Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo in 2013!!
Ellie- the showers in volunteer camping do get rather dirty. They definitely aren't cleaned nearly as often as regular showers in GA. But that only happens once BFE fills in and it's not bad before Thursday (if you're doing pre-fest). *this should not be a deal breaker for anyone*
WFA- volunteering during fest is only worth if it wouldn't devastate you to miss some shows. My first year at Roo I volunteered during fest and it was OK Bc I had no idea what was going on. But my second year I did pre-fest because I knew how POed i would be to be working on my vacation and missing the whole point of being there (THE MUSIC).
One of the best benefits of volunteering though, which people don't mention much, is meeting new people from all over the country and getting a closer relationship. Some people who go solo volunteer just to meet new people and have a "crew" of sorts. You inevitably make friends after camping with them for 7 days. I gotta say that the atmosphere in volunteer camp is very friendly and open and that was probably the best thing I got out of it last year. (besides the free ticket without missing any shows
agreed. you're going to be dirty or deal with dirty portos/showers/etc at some point. don't let it get to you...
i considered pre-fest but i sorta settled in the middle with tollbooth (done by Friday). Since they didnt guarantee the end time (just which days have 12-hour shifts) I may switch to parking, but I don't look forward to being in the heat for hours on end. toll booth is a lot of fun, when you meet people from all over and see how excited they are.
If it werent for volunteering, I wouldnt have many of the friends I have now. I organized a carpool on here for volunteers from the DC area, and some of them have been returning volunteers again with me and we still hang out at parties and whatnot. Glad I met them!! Heck, if it werent for me volunteering in 2011, I wouldnt have become best friends with my bf!
Did they fence off the main volunteer camp area or just open? I'm wondering if friends could visit/join camp once they get in. wasnt fenced off at the tollbooth camp.
Post by ilovethisgame on Mar 2, 2013 19:58:36 GMT -5
I don't want to be a debbie downer, but I volunteered last year and will not be doing it again. I chose to volunteer because it was my first Roo, and I went alone - so I wanted to have a little more time to get comfortable with less people around to begin with. However, my work schedule was pretty brutal - I worked in the Silent Disco from 3-10 PM on Thursday, 11 PM-6 AM Friday night/Saturday morning, and 4-11 PM on Saturday. I pretty much only got to fully enjoy Friday afternoon and Sunday. It's not like I had a miserable time, especially since I wasn't as into last year's lineup as I am this year's. There's no way I'd do it this year though - I think I'd cry if I missed that much this time around!
If you can do pre-fest, maybe tollbooth, or post-fest, it could be worth it - but I'd suggest avoiding during fest unless that's the only way you'll be able to make it to the farm at all. PM me if you have any specific questions!
Ellie, last year I vol'd and our campsite was fenced-in. Yes, it was in BFE but most of the time they ck'd my bracelet. Amber, I've been a vol for three prior yrs and have never missed a "must see show". Yep, I've heard the horror stories of 10p-6a shifts. But, we have the oppertunity to swap with others. As for the showers, yep they get dirty. But, they all do. These are free and unlimited. No one uses them except for volunteers.
I was reviewing the C'Roo Descriptions earlier today and noticed the Tollbooths volunteers will be camping separately from the others again this year.
TOLL BOOTHS- Staffs the entrances to the festival and helps guide festival attendees from the entrance to their camping location. This is your chance to be on the front lines and watch the crowds roll in. They are the gate keepers to the entire Bonnaroo experience. (Only available DURING-Show)
• This C’roo may require overnight shifts • Will work one 12-hour shift and one 6-hour shift instead of three 6 hour shifts. All 12-hour shifts will be on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. • This C’roo will camp in a different location closer to the entrances of the campground.
Regarding the debate of Pre-Fest vs. During-Fest....keep in mind that the work involved for pre-fest tasks can be more physical than the tasks for during-fest as you will likely be assisting with setting up areas in VIP, Centeroo, or backstage.
Ellie, last year I vol'd and our campsite was fenced-in. Yes, it was in BFE but most of the time they ck'd my bracelet. Amber, I've been a vol for three prior yrs and have never missed a "must see show". Yep, I've heard the horror stories of 10p-6a shifts. But, we have the oppertunity to swap with others. As for the showers, yep they get dirty. But, they all do. These are free and unlimited. No one uses them except for volunteers.
You can switch shifts, but only if someone is willing to take that shift from you. Not many want to pick up overnight shifts.
On the flip side, I was camped by someone who worked the accessible areas during major shows - she happened to love her experience.
I had no clue what area of volunteering to request, so I made a poor, uninformed choice. The C'roo descriptions should help with that.
They must've updated C'roo descriptions again. I asked on Roos facebook with no response, but maybe it prompted someone to update it or just coincidence. Interesting.
Post by hummers2187 on Mar 3, 2013 10:12:41 GMT -5
Just got my email I've been waiting for, I'll be staff again at this years roo! Now I just need to make sure I don't have to work during Paul McCartney
Just got my email I've been waiting for, I'll be staff again at this years roo! Now I just need to make sure I don't have to work during Paul McCartney
are they sending the apps out to past vols yet?
Just wondering because neither of the emails I use for volunteering ( one of my friends is stuck in the 1980s.. paypal? email? facebook? whats that? - so i set up an email / facebook specificially for volunteering purposes for him )recieved anything the first go round... id really like to do prefest this year, and feel like ive earned it ( ive volunteered 4 years between WET / old crew run by Matt / Karen )but i know how fast those spots fill up...
