By Juliet O’Neill
Oxana Sawka’s first volunteer gig at the Ottawa Jazz Festival was two decades ago, “doing the gates, out in the blazing sun and the driving rain” at Confederation Park. To this day, she volunteers every year at Bluesfest and the jazz, chamber music, and writers’ festivals.
She’s taken tickets at the door, sold beer, greeted guests at VIP lounges and worked on a green team making sure that garbage bags do not overflow. (Never mind the “garbage juice” that leaked onto her open-toed shoes one time.) Now retired, she prefers indoor administrative duties, saying the outdoor jobs and heavy lifting are for younger people.
Sawka says a big benefit to volunteers is that they get to enjoy the fun they help create for free. Some organizations mark milestones with certificates and other forms of recognition for volunteers. Some provide discounted drinks and food. “It’s terrific. You go to all the shows. The blues and jazz festivals are very nice to their volunteers,” she said. “That’s why we keep coming back.”
The volunteers for more than 200 festivals, fairs and other events hosted annually in Ottawa range from teens to elders. They are high-school and university students, public servants and retail workers, techies and accountants, people from all walks of life.
The legions of people who turn out to help seem myriad but were counted by the Ottawa Festivals organization. In 2016, a survey of 43 organizations found that 16,632 volunteers put in more than 310,000 hours, contributing $8.3 million in value to the festivals sector, says Lee Dunbar, Ottawa Festivals communications director.
They complement about 4,100 paid workers in the festival industry that attracts 3.5 million attendees annually, according to Ottawa Festivals, a non-profit group that supports networking among events organizations and hosts an online portal, ottawavolunteerlounge.ca, to help them recruit volunteers.
In 2016, a survey
of 43 organizations
found that 16,632
volunteers put in
more than 310,000
hours, contributing
$8.3 million in value
to the festivals
sector.
“World-class festival city”
“People in Ottawa just seem to love getting out and enjoying the diverse range of festivals, special events and fairs that take place here,” says Dunbar. Year-round, there are more than 200 annual events representing arts, culture, heritage, sport and recreation in Ottawa.
“We are a world-class festival city, and the only one that has been awarded the International Festival and Event World Festival and Event City Award three times and have also twice been awarded Festivals and Events Ontario’s Municipality of the Year Award.”
Volunteer positions range from crews that assemble and tear down sites or sell beverages and food, information booth and administration coordinators, and assistants for security, staging, transportation and VIP hospitality.
Examples of individual volunteer openings at time of writing were social media coordinator for the June 6-16 Italian Week Festival, ushers for the July 4-17 Music and Beyond classical music and multi-disciplinary arts festival, and safety patrols for the June 22-23 Escapade Music Festival, which features electronic dance music.
Bluesfest, July 4-14, opened volunteer recruitment in mid-May for more than 3,200 volunteers. The TD Ottawa Jazz Festival, June 21-July 1, says that more than 600 volunteers will dedicate their time, services and expertise to their event.
Dunbar says volunteering provides benefits to both individuals and the community. “Volunteering at a festival can be very rewarding experience.”
Students can obtain their required 40 hours of volunteer time and newcomers to the community can meet people and establish a network, he says.
Students chalk up volunteer hours
“Many youth also enjoy the social aspect of volunteering by joining in groups and even making new friends; people putting their skills into practice and being able to market that experience when seeking a promotion or new job; raising money for a cause that is important to them, sharing their interests or cultures with others – the list can go on.”
The recruitment web page, ottawavolunteerlounge.ca, is designed to help steer volunteers to suitable positions with a survey that asks whether they have a quiet or “out there” personality and whether they prefer to work indoors or out, to work alone or with a lot of colleagues, physical or not so physical work and on site or in a planning and administrative environment.
While Ottawa Festivals hosts the recruitment portal, each festival is responsible for making its own pitches and organizing their volunteers. The TD Ottawa Jazz Festival, for example, says “volunteers eagerly anticipate the start of the Festival and some take vacation time to help out, contributing over 22,000 total hours of work.”
The Bluesfest offers free access to onsite festival shows to volunteers off shift, a 2019 volunteer T-shirt for a uniform, a free meal for each shift worked, an invite to a volunteer appreciation party and a letter of confirmation for any hours worked for a high school or community requirement.
The Ottawa Tulip Festival that wrapped up on May 20 promised certification for volunteer hours for students, free on-site snacks and parking, a free T-shirt and “well organized volunteer teams, suited to your skills and tailored to your enjoyment.”
Ottawa Tourism research has found that residents identify very strongly with the quantity and quality of annual festivals and events hosted here. Dunbar says, “Volunteers are the lifeblood of the industry and their contributions to the festivals where they volunteer, and the community as a whole, cannot be overstated.”