Volunteering 2021

[March Hare]

3 hours ago, incident said:

Yeah, previous (long term) criteria was 8 in at least 4 of the last 5 or 10 in 10.

Cool, I like it. Feels like the chat is quieter on the Facebook page this year. I wonder if the idea of doing checks on the gates with 100s of people every day is putting people off post-covid

[marathonsteve]

On 1/18/2022 at 3:24 PM, marathonsteve said:

My application is marked as complete but no confirmation yet from Fiona Iam in Glastonbury  Limbo

 

On 1/18/2022 at 3:53 PM, Giraffe Man said:

Keep the faith, my recycling mate hasnt heard back either but confident he will, youre a veteran arent you? We are all pretty much guaranteed a place. I didnt do the H&S properly a few years ago & they chased me to tell me.

 

On 1/18/2022 at 5:07 PM, dondo said:

If it's saying complete then you should be fine. The last email I had from Fiona was saying we've received your payment and you've a place on the team subject to your account saying complete

I have to Fess   up. I have had a problem with my e mails the last couple of days when I deleted all the cookies on my imac.

Its only when I was trying to solve it that I found the confirmation letter from Fiona  in my Junk mail sent 12 days ago.

Why it should have gone there is beyond me. So all is well. Maybe !

[TheFullShaboo]

Haven't volunteered with Oxfam since Bestival 2014 (i think) but going to give it another go this summer.

Narrowed it down to two: Bearded Theory or Wilderness Festival

Anyone have any information on how hard it will be as a non-priority applicant to get a spot? I think i've read from here before that Bearded usually sells out on priority applications?

Also, are the dates that are listed on the individual festival pages on the Oxfam website the days we have to be on site? As both the festivals i'm interested in have Wednesday till the Monday, even though the festival doesn't open till the Thursdays for the punters?

[incident]

2 minutes ago, TheFullShaboo said:

Haven't volunteered with Oxfam since Bestival 2014 (i think) but going to give it another go this summer.

Narrowed it down to two: Bearded Theory or Wilderness Festival

Anyone have any information on how hard it will be as a non-priority applicant to get a spot? I think i've read from here before that Bearded usually sells out on priority applications?

Also, are the dates that are listed on the individual festival pages on the Oxfam website the days we have to be on site? As both the festivals i'm interested in have Wednesday till the Monday, even though the festival doesn't open till the Thursdays for the punters?

Bearded Theory is one of 3 (the others being 2000 Trees and The Long Road) that are very likely to fill up in priority. Spaces may open up closer to the festival but I'd work on the assumption that it'll be full as the people applying for it are the experienced ones less likely to cancel. Wilderness should probably be much easier. A small caveat is that staffing levels could change from previous years for example if Bearded want more staff for COVID checks then it could be easier than it has in recent years.

The days they list are the standard arrival and departure days - ie arrive by late afternoon / early evening of the first day listed and all regular shifts will be finished by the morning of the last day listed. That's assuming you don't apply for early shifts. At Bearded there's also an option to apply for Leaving Day shifts which can run until 4pm Monday if you're successful.

Side note - Bearded does actually open to the public on the Wednesday afternoon this year, albeit just campsites, food stalls, and a bar for those who want to start early. I'll be on a ticket, but will likely head down then if the weather cooperates.

[Leyrulion]

29 minutes ago, TheFullShaboo said:

Haven't volunteered with Oxfam since Bestival 2014 (i think) but going to give it another go this summer.

Narrowed it down to two: Bearded Theory or Wilderness Festival

Anyone have any information on how hard it will be as a non-priority applicant to get a spot? I think i've read from here before that Bearded usually sells out on priority applications?

Also, are the dates that are listed on the individual festival pages on the Oxfam website the days we have to be on site? As both the festivals i'm interested in have Wednesday till the Monday, even though the festival doesn't open till the Thursdays for the punters?

Wilderness is relatively small, about 250 stewards I think they told us this year. It hadn't filled up places by the time it started but I know they did in 2019. 

I did wilderness this year and it was a lovely little festival, there were no overnight shifts so shifts were just 8-4 and 4-12. Food was also the most incredible crew catering, even the Oxfam staff said it was some of the best they'd ever had.

[TheFullShaboo]

24 minutes ago, incident said:

Bearded Theory is one of 3 (the others being 2000 Trees and The Long Road) that are very likely to fill up in priority. Spaces may open up closer to the festival but I'd work on the assumption that it'll be full as the people applying for it are the experienced ones less likely to cancel. Wilderness should probably be much easier. A small caveat is that staffing levels could change from previous years for example if Bearded want more staff for COVID checks then it could be easier than it has in recent years.

The days they list are the standard arrival and departure days - ie arrive by late afternoon / early evening of the first day listed and all regular shifts will be finished by the morning of the last day listed. That's assuming you don't apply for early shifts. At Bearded there's also an option to apply for Leaving Day shifts which can run until 4pm Monday if you're successful.

