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My Bonnaroo group has 4 people, all volunteers and first time 'Roo goers. We've been planning to all ride in my Explorer. After reading these posts, I'm thinking camp site space is going to be an issue. Me and one of the other people are sharing a tent that sleeps two, but one of my other friends has this big-ass tent that he wants all to himself, and the remaining guy was going to stay in a smaller one-man tent. Plus we were going to bring a canopy for shade.
Could someone confirm that there is no way in hell we'll have enough room for all of this crap on our campsite if we only take one vehicle? The four of us were originally going to split up into two vehicles, so the campsite would be bigger and the luggage would be more evenly distributed instead of my car being filled to the brim, but somewhere along the way the plan somehow shifted to just me driving. We're only a three hour drive from Manchester, so I'm thinking I should tell one of the others that they're going to have to drive too..especially if there is going to be 3 separate tents for 4 people.
So I'm pretty sure someone else will need to drive in order for us to have a comfortable amount of space, and to keep us from taking up a disproportionate amount of space, but I'd like to hear it confirmed from a 'Roo veteran(s). Thanks!
I only volunteered in 2009 (this is will be my 4th Roo) but they were camping us pretty close to our neighbors in the volunteer camp and also do the same in GA. I think just out of pure courtesy you should split up into 2 cars if you're going to have 3 tents and a canopy. That way, you won't screw over any neighbors and you'll be able to have more room for your crew as well.
Last Edit: Jun 4, 2011 17:47:52 GMT -5 by Linz - Back to Top
Okay, my group of 2 is taking the Greyhound down, leaving tomorrow morning from NYC, and we just realized we have no way to get the the high school to check in. Are there taxis is Manchester? Would it be crazy expensive to get from the bus station to the school? Is anyone going to be driving by the bus station at about 8:30 Tuesday morning? Mildly freaking out...
I heard from a friend, a pre-festival volunteer, who called me today to report about his experience thus far. According to what the WET website says: Each Pre-Festival Volunteer will complete (3) shifts of 12 hours each (or equivalent hours). Reality: my friend says that he must work from 5 am to 10:30 pm. That's 17.5 hours---with half of those hours during the hottest part of the day (10 am to 5 pm). Temps are in the upper 90s.
Premium camping location. Volunteer campground is closer to centero (their mispelling) than most patron camping. Reality: Pre-fest volunter camping appears to be a remote location far far away from Centeroo -- as far as you can get and still be at Bonnaroo.
Is this a bait and switch? If the above is true, I will never volunteer to work at Bonnaroo.
I heard from a friend, a pre-festival volunteer, who called me today to report about his experience thus far. According to what the WET website says: Each Pre-Festival Volunteer will complete (3) shifts of 12 hours each (or equivalent hours). Reality: my friend says that he must work from 5 am to 10:30 pm. That's 17.5 hours---with half of those hours during the hottest part of the day (10 am to 5 pm). Temps are in the upper 90s.
Premium camping location. Volunteer campground is closer to centero (their mispelling) than most patron camping. Reality: Pre-fest volunter camping appears to be a remote location far far away from Centeroo -- as far as you can get and still be at Bonnaroo.
Is this a bait and switch? If the above is true, I will never volunteer to work at Bonnaroo.
yeah, last year, i camped near pod 6 close to the silo on bushy branch...it was a HIKE to centeroo, once you were in, it was too far to go back to get something to eat or drink...
Just a little update from volunteer camping. We are in BFE, out Woodland past VIP. It really isn't that bad, some sections of GA are much worse. Showers in volunteer are not functioining, but they let us use the showers in the employee/vendor area tonight. Ice cold but working. BBQ was def. Not vegetarian friendly but meat eaters seemed pleased.
