How to Go to a Festival For Free?
How to Go to a Festival For Free?
Volunteer!
One of my readers on Quora.com, asked me, ” How can you do larger fun activities for cheap? (i.e. music festivals, travel, etc.)”. So here’s my answer; by volunteering your time and energy to help out at festivals and events. There are so many different opportunities to volunteer at most festivals all around the county. If you don’t mind putting in some work before putting on your dancing shoes.
Just to be clear, volunteering means you will be working in exchange for access to the festival grounds at no cost. So yes it is free, but volunteering at most festivals could take you a bit out of your comfort zone if you are not used to being on your feet for long hours or being out in the hot sun all day or talking to thousands of people. Every time I have been on a volunteer team, it has been a hard day of work and a long night of parting and amazing fun.
I have worked and volunteered at several festivals and for me, volunteering is similar to the access of a VIP experience ( which I covered before in this article), except it requires working while having fun rather than just fun. Volunteering allows for a lot of access to things that you might now get to experience as a paid bracelet holder. Mostly you will have a staff or special bracelet that will allow you to go places the general admission wearers can’t go so you can do your job.
All festivals have a need for volunteers to run the ship so to speak and at Bonnaroo, they basically hire you as part of their “C’roo”. Other festivals usually have the same sort of set up, but after all these years ROO has it down to a well-oiled machine, so I am using them as my example in this blog, but again this applies to most festivals in some sort of fashion. There are pre-show and also positions during the show, and after. The C’roo requires a minimum work requirement of 18 hours spread into three, 6-hour shifts and the volunteer must be able to come on-site on June 9th. All PRE-Show Volunteers will be done with their work requirements before the festival begins Thursday afternoon, and the post-show clean up is also available. You can read about the 10 steps to join the C’roo and everything you will need to know here from the Bonnaroo website.
The Roo site has a really cool page about the Bonnaroovian Code that really covers being part of the Bonnaroo community. It covers the 6 things to always keep in mind (on and off the farm (DAILY)). Definitely check out their videos, they will get you in the mood!!!
PREPARE THYSELF
PLAY AS A TEAM
RADIATE POSITIVITY
RESPECT THE FARM (EARTH)
DON’T BE THAT GUY / GAL
STAY TRUE ROO
There are different levels of commitment to some of these volunteer positions, some may require 20 hours, 18 hours, 15 hours of work before, during and after the festival and some positions sponsored by most festivals will require some kind of a deposit. So free is not totally FREE….mostly this is just a safe way for the festival staff to make sure you fulfill your obligations for the volunteer agreement. At ROO there is a non-refundable fee as well as a full ticket price deposit that is refundable with the full shift completion of the work. For the Clean Vibes positions, volunteers are not required to camp in the staff camping, which really is a whole other realm at most festivals, where vendors and staff dwell.
There is an obvious reason there is a deposit because at any given festival day volunteers will rage it hard and then be unable to perform their basic duties. They show up late, miss a shift or just disappear altogether and never report back in. The Clean Vibes staff explanation for the deposit is, “If our volunteers do not fulfill their commitment to us, we have to use their deposit money to help cover the added costs we incur in having to hire labor to assist with the cleanup. Without the deposit, we have no way of being sure that our volunteers will fulfill their commitment, and the site has to be cleaned one way or the other!”
Clean Vibes is a great organization to volunteer for and what they do for the FARM and the 80,000 guests truly is what makes Bonnaroo function and stay enjoyable. They are contracted for festivals all over the country so there are opportunities with them all over. Just imagine how much garbage a festival generates. I grew up in the Mid-Tenn area and I have heard about some of the struggles the festival and the town of Manchester has endured over the years dealing with the waste and post-show cleanup. I’ve also heard the ground scores at the end are like Christmas, and you will never know what items might be left behind.
At Bonnaroo, there are 5 different positions; During Show Trash Talker®, During Show Clean-up Volunteer, During Show Compost Sorting Volunteer, During Show Table Busser Volunteer, Clean Vibes Trading Post Booth Volunteer and Trading Post Booth Volunteer and Post Show Clean-up Volunteer. You can learn more about Clean Vibes and volunteering for Roo here.
Now if sorting through other people’s trash is not your thing, at most festivals, there are many other multiple opportunities through several different organizations where you can volunteer and provide a service in exchange for your entry bracelet. I think that if you are willing to work in exchange for the opportunity to experience a festival then it is a win-win situation, you are doing something that is positive, you will feel good about doing it and you get to see a lot of music for FREE!
Also, most festivals have non-profit partners who represent local non-profits and they are always working to help to raise awareness and promote grassroots causes. For me, this is where I love spending my time as a volunteer. At most festivals all non-profit organizations have to apply for a booth similar to a vendor application, the booths are more informational and are promoting all kinds of different good for the community kinds of things. They usually need local volunteers to help them man their booths, so do your homework and check out some of the grassroots organizations from your local area. I highly recommend seeking out like-minded individuals and volunteering for the causes you believe in…BECAUSE you can make a difference.
Quoting on of my team leaders at Headcount by saying, “My volunteer job pays the most.” #MyVolunteerJobPaysTheMost My favorite non-profit organization to volunteer for is Headcount!
Some of my BEST festival experiences have been volunteering with Headcount. They are an amazing group of people headquartered in New York City and they have teams all over the county who go to shows and festivals to register voters. You may have had one of their ambassadors approach you at some point, or maybe you have seen their booths at a local show or a participation row at a festival? They are EVERYWHERE! You can sign up on their website and look at the shows in your local area where there are volunteer opportunities. There are Team Leaders from all over so you can contact your local team and get involved.
Their mission is: HeadCount is a non-partisan organization that uses the power of music to register voters and promote participation in democracy. We reach young people and music fans where they already are – at concerts and online – to inform and empower. Our message is not about what party you support or where you land on an issue. It’s that you must speak to be heard.
At most of the festivals I have volunteered to register voters with Headcount, the emphasis has been on getting active in your local area and to raise awareness about local elections and local issues. It really is non-partisan, not about the who or what party, but about the issues. Just trying to drive in the point that if you want anything to change in politics, it has to start at your local level and by voting in the smaller, less publicized elections. Every vote counts and you know you got to stand up, stand up for your right, don’t give up the fight. Make difference, VOTE!
At Bonnaroo, Lockn and Some of the Dead & Co. shows, Headcount often sponsors a Participation Row that features local non-profits and some great swag and giveaways.
(The link is to their archive) Including guitars signed by the artists given away and silent auctions to benefit all the non-profits who are participating. For me, those have been some of my BEST volunteer experiences and I definitely recommend you check them out or find another non-profit and volunteer.
I’ve also volunteered with Reverb Nation and at a few local festivals like at the Floyd Fest, a completely Volunteer Run Festival in the rolling hillsides of Virginia (it is seriously one of the BEST). They follow the model of several other VOL-RUN events around the country so if any of this sounds good to you, and if you do your homework, you could volunteer all summer long!
“Cheers to that!”
Wren
You can start your research by checking out my 2020 Festival Guide and research the festivals in your area and see the dates and all the links to their official websites for more information.
Stay turned I am also working on an Insiders Guide, also a Newbie part 3 with easy camp recipes and more camp tips so be sure to like my page on FB, Instagram, and subscribe to my YouTube for festival updates, new blogs and more music festival gear tips!
~Wren
“Do Good, Do Well.”
GW