Side note - Bearded does actually open to the public on the Wednesday afternoon this year, albeit just campsites, food stalls, and a bar for those who want to start early. I'll be on a ticket, but will likely head down then if the weather cooperates.

13 minutes ago, Leyrulion said:

Wilderness is relatively small, about 250 stewards I think they told us this year. It hadn't filled up places by the time it started but I know they did in 2019. 

I did wilderness this year and it was a lovely little festival, there were no overnight shifts so shifts were just 8-4 and 4-12. Food was also the most incredible crew catering, even the Oxfam staff said it was some of the best they'd ever had.

Thanks both for the info. 

@LeyrulionNo overnight shifts sounds good! Do you know if that happens every year, or did you just get lucky?

I think ill go for whichever has spaces left once normal applications open, however if both are available im not sure which way ill go....

[Leyrulion]

1 hour ago, TheFullShaboo said:

Thanks both for the info. 

@LeyrulionNo overnight shifts sounds good! Do you know if that happens every year, or did you just get lucky?

I think ill go for whichever has spaces left once normal applications open, however if both are available im not sure which way ill go....

I think it's been the case for the last couple of editions but obviously there's no guarantees it'll be the same each year. It's so small, comparatively, they seemed to manage campsites with the existing security overnight and there didn't seem to be a particularly large amount of coming or going.

There were a couple of steward shifts in the late night area I've just remembered that were on until 1/2am, but I do think that was only about 4-6 people.

If you can't choose, do both!

Edited January 31, 2022 by Leyrulion

[TheFullShaboo]

4 hours ago, Leyrulion said:

I think it's been the case for the last couple of editions but obviously there's no guarantees it'll be the same each year. It's so small, comparatively, they seemed to manage campsites with the existing security overnight and there didn't seem to be a particularly large amount of coming or going.

There were a couple of steward shifts in the late night area I've just remembered that were on until 1/2am, but I do think that was only about 4-6 people.

If you can't choose, do both!

Ahh okay. I've accepted ill be doing an overnight shift anyway, so if its the same this year it'll be a nice bonus!

Had a think today and its looking like Wilderness is probably my best bet, mainly due to the dates - have Primavera the week after Bearded and a relatively quite August - but also due to the festival seemingly being more suited to my tastes and age?

Haha if only i could afford the time off to do both! 

[Pinhead]

6 hours ago, incident said:

Bearded Theory is one of 3 (the others being 2000 Trees and The Long Road) that are very likely to fill up in priority. Spaces may open up closer to the festival but I'd work on the assumption that it'll be full as the people applying for it are the experienced ones less likely to cancel. Wilderness should probably be much easier. A small caveat is that staffing levels could change from previous years for example if Bearded want more staff for COVID checks then it could be easier than it has in recent years.

The days they list are the standard arrival and departure days - ie arrive by late afternoon / early evening of the first day listed and all regular shifts will be finished by the morning of the last day listed. That's assuming you don't apply for early shifts. At Bearded there's also an option to apply for Leaving Day shifts which can run until 4pm Monday if you're successful.

Side note - Bearded does actually open to the public on the Wednesday afternoon this year, albeit just campsites, food stalls, and a bar for those who want to start early. I'll be on a ticket, but will likely head down then if the weather cooperates.

I think they always keep a proportion of the places available at festivals for public don't they so there is always some fresh blood so to speak? So no festivals can be entirely booked out by priority stewards?

[incident]

2 minutes ago, Pinhead said:

I think they always keep a proportion of the places available at festivals for public don't they so there is always some fresh blood so to speak? So no festivals can be entirely booked out by priority stewards?

As far as I'm aware, that's only ever happened for Glastonbury. Certainly hasn't been the case for those 3 in the past few years with them all filling soon after priority opened.

On a related note, another E-Mail came through today with this note that people will like:

[Leyrulion]

4 minutes ago, incident said:

As far as I'm aware, that's only ever happened for Glastonbury. Certainly hasn't been the case for those 3 in the past few years with them all filling soon after priority opened.

On a related note, another E-Mail came through today with this note that people will like:

Interesting, didn't Oxfam solely do the gates at Glastonbury? So that suggests extra staff at the gates, possibly for covid checks? Or they're being asked to take on extra duties within the festival?

[stuie]

8 minutes ago, Leyrulion said:

Interesting, didn't Oxfam solely do the gates at Glastonbury? So that suggests extra staff at the gates, possibly for covid checks? Or they're being asked to take on extra duties within the festival?

Possibly for wristband scanning if they bring that in for everyone this year. Last festival it was tested on crew, to be rolled out in 2020.

[Pinhead]

18 minutes ago, Leyrulion said:

Interesting, didn't Oxfam solely do the gates at Glastonbury? So that suggests extra staff at the gates, possibly for covid checks? Or they're being asked to take on extra duties within the festival?