Just got my email I've been waiting for, I'll be staff again at this years roo! Now I just need to make sure I don't have to work during Paul McCartney
are they sending the apps out to past vols yet?
Just wondering because neither of the emails I use for volunteering ( one of my friends is stuck in the 1980s.. paypal? email? facebook? whats that? - so i set up an email / facebook specificially for volunteering purposes for him )recieved anything the first go round... id really like to do prefest this year, and feel like ive earned it ( ive volunteered 4 years between WET / old crew run by Matt / Karen )but i know how fast those spots fill up...
You should definitely get priority if you've volunteered 4 times already. I got into pre-fest after only one stint as a volunteer. The key is to fill out the application immediately and send in your deposit asap too. I don't think they process the application until your deposit is received.
Just wondering because neither of the emails I use for volunteering ( one of my friends is stuck in the 1980s.. paypal? email? facebook? whats that? - so i set up an email / facebook specificially for volunteering purposes for him )recieved anything the first go round... id really like to do prefest this year, and feel like ive earned it ( ive volunteered 4 years between WET / old crew run by Matt / Karen )but i know how fast those spots fill up...
You should definitely get priority if you've volunteered 4 times already. I got into pre-fest after only one stint as a volunteer. The key is to fill out the application immediately and send in your deposit asap too. I don't think they process the application until your deposit is received.
Yeah my main concern is the pre fest spots filling up before i ever even can fill out an application. My deposit is ready to go today, that isn't a problem. Like I said though I somehow seem to have been left off the past VOL list provided by WET ( BOTH of my addys too...weird... ) The only thing I can think of is I cancelled last year do to some personal issues that came up a few months before Roo. Plenty of time, got my deposit back and everything....
anyway, im sure someone will let us know when they go out, but just checking
I did the post show clean up with Clean Vibes in '07 and '09. We worked hard, but it was a great experience overall. There's something kind of cool about helping return the farm to some sense of normalcy after the mayhem that is Bonnaroo. It really gives you an appreciation for the hard work that's put in from everyone involved. Not to mention it makes me appreciate those who clean up their campsite before departing! There's nothing worse then coming across the campsites of people who just flagrantly don't give a quack and leave their site absolutely trashed.
Ground scores are always a fun thing as well, you really do find some crazy things. I did the post show cleanup at Rothbury '08 as well. I remember we found a box full of confiscated corn ingesting devices, everyone got to grab a free one and take it home as a souvenir, still have/use mine At Rothbury, they were nice enough to let all the post show volunteers get a free day at the indoor waterpark all to ourselves for the hard work we were doing. Let me just say, that waterpark with a headfull was quite a blast!
Haven't done the volunteering thing since '09, but I wouldn't hesitate to do pre or post show again if I was short on cash. I just don't have a desire to do during the fest though. I'm fine working for my ticket before or after, but I want to enjoy all that Bonnaroo has to offer without any responsibilities.
So to those that set up, keep things running, or clean up afterwards...my hats off to you!
Sorry for the confusion, I'm working Staff not Volunteering, thats why I have gotten my email already.
Regular veteran volunteers should have gotten an email a while back talking about going internal and no more WET and linking to the website and whatnot... we havent gotten email updates or anything since then. I don't know if cancelling volunteering last year makes a difference, but maybe we'll be sure to post in here when we find out about apps opening up. As of now, it says the 18th, but not sure if it's earlier for returning volunteers.
Just saw this plain email accidentally went into my Spam folder from 8 hours ago:
"We've added a lot of info to the website about the C'roos (check it out at www.bonnaroo.com/get-involved/volunteers/). One of the things is that the date for applications is March 18th, but we are looking to post them earlier to returning volunteers. So keep an eye on your inbox for this information!
Oh and BONNAROOOOOOO!!!"
I wonder if we'll get access to apps a week ahead maybe. If so, that'd be only a few days away on the 11th.
Just saw this plain email accidentally went into my Spam folder from 8 hours ago:
"We've added a lot of info to the website about the C'roos (check it out at www.bonnaroo.com/get-involved/volunteers/). One of the things is that the date for applications is March 18th, but we are looking to post them earlier to returning volunteers. So keep an eye on your inbox for this information!
Oh and BONNAROOOOOOO!!!"
I wonder if we'll get access to apps a week ahead maybe. If so, that'd be only a few days away on the 11th.
EDIT: I just emailed them to ask if they had a date picked yet (I'm guessing Friday). I also asked how likely it is for toll booth volunteers to be done by Friday evening, like before and if the 2nd 6-hour shift could be on wed/thurs/fri mixed in with the 12-hour shift guaranteed to be 1 of those days. *anxious for answers*
"We are working to get the applications sent out hopefully in the next 24 hours. We're just waiting on a few things from our developers and the go ahead to send them. Either way, anyone who gets signed up in from the time we launch them will be first in line to be processed. The system allows us to process them in the order they are received so we're still going to be able to give returning volunteers priority.
As far as Toll Booths go. The majority of the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are all 12 hour shifts and the remaining 6 hour shifts are Thurs, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So yes, it's possible, but not guaranteed."
"We are working to get the applications sent out hopefully in the next 24 hours. We're just waiting on a few things from our developers and the go ahead to send them. Either way, anyone who gets signed up in from the time we launch them will be first in line to be processed. The system allows us to process them in the order they are received so we're still going to be able to give returning volunteers priority.
As far as Toll Booths go. The majority of the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are all 12 hour shifts and the remaining 6 hour shifts are Thurs, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So yes, it's possible, but not guaranteed."