But I've heard voices not in the head Out in the air they called ahead Through ripped out speakers Through thick and thin They found a shelter Under my skin -Evgeny Aleksandrovitch Nikolaev
So... I volunteered at toll booth...annnnd didn't do a damned thing aside from watch the others sleep and take coffee/food to some parking staff for a few minutes once. What a waste of time but at least i got out early both shifts. Got signed up 7pm-8am (13 hours) for Wed and Thurs nights even though I requested my band for Beats Antique (Thurs night). Aside from never working at the toll booths or actually guiding people in parking, I was lucky enough that my shifts ended at 3am Wed night and about 9:30pm Thurs night (phew! I got to see Beats Antique after all). I was very thankful not to actually go until 8am but I know some others did go longer on Wed night. I'd do it again. Being done by Friday is so worth it, and I'd love to actually work at the toll booths and see people coming in and whatnot.
Toll boothers were parked at the west toll booth by the silo past Pod 6. I got lucky and got 1 of the parking spots near the fence so I had plenty of room to spread out my campsite if I wanted to. We probably also had a higher chance of clean portos vs other campground areas and seemed more chill without people walkin around sellin party favors and whatnot. It sucked it was far, but we got used to it. Also liked that they gave us 1 free shower voucher so we wouldnt have to walk out to the other volunteer campgrounds to get our free showers. I took mine Monday morning at POD 7 and it was glorious! I snagged a free shower at Pod 6 Wed morning but it was freezing cold (no attendant so the heater was probably off)
Some of my caravan were during festers and although they missed music they liked and had to work 3 days and whatnot, they had some perks. 1 friend worked the photo booth at the fuse barn (easy and in AC!), another had the awesome privilege of doing artist catering and meeting Aziz Ansari, etc...and I believe another worked the silent auction.
I met some people who hated the shifts they got and forfeited their deposit. Our cloth wristbands didnt have RFIDs so no way to track us and kick us out or anything.
Getting there early, not waiting on a long line (although we still got our cars searched and it took us toll boothers about an hour and a half in line still), and being able to see the grounds all green and peaceful and empty and also Centeroo being set-up was pretty awesome. I liked having those extra few days to take it all in and get used to everything.
Volunteered, arrived Tues afternoon, camped pod 1 (Dr No). Checkin was a breeze, parking and setup easy, perfect 10x25 or so spaces were marked out in clear white paint lines. Our car and 10x10 ezup fit snugly but perfectly into the space. Some folks used two spaces. When we got in the parking was... lax. Kinda waved us over in a direction and that was it.
Shifts were printed on the back of our volunteer id tags. Times and reporting locations, but no idea what we would be doing. No real info available on that until Wed or Thurs and even then you had to go to WET HQ and ask someone if you wanted to know.
Orientation was disorienting, we didn't know what was going on, but a few folks around helped clear some stuff up. The BBQ was *not* vegetarian-friendly (slaw on a bun was the veggie meal) and even the beans had meat in them, but it was fine. We had planned to need to feed ourselves until at least Thursday.
Volunteer showers were broken on arrival Tues (had been for days they said so pre-festers were smellin ripe). They got them working that night but they did stay ICE cold all weekend. Had to be the coldest water anywhere on the farm that weekend. Still, free and usually only a short line to get in. If you could wait to afternoon to shower there was practically no line. Portas were fair to good. By no means as bad as centeroo or some of the ones in the rest of GA.
The shifts we ended up doing were mixed. We were, effectively, floaters for the weekend and went wherever they needed us. They ranged from indoor in a sponsor tent, to tollbooth day shift, to the clean vibes 7am-1pm Saturday morning cleanup crew, picking up all the trash in Centeroo (including cig butts). Let me tell you, that am cleanup gig is real work. I was sore after. Squatting/bending/stooping to clear out every bit of garbage isn't so bad for the first couple of hours in the morning but by noon with the sun crushing you and your legs and back aching, man, it was a task. Still, by no means the worst or hardest job of my life and well worth it. Wear sunscreen and be in good shape is my advice. Hat and bandana also recommended.
WET folks were nice, seemed pretty together, and overall good. The Clean Vibes folks looked like they were not sleeping the whole fest and were a bit disorganized, but doing good work and doing it pretty well. Both were good to work with and CV makes a visible and tangible contribution to the fest (and diverts a ton of garbage to recycling and compost) so even if it is harder, it's for a good cause.
