...VOLUNTEERS CONTINUED

To begin at the "top" seems appropriate, but to me, it is the masses of people who are willing to support the top and do whatever needs to be done to make this festival happen that should be recognized and celebrated. They are an essential part of this gigantic undertaking. Wherever you see someone ready to be of service to you at the festival, you are looking at a volunteer. Each year, the number of volunteers change in accordance with the jobs that "have to be done." Sometimes new ideas are brought into being by the availability of volunteers to man the area. Making the festival run as smoothly as possible and provide services to the audience for their enjoyment and comfort is the mission of the volunteer forces.

It all begins about Spring vacation time when the phone at our home may ring as many as 10 to 20 times a day. Volunteers from past years begin to phone me to tell me that they are available to work again this year. Some have moved out of town and call from their new homes to tell me that they will be there this year, as always and want to know the "line-up" of bands because they want to be free to hear their favorite. Some have heard that it is fun and want to be a part of the action. Some have a love of being with people and just want to be there in the midst of the action because working is more fun that just sitting and listening. Some find it a great way to have a family day together without it costing a fortune (children under 12 are free, the area is safe and completely fenced in, and you are able to bring food from home if that is your choice). Some are kids who have come to the festival for years with their parents and are now grown up and can be among those dedicated to making the festival a success.

There is a small group of people on whom I have depended, who are vital to me as the coordinator of the volunteers. These are the people mentioned in the Acknowledgment & Thanks section of the program; they give the festival two days of constant work as coordinators of the different areas at the event. They check volunteers in and out, make sure that their venue is running smoothly, and are ready to fill any vacancy at their site due to the unexpected. Some of these people come from as far away as Las Vegas to do their part, others have worked every year for the past 14 years. They are ready and willing to do whatever has to be done, up to and including giving up a day's pay to be there for the festival.

What more can I say about the wonderful "world of volunteers" that make this festival what it is. Without them, it just wouldn't happen!

Adele Davis,
Coordinator of Volunteers