost definitely get a place.

You also only do three shifts and can swap them if you want to as well, so it's a great way to do it. Especially as it means you can go down there on Monday or Tuesday, too!

How long are the shifts, and can you still take a caravan? 

[glasto-worker]

39 minutes ago, M!!! said:

I'm thinking of possibly volunteering next year and wondered if any of the good folk on here could offer any advice/info on how things work?

Is it hard to get a volunteer place? From the snippets I've seen here previously and reading a couple of websites it looks like applications go live on certain dates - is it then first come first served so to speak or is there some kind of selection process? If you have volunteered previously do you get priority? 

I've volunteered at festivals previously but am new to the way it all works for Glastonbury so any info would be gratefully received!

Yes and No - some have priority and some don't so its a bit of a lottery

- if you can prove you have previous volunteer experience then that may work in your favour

- Big warning ' read all the terms and conditions first '

it is best ' if you get on a few mailing lists ' as that way you will know the dates - the dates are crucial as places go fast 

see http://www.wbc-team.co.uk/fest-jobs.html and no I am not looking for any new volunteers.

note there is loads of jobs - my page is only a starting point but keep checking this site as you will see lots of opportunities.

some are better than others but the good ones are snapped up by previous volunteers .

I would never go back as a ticket holder and lucky enough my places are kept for me. 

[fat_man_joe]

27 minutes ago, Tuttifrutti said:

How long are the shifts, and can you still take a caravan? 

From memory, I believe shifts are eight hours, however they can also take place anytime from the Tuesday-Thursday!

When I did it, I did  6-2pm on Thursday; 12-8pm on Friday; then 12-6am on Saturday (shorter shift). So I only missed the Friday of music.

[fat_man_joe]

Oh and I have no idea about caravans, but I saw a few about.

[Tuttifrutti]

thank you, weighing up our options after missing out this morning. Onwards n upwards:-)

 

 

[fat_man_joe]

1 minute ago, Tuttifrutti said:

thank you, weighing up our options after missing out this morning. Onwards n upwards:-)

 

 

Honestly, 'working' at the festival was as fun as just being there. It's great to feel like part of it, and you end up meeting so many great people and seeing things you wouldn't do otherwise.

All is not lost! It could be a great blessing in disguise.

[arcade fireman]

I was thinking about doing the wrist banding with festaff, where abouts on site is their camping? 

Also, it's not just a bunch of 18 year olds doing it is it? Nothing against 18 year olds, but would be more keen if there was a mix of older and younger (I'm halfway in between at 31!). 

Edited October 9, 2016 by arcade fireman

[mjfromthelane]

32 minutes ago, fat_man_joe said:

From memory, I believe shifts are eight hours, however they can also take place anytime from the Tuesday-Thursday!

When I did it, I did  6-2pm on Thursday; 12-8pm on Friday; then 12-6am on Saturday (shorter shift). So I only missed the Friday of music.

So that was with Oxfam? What was your 'job'?

[incident]

3 minutes ago, arcade fireman said:

I was thinking about doing the wrist banding with festaff, where abouts on site is their camping? 

Also, it's not just a bunch of 18 year olds doing it is it? Nothing against 18 year olds, but would be more keen if there was a mix of older and younger (I'm halfway in between at 31!). 

In 2016, Festaff were a little bit outside of the fence, sharing a field with Oxfam. Find a map, then if you start at Gate B, then go 2 fields to the right, you'll probably be looking at the right one.

I volunteered for Oxfam a couple of times and was in my mid 30s - most were younger but I wasn't close to being the oldest. I assume Festaff is fairly similar.

[fat_man_joe]

4 minutes ago, arcade fireman said:

I was thinking about doing the wrist banding with festaff, where abouts on site is their camping? 

Also, it's not just a bunch of 18 year olds doing it is it? Nothing against 18 year olds, but would be more keen if there was a mix of older and younger (I'm halfway in between at 31!). 

Inevitably there are a lot of young people doing it because it's free, however there's a huge mix so you won't feel out of place.

There are plenty of people who've been doing it for years, and numerous others who just weren't lucky enough to get a ticket in the general sale.

[fat_man_joe]

3 minutes ago, mjfromthelane said:

So that was with Oxfam? What was your 'job'?

That's right! There are a number of options, such as stewarding or checking wristbands and things. My job was to monitor wristbands of the people going in and out of the Acoustic tent backstage area - meant I saw some pretty cool people!

You get to do shifts with your friends, and you'll be with other people too to make some friends.