Pod 1 is not a bad walk to centeroo. Much better than some GA campsites or the tollbooths. It also was a good campsite overall for us. We are in it for the music and to see friends, and don't rage hardcore, so the milder environs of Pod 1 were just our speed. Compared to our previous experiences in GA, it was a much mellower scene overall.
Getting out late Sunday night was quick and easy from Pod1. Oh, and the two food vendors out at Pod1 were pretty decent and very friendly to us.
Overall, I was pleased and will likely volunteer again. If you do it, you should be aware that you may have to do some serious work and possibly long overnight shifts, so expect that and be pleasantly surprised if you luck out.
One last word: Mad props to the Clean Vibes cleanup volunteers. That had to be some of the hardest work volunteers did that weekend and I know some folks who had three of those shifts in a row (every morning cleaning up centeroo for six hours). Having done one shift of it, I have serious respect for anyone who did all three. Likewise for the post-fest cleanup crew. Thanks to you all for picking up after those who refuse to pick up after themselves. Bonnaroo hosts some serious pigs who act like the farm is their garbage can / ashtray. I'm grateful to all who help to keep it clean(er).
But I've heard voices not in the head Out in the air they called ahead Through ripped out speakers Through thick and thin They found a shelter Under my skin -Evgeny Aleksandrovitch Nikolaev
last year I think it took a couple weeks... I remember being surprised by the efficiency and speed with which it was refunded, but that having been said, I'd still encourage some patience. Give it till July before you start emailing WET.
So I had to add my experience because this just needs to be said. This was the 2nd time I volunteered at Bonnaroo (1st time in 09), and unfortunately because of my experience, I will not be volunteering again.
My boyfriend and I were assigned to be (during-fest) Trash Talkers. Let me get this straight - we DID NOT sign up with Clean Vibes. We were moved to those shifts because not enough ppl signed up or at least that's what we were told. Our first shift was on Thursday 3:30-10 p.m. We were floaters so we were pretty much walking around asking if ppl that were at their recycling/compost/landfill stations needed a break. Nothing too bad, except we were on our feet for 6 straight hours.
My second shift I worked 11:30-6 Friday by myself at a recycling/compost/landfill station. I was only given 1 break during that entire shift. I was in direct sunlight and on my feet the entire time. There were supposed to be floaters walking around to relieve me and let me take a break, but so many quit showing up for their shifts that there weren't enough ppl to help. I got horrible blisters from being so burned after that shift.
Our third shift we worked the Saturday 7 a.m. shift mentioned above picking up shit off the ground that lazy ass ppl didn't throw away. We were supposed to be off at 1:30 but worked till 2:30 because we kept getting directed to more sites in Centeroo to clean.
If every other volunteer had been working their asses off like we did, I wouldn't be so angry, but there were SO MANY ppl I saw all weekend doing absolutely nothing and either working in A/C or in shade. I literally felt like I should have been getting paid for what we did on top of receiving our deposit back. The worse part is that we signed up early, turned our deposit in early, and we got awful shifts. Then I talked to a ton of ppl that signed up late and got great shifts. We missed so much music because we were exhausted after every shift. Sunday was the only day I really felt like I was at Bonnaroo and could enjoy myself.
It just seems really unfair for some to work their ass off while others do nothing, and they all get the same reward. Sorry to be such a Debby Downer, but I won't be volunteering again and just needed to share my experience. Believe me...I enjoyed myself! I had a blast, but I wish I would have bought a ticket and not worked. I would have seen so much more music!
Sorry if this has been discussed before, but this thread is quite large. When would you all recommend trying to volunteer for next year's Bonnaroo?
If you give your email address to WET, they will get in touch once the time comes. Go to: www.workexchangeteam.com/
This is indeed a long thread. If you're serious about making the most of your experience however, I would very strongly recommend that you actually read it. Believe it or not these posts are informative, helpful, and insightful. This thread is not just 47 pages of junk and every post in it was posted for a reason and usually that reason is to help people understand what volunteering is like, how it works, and what it is all about. Just book mark it and read a few pages every day.
