Where To Volunteer, Part 1

With Irish Fest 150 days away now, all of us here in our palatial offices on the 37th floor of Irish Fest Tower are thinking volunteers and we hope you are too. I know when you look at an operation the size of Irish Fest you might think "Ah, sure I can make neither head, nor tail of it, boyo. Aren't I as confused as a Protestant at Mass, begob?" Aside from wondering why you talk like Barry Fitzgerald in "The Quiet Man", I know what you mean. It can be dizzying. I work on Irish Fest practically every day of the year and I'm dizzy the whole time. Though that might also be the whiskey. So we're going to break your job opportunities down one by one to help you find just the right position for you. And we'll start chronologically.

It's an exciting time. Early Thursday morning the day before Irish Fest opens. I get up early, eat an extra bowl of Lucky Charms for energy and head to the Irish Fest site. I'm always there by about 7:00 AM. And when I get there at that early hour John, Mike and Stevan have already taken their first coffee break.

They head up The Site Crew. They're the builders, the movers, the muscle. If you see it at Irish Fest, they put it there. These are the guys who we stand in awe of every year. The first responders. They're the broad shoulders of Irish Fest. The Zip Tie Warriors. In a nutshell, the Site Crew builds and then tears down Irish Fest. But there's so much more. Our go-to guys, they may get called on to do just about anything, before during or after the fest. And you can be one of them.

Get your volunteering done before Irish Fest even opens or after it closes. You still get all the benefits of volunteering, but you spend the hours Irish Fest is open listening to music and drinking beer the way God intended. Or sign up for a Site Crew spot during the fest and be the glue (or duct tape or zip tie) that keeps the whole thing together. There's some lifting and some basic tool use may be involved. Innovative thinking as well as a strong back welcome.

The Site Crew needs you. Sign up on the new volunteer page of our new website, May 1st.