Volunteer FAQ
If you have further questions, please explore the volunteer pocket guide as it includes additional information. All volunteers will be given a volunteer pocket guide and you can access it below:
New Volunteers
Volunteer applications for the forthcoming festival are available starting February 1st.
These links will take you to MyVolunteerPage.com where you can create a volunteer profile and fill out an application. We suggest keeping the crew descriptions page open while you fill out your application.
The more detail you provide in your application, the more likely we will be able to place you on a volunteer crew!
Adult Volunteer Application [applies to anyone 18 or older]
Youth Volunteer Applications [applies to young people from 12-17. Youth volunteers must have an adult ‘sponsor’ ]
Spirit of the Festival - Our volunteers are our ambassadors and hosts, and we expect them to make the patron, volunteer, and performer experience the best it can be. Volunteers also exemplify and promote an atmosphere of respect and kindness. Please read our Code of Ethics for more information.
Time commitment:
- Festival Crews - 20 hours throughout the four days
- Pre-Festival and Post-Festival Crews: Minimum 48 hours split before and after the festival.
- Teardown: All first time volunteers contribute an additional 3-4 hours helping take the festival down and clean the park.
New volunteers must attend one Open Office night (two nights in June and two nights in July), New Volunteer Orientation Meeting (week leading up to the festival), and your crew meeting (organized by crew coordinators). Attendance at the crew meeting is important.
With over 60 different volunteer crews, there is a wide variety of volunteer roles. New volunteers are placed on a first come first serve basis considering preferences as well as skills, interest and qualifications for individual crews.
For information about which crews do what jobs, see our Volunteer Crew Descriptions.
We ask that all youth volunteers (12-17 years of age) apply with a ‘sponsor’ - an active volunteer who is at least 25 years of age, who is the youth's parent or guardian. This person is the go-to for the youth volunteer at the Festival, and is responsible for the overall well-being of the youth throughout the Festival. They are responsible for transportation to and from their shifts (escorting them to the volunteer shuttle for instance), accompany them to volunteer parties, or meet for meals in the Festival Kitchen. They are also the first contact for our office in the case of an emergency.
All sponsors are subject to approval by the Volunteer Office.
We have the utmost respect for the skills, time and passion volunteers bring to the festival. All festival volunteers receive the following:
- A volunteer badge (provides festival access)
- Meals from the festival kitchen (Thursday and Friday dinner; Saturday and Sunday lunch and dinner)
- Access to volunteer after parties (Saturday and Sunday)
- A volunteer t-shirt for the current year
- A program book for the current year
- A volunteer handbook
- Parking and shuttle service to the festival
- Name and crew in Program Book and on Wall of Fame (as long as placement occurs prior to deadline)
Other Benefits:
Are you a student? EFMF volunteers have the opportunity to apply for the ‘Go Wildly Forward – Don Snider Scholarship! Further details here (scroll down to find the scholarship tab).
Jaime or Dana will contact you to confirm your crew assignment. This is when you choose to accept or not accept your volunteer assignment.
After you accept your volunteer assignment, you will be contacted by your crew coordinator to discuss specific tasks and to provide schedule and crew meeting information.
Volunteer Handbook and Festival Map coming soon!
Please note that we have plenty of volunteer positions, but we may not have exactly what you're after the first year you apply to volunteer. We strive to place new volunteers by early June. If you have not heard from us by then, please contact us.
Contact Jaime or Dana in the Volunteer Office at 780-466-3669 or via email (volunteers@edmontonfolkfest.org).
We ask that new volunteers as well as 50% of returning volunteers complete at least one 3-4 hour teardown shift.
Teardown sign up starts July 1st each year, and is available via MyVolunteerPage.com.
Take Over the Park Day (formally Fence Day) is the day the festival takes over Gallagher Park. We will still be installing fence around the perimeter of the site but in addition, the site crew would like help with other tasks including setting up tents, installing the Wall of Fame, etc.
It occurs the third or fourth weekend of July, depending on Festival dates. This is an optional day, and does not replace your teardown requirement. Click here to read more (sign up available July 1st each year on MyVolunteerPage.com).
Please contact your crew coordinator and the Volunteer Office immediately via phone AND email. Do your best to let us know well in advance of the Festival if your plans change.
Returning Volunteers
Please indicate plans in your MyVolunteerPage.com profile by April 1st each year. A field is available at the top of your Additional Info page (accessed via the My Profile menu).
If you are requesting a crew change, make sure you contact the Volunteer Office directly with your preferred crews before March 1st.
We are able to hold spots until April 1st, but please remember that our office and/or your coordinator will officially confirm your spot on the crew based on previous year's performance, etc. See the steps above in “How do I confirm my intentions for the next year?”. If you wish to return but the April 1st deadline has passed, contact the Volunteer Office or your coordinator directly.
We give priority to current volunteers requesting crew changes, and do our best to let people know if we can accommodate their request mid-late April. We will contact you directly to confirm your crew for the year.
If you are returning to your same crew and you confirmed your intentions on MyVolunteerPage.com, your coordinator will be the one to contact you.
You can contact your crew coordinator directly by using the Contact tab in your MyVolunteerPage.com profile. Their replies will come to the email you have on file (to whichever inbox you normally use at home).