Just got back from Bonnaroo on Wednesday night and am finally able to get back online. Did post show clean up with Clean Vibes and had an amazing time! It was my second year volunteering with them. This year the weather was amazing during the clean up. Initially there was a little confusion about where camp was to be set up, and where we were supposed to check in. However, after that was cleared up everything else fell into place very easily. Check in this year was only on the other side of camp, which made it easy to watch our belongings. Whereas in earlier years it was further down the road and scavengers stole entire tents from some volunteers.
The Clean Vibes team made sure everyone had water before starting and that everyone carried a water with them during the whole process. They also gave us frequent water breaks so we could grab new bottles to take with us and rest for a moment. They tried their best to find shade for us to rest in during lunch and breaks, which is significantly better than in 2009 when I volunteered. The weather was also amazing for clean up, except for the end of the last day when a thunderstorm hit and everyone ran to That Tent to get out of the torrential downpour. All of the supervisors were out there picking stuff up with us, instead of just telling us we missed it and had to go back over the entire field. Our main supervisor was named Rainbow and he was extremely respectful of everyone and super nice. Probably one of the best leaders I've worked for at Clean Vibes.
After work was over we all were free to go into town and they had showers open which had warm water. All the wrapped meals were healthy and tasted great. We were each given what we ordered, which I was surprised by. They were all extremely organized about this. Also if you ever do this, which I'd highly reccomend, Papa John's will deliver to the gates for you. We had a small pizza party followed by a spontaneous parachute party one night. Good times.
Overall it was an awesome experience and I really appreciate all the Clean Vibes staff that helped us. I'll definitely be signing up again next year.
I'm going to unsticky for now and hopefully a brand spanking new 2012 Volunteering thread will pop up here in the near future. I figure opportunities change and this thread is still searchable, obviously.
Post by travelinbeat on Jul 6, 2011 16:16:58 GMT -5
Not sure if anyone else is still checking this thread, but I have a few extra programs that I'd love to get to any volunteers who might not have gotten one =)
Post by DunderMifflin on Dec 21, 2011 21:52:01 GMT -5
Okay for anyone with pre-fest volunteering experiencing, how was it? would you do it again? was it great being on the farm for an entire week? this will be my second roo and a friend and i are looking to volunteer this year. we were quite envious of those who volunteered and got to spend extra time on the farm and have already had their work completed by the start of roo. so what im asking is it worth volunteering those 12 hour shifts to be there a few extra days on the farm and be done by the start of roo? also, will we have ample time to move to tent only? and lastly, where are we initially set up?
i know it may be a while till my fellow rooers get back to me. especially, since i major trolled in order to find this thread. any help is much appreciated.
I did it in 09. Which was before the operation was outsourced by WET. The pre-fest volunteering was well put together and we all had an amazing time together. After spending 4 days with a couple hundred people that were all working for the same cause was really unifying. We had late night dinners together and during our down time we hung out at each others campsites(namely mine because I had a tree) getting to know each other. The 12 hour shifts weren't bad at all. Actually the one shift I worked was about 17 hours. That still wasn't bad.
Then the during festival kids came in. First of all there was a computer problem and there were WAY too many during festival volunteers. There were stories of some of them not working a single shift. They came and crowded the volunteer camp. We had one shower truck with 6 showers. During the week I never once had to wait and always had a clean hot shower. Which was nice when I would come back from my shift at 12am. The during fest people destroyed that truck in a matter of hours. Now it's not their fault that they were accepted by mistake. And a lot of them had to sleep in their cars for a night because of the mix up. But it still sucked from my perspective. But that was ok because my husband and children met me there Thursday afternoon and I went and stayed with them in the Family camp. Which was nice because it reminded me a lot of the pre fest volunteer camp.
So yes. Pre Fest was awesome. And I heard that there were improvements made when WET took over for during fest. Just take it seriously. It really drives me nuts when I read about people signing up for it. Taking the spot. Then when they get there and find out they don't like the schedule and job they were giving they forfeit their deposit and not show up for their assignment. It's awesome and fun, but it's still a job with a contract.
If you choose to do it then you should keep an eye on the WET website and apply the day you are allowed to. Spots fill up fast.