One of the security guys we were with used to be in the French Foreign Legion, which was interesting.

[dondo]

I have worked on the recycling crew / litter picking 5 times and the time they start recruiting seems to vary from year to year. They give first dibs to those that have worked before but am pretty sure that they're after new recruits too to cover those that don't want to do it again or were blacklisted for not doing their shifts (people doing this annoy the f*!k out of me).

Shifts vary- you can have all earlies (6am start), all lates or a mixture of the two. If you are a veteran you can also do day shifts before the festival starts (well Monday to Thursday as that's what I did this year).  Roles include litter picking, working in recycling centre, tractor crew and traders information.

People I know take their campervan and park that in the campervan field- I'm not sure if they needed to buy a pass or not.

[Andycamper]

1 hour ago, Tuttifrutti said:

How long are the shifts, and can you still take a caravan? 

I went with Oxfam this year, the shifts are 8 hours 15 mins long and yes people had caravans in the oxfield.

I would definitely recommend volunteering if you didn't get a ticket today.

[M!!!]

1 hour ago, glasto-worker said:

Yes and No - some have priority and some don't so its a bit of a lottery

- if you can prove you have previous volunteer experience then that may work in your favour

- Big warning ' read all the terms and conditions first '

it is best ' if you get on a few mailing lists ' as that way you will know the dates - the dates are crucial as places go fast 

see http://www.wbc-team.co.uk/fest-jobs.html and no I am not looking for any new volunteers.

note there is loads of jobs - my page is only a starting point but keep checking this site as you will see lots of opportunities.

some are better than others but the good ones are snapped up by previous volunteers .

I would never go back as a ticket holder and lucky enough my places are kept for me. 

Thanks, thats really useful - I'll get myself on some mailing lists

I started volunteering at Latitude 8 years ago and have gradually worked my way up so I'm now employed directly by Production there and run a team of 14-16 so have experience which could hopefully count towards something...

 

[M!!!]

Thanks all thats really useful

All sounds very positive and achievable, I'm going to get on some mailing lists and see how it pans out, maybe see some of you there

 

[M!!!]

34 minutes ago, arcade fireman said:

I was thinking about doing the wrist banding with festaff, where abouts on site is their camping? 

Also, it's not just a bunch of 18 year olds doing it is it? Nothing against 18 year olds, but would be more keen if there was a mix of older and younger (I'm halfway in between at 31!). 

I run a team at Latitude and get a real mix of ages and experience which I love, hopefully Glastonbury will be similar (also not being in the 18 year old camp myself!)

[mjfromthelane]

One more question - if you volunteer do you have to camp in some sort of 'volunteering' campsite or can you camp normally and turn up to your shift from there?

[boglin2]

Thank You Glasto worker 

[fat_man_joe]

1 minute ago, mjfromthelane said:

One more question - if you volunteer do you have to camp in some sort of 'volunteering' campsite or can you camp normally and turn up to your shift from there?

You are supposed to camp in the designated spot, to prevent overcrowding etc I suppose. So I believe they stopped people taking camping gear from the stewards camping area onto the main site.

However there's nothing stopping, and I know lots of people who did, get their friends to take a tent in for them.

[incident]

Just now, mjfromthelane said:

One more question - if you volunteer do you have to camp in some sort of 'volunteering' campsite or can you camp normally and turn up to your shift from there?

Officially, you've got a crew camp and you're supposed to camp there.

In practice, there's not much to stop you moving your tent first thing Wednesday morning (just before the gates open even), and some people do this. Your tent will be removed if you camp in a public field before Wednesday.

But personally I'd say it's better to stick with the crew field. You'll likely need to be there fairly often, and you'll have various facilities that the public don't have (varies by crew but lilkely includes showers, cheaper or free food, staff bar)

[fat_man_joe]

1 minute ago, incident said:

you'll have various facilities that the public don't have (varies by crew but lilkely includes showers, cheaper or free food, staff bar)

I'd reiterate this. With Oxfam you get showers and free food, and it's not that far from everything anyway!

[Andycamper]

1 minute ago, mjfromthelane said:

One more question - if you volunteer do you have to camp in some sort of 'volunteering' campsite or can you camp normally and turn up to your shift from there?

You have to camp outside the festival with Oxfam and feststaff and the campsites are just outside gate B

Campsite crew are inside the festival. I'm not sure about the others

[arcade fireman]

Do festaff get showers too? Is it part of the same crew field as Oxfam?