Whenever Ive worked there its been more than just gates. Did onsite traffic control once and campsite hubs..

[Pinhead]

I've no doubt Oxfam will field more steward places from discussions with site managers this year to deal with c19 stuff so one silver lining maybe...

[amfy]

7 hours ago, TheFullShaboo said:

Haven't volunteered with Oxfam since Bestival 2014 (i think) but going to give it another go this summer.

Narrowed it down to two: Bearded Theory or Wilderness Festival

Anyone have any information on how hard it will be as a non-priority applicant to get a spot? I think i've read from here before that Bearded usually sells out on priority applications?

Also, are the dates that are listed on the individual festival pages on the Oxfam website the days we have to be on site? As both the festivals i'm interested in have Wednesday till the Monday, even though the festival doesn't open till the Thursdays for the punters?

I was wondering whether you’d considered Beautiful Days? I am going to Bearded this year having done Beautiful Days a couple of times and people who have experienced both say they are virtually twins. Beautiful Days is in August which you say is quiet for you, so I think it’d be an option worth considering. It’s a fantastic festival.

[Pinhead]

4 minutes ago, amfy said:

I was wondering whether you’d considered Beautiful Days? I am going to Bearded this year having done Beautiful Days a couple of times and people who have experienced both say they are virtually twins. Beautiful Days is in August which you say is quiet for you, so I think it’d be an option worth considering. It’s a fantastic festival.

This is quite true, other than the fact the Levs always headline Sunday at BD.

Sensing Bearded is going to be popular this year....

[incident]

2 minutes ago, Pinhead said:

This is quite true, other than the fact the Levs always headline Sunday at BD.

Sensing Bearded is going to be popular this year....

And Bearded doesn't have any of those fucking hills.

[TheFullShaboo]

42 minutes ago, amfy said:

I was wondering whether you’d considered Beautiful Days? I am going to Bearded this year having done Beautiful Days a couple of times and people who have experienced both say they are virtually twins. Beautiful Days is in August which you say is quiet for you, so I think it’d be an option worth considering. It’s a fantastic festival.

Looks a great festival but unfortunately the 4+ hour drive is a bit too much. Both Bearded and Wilderness are within 2 hours which is much more manageable driving alone! 

[amfy]

17 hours ago, TheFullShaboo said:

Looks a great festival but unfortunately the 4+ hour drive is a bit too much. Both Bearded and Wilderness are within 2 hours which is much more manageable driving alone! 

Fair point.
 

We are up in Morecambe so that pretty much everything is that far from us! Beautiful Days is about 7-8 hour drive for us with a caravan but we’ve found it well worth the trip & having done it a couple of times actually feel it’s one we’d consider doing nearly every year! (Latitude was a similar distance but we’d never bother again)

One thing about Beautiful Days is that it is very close to the M5 exit so it is very easy driving if that is any help, no miles of A road & country villages to plough through like many festivals.

That said, we are looking forward to Bearded only being about 3-4 hours drive for us this year! 

Edited February 1, 2022 by amfy
Repeated self

[philipsteak]

1 hour ago, amfy said:

Fair point.
 

We are up in Morecambe so that pretty much everything is that far from us! Beautiful Days is about 7-8 hour drive for us with a caravan but we’ve found it well worth the trip & having done it a couple of times actually feel it’s one we’d consider doing nearly every year! (Latitude was a similar distance but we’d never bother again)

One thing about Beautiful Days is that it is very close to the M5 exit so it is very easy driving if that is any help, no miles of A road & country villages to plough through like many festivals.

That said, we are looking forward to Bearded only being about 3-4 hours drive for us this year! 

I'm even further north in Cumbria and it's the thing that has put my off BD even though I'm pretty sure I'd love it. 

If I don't get a spot at Bearded Theory then maybe this is the year. The 3 hour drive for that is so nice in comparison to all the others

[Crazyfool01]

Nice little festival … beautiful days .. if anyone needs a stop off 45mins from site en route give me a shout 🙂 

[Old_Johno]

Shelter emails have just gone out to everyone who had previously paid a deposit for volunteering place in 2020.

Have until the 15th of March to pay, so more spaces may come available after then. 

 

[March Hare]

These all feel like solid plans off the back of communication from the festival. It’s really exciting 

[EFC1996]

I had a spot in 2019 with Oxfam and hoping for the same for 2022. I’m assuming it will be more in demand this year. However, with them opening up more positions for the festival, I am rather hopeful. 

[ohmygod]

1 hour ago, Old_Johno said:

Shelter emails have just gone out to everyone who had previously paid a deposit for volunteering place in 2020.

Have until the 15th of March to pay, so more spaces may come available after then. 

 

Yes I got mine today - excited.   Fair play to them as well for carrying these over from 2020.   I suspect though that some people's lives and priorities may have changed since 2020 so could be some spaces coming free!