Great! Please have them fill out an application, then let us know once they’ve applied. Remember that we may not always be able to place them on your crew (depending on when they apply and available positions).
Contact Marianne or Jaime in the Volunteer Office at 780-466-3669 or via email.
You can find more information about Teardown and Play in the Park Day (formally Fence Day) on our Current Volunteers page (scroll down to the appropriate tab).
Yay! Everyone who has volunteered with the Festival for at least two years is eligible for Society Membership. Find the application form and more info here.
VOLUNTEER ONLINE ACCOUNT (MyVolunteerPage.com)
If you volunteered with us between 1998 and the present, we have an existing account for you. Please get in touch for your login information.
Log in to your account using the username and password you created when applying to volunteer, or temporarily assigned to you by the Volunteer Office. Having trouble? Contact the Volunteer Office.
Remember to update your username and password if you’ve been temporarily assigned something (accessible from the My Profile menu).
From the My Profile menu, select the Contact Info page. Update any fields then make sure you save before leaving the page.
From the My Profile menu, select Additional Info.
You may need to select the ‘Organization’ from the drop down menu you wish to update (select from the drop down menu, then click Select Organization to bring up your info).
Select Change Password from the My Profile menu.
Use the password reset button on the login page first. If you continue to have trouble, contact us for a reset.
Please check out the help page and contact us if you didn’t find your answer.
Please indicate plans in your MyVolunteerPage.com profile by April 1st each year. A field is available at the top of your Additional Info page (accessed via the My Profile menu).
If you are requesting a crew change, make sure you contact the Volunteer Office directly with your preferred crews.
During the Festival
The Festival is always the weekend after the long weekend in August.
We continue to focus on the health and well-being of volunteers and all participants as we plan for live music in Gallagher Park. Please take a look at the current Health & Safety documents below to learn more and prepare for this year:
Board Policy Info for Volunteers
Recommendations & Requirements for Volunteers
Health & Safety for the Public
Click here for our Festival grounds map.
Volunteer parking is available at Remax Field (10233 96 Ave, formerly Telus Field). Please carpool if possible! There are shuttles running from the Festival Site to the Westin Hotel and from the Festival Site to Remax Field. Shuttles leave approximately every 15 minutes. Our Shuttle crew accommodates all shift times (7:45 on Thursday, Friday and 5:30am Saturday and Sunday until the hill is clear). *Masking is required on the shuttles.
Volunteers may also park at the U of A campus for $5.00 and take the ETS Park and Ride to the Festival. Ride for free by showing your Volunteer Badge. Visit www.takeets.ca or phone 780–496–1611 for schedules and details. Please remember to check ETS bus times as your shifts may take place outside ETS operating hours.
Please remember that there is no public drop off inside the Cloverdale barricades except for handicapped vehicles, DATS and taxis. The only designated drop-off spot is the volunteer parking lot. Parking is not allowed in the Cloverdale area.
We encourage volunteers to participate in the patron lottery if not on shift (they’ll give you a ticket to participate when you show the Greetings volunteers your volunteer badge). This gives you the best chance for prime seating.
There is also a volunteer tarp placement, but please keep in mind that this group is let in once lottery participants have placed their tarps. You may line up at the First Aid tent each day starting one hour before gate opening to participate.
Volunteers must adhere to tarp rules and regulations.
Our Festival Kitchen is amazing! Over 300 volunteers prep and serve approx. 18 000 meals over the four days of the Festival.
Dinner is available to all volunteers each evening, along with Brunch/Lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Note that your coordinator may make other arrangements (such as platters or take out) should your shift be scheduled during meal times.
- Vegetarian and meat options are always available.
- Your volunteer badge is your meal ticket, and is punched as your plate is issued to you.
- You get one plate per meal
- Children 3–11 require wristbands to enter the kitchen area (see below for details).
- Allergies! Ingredient lists are provided at serving lines; however, changes may occur on short notice. You must be diligent about monitoring your own food. If you are unsure of ingredients, please ask. If you have severe allergies, you may wish to bring your own food.
- Only Festival Kitchen volunteers and authorized personnel are allowed into the Festival Kitchen work area.
- In an effort to reduce waste, drinking containers are not provided.
- Mugs and bottles are available in the beverage area for $6.00.
See your volunteer handbook for Festival Kitchen times.
All volunteers’ children between the ages of 3–11 require wristbands to accompany their parent/sponsor into the Festival Kitchen. These wristbands are not required for Festival admission. Parents may register their children and receive a wristband at their crew meeting, or at Volunteer Services.
Please contact your crew coordinator and Marianne or Jaime in the Volunteer Office immediately via phone (780-466-3669) AND email.
We recommend that you arrive 30 minutes early to the festival for your shift. This allows time to check any blankets/tarps, chairs, and belongings at the Volunteer Services tent and get familiar with your surroundings (especially if you are new to the Festival).
Also consider whether you’ll be grabbing food in the Festival Kitchen prior to your shift, etc..
Pro-tip: Bring a change of clothes! The Volunteer Locker (at Volunteer Services) has a change room you can use. You'll be going from session stages to your shifts to late night parties.
Contact your crew coordinator immediately. You can also leave a message at Volunteer Services 780-466-3669.