Announcing the Star Westfest Volunteers for 2013

June 18, 2013

Every year, we present a small number of "Star Volunteer Awards" to recognize outstanding commitment and contributions before, during, and after the Westfest weekend.  Here are the Stars for 2013, as chosen by Westfest Managers:

• Ron W. for filling in at backstage gate positions,  working more shifts than were originally scheduled, and for staying the latest on Sunday night ensuring the backstage stayed secure for shut-down.

• Pastor Dan B. & the entire OCBC team for manning the Churchill barricade for (almost) the entire weekend.  All the OCBC volunteers were on time, cheerful and enthusistic.

• Ken Z. for Main Stage Setup on Thursday & Friday (especially mulch spreading on Friday afternoon as we tried to contain the mud), and then happily working 4 more shifts on Saturday and Sunday as a Street Marshal.

• Christina G. and Mara M.: for outstanding work as Media Volunteers assisting Rosalyn.

• Gloria H. originally volunteered with us in 2007, and we are thrilled that she returned this year.  She is a delight to work with, whether at the Main Stage or Street Merch, is great with people, has good sense of humour, and is equally great with merchandising. 

• Paul K.: We typically select volunteers who commit to and work 4 or more shifts, but are making an exception this year.  For four years Paul is always a joy to work with; this year he did a fantastic job at the Street Merch Tent, and was very self-directed in handing out the program guides in a professional, friendly manner.

Thanks again to all the 2013 Volunteers, whether you worked one shift or six.  Certificates of Appreciation will be presented to the Star Volunteers at the Westfest Party tonight, with prizes available to all Volunteers.

Posters and More Posters!

Monday May 6, 2013

If you missed the Westfest Orientation Meeting, you may not know that we have a Poster Posting Contest going on until Thursday June 6.  Here are the steps to get involved:

1. Pick up Westfest posters and postcards from Harvest Loaf, 1323 Wellington St, at Clarendon Ave, 4 blocks west of Holland Ave. Their business hours are Mon to Sat 7:30am to 7pm, and Sun 8am to 6pm.  (Link to Google map - http://goo.gl/maps/xVbbY, Harvest Loaf is the yellow basket).  When they run out, I will bring them more.  Thanks to Chris Green and Anne Marie for allowing us to use that as a poster-distribution center.
2. Post your posters in a storefront, at a school, library, or other location, anywhere in the city.  Please do not post on mailboxes and bus stops, which is not allowed by the city; and do not post on poles until the week before the event, as they get covered up quickly
3. Take a picture of your poster, and upload to the Facebook Westfest Volunteers Group.   This is a Closed Group to volunteers.

• If you have any problems posting to this group, you are also welcome to upload to the public Facebook Westfest Page at https://www.facebook.com/westfestinfo?fref=ts.  If you are not on Facebook but still want to be involved, send your pictures with location info to me, Naomi Ireland, at neyerca@sympatico.ca.

There will be 2 prizes of ten Retro Westfest t-shirts (of various sizes, see some of the retro designs below), as well as any other Westfest swag that we can find after we empty out the storage locker the week of June 3.  Prizes will go to:

• The person who posted the most posters
• A random draw from everyone who posted posters, with the number of entries equal to the number of posters

Winners Names will be announced the morning of Thursday June 6, and you can pick up your prize from the Main Stage Volunteer Tent on Thursday after 5 pm.

Fyi, if you win and you want to trade-in the sizes, you may be able to exchange them at the Westfest Retro Street Merch Tent on Saturday June 8 at 9am.  Please note however, not all sizes are available in every style.

By the way, as of today Jeff is far and away in the lead for the most posters prize.  Feel free to challenge him! Now have fun, and get out there and tell everyone about Westfest!

2013 Volunteer Orientation Meeting Highlights

May 1, 2013

There was a great turnout to the Volunteer Orientation Meeting last night; about 40 or so of us enjoyed snacks, drinks, catching up with friends, and Elaina's always inspirational speech.  Some highlights:

• Elaina reminding us of the Westfest mandate: All-Canadian, Free and Accessible, and All-Inclusive
• We sold 8 retro t-shirts for $5 each, and  I am looking forward to selling many more on the street on Saturday and Sunday during the festival.
• All Volunteers took posters and postcards with them, and I look forward to seeing where in the city they will be posted (let me know if you need more posters or postcards and I'll be happy to get them to you!)

I heard some great suggestions from volunteers, that I'll be mulling over over the next few weeks, such as:

• Man the Street Marshal positions like a relay, so everyone gets a chance to move to a new location every, 45 minutes?  2 hours?
• Getting the volunteers more involved in social media and Westfest promotion, with a volunteer twitter account?  Westfest Volunteer hashtag?

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be gathering up everyone's availability and will send out the first draft of the schedule.  If you missed the meeting or have friends or family who want to join in our 10 year anniversary, it's not too late!  I have a couple of on-line forms that you or others can use to join up:

• Form #1: New Volunteer Application: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dE9TWUZHdzlEZW9jdnZpVWp6NFhuWVE6MQ#gid=0.  Feel free to pass this link on to anyone who wants to get involved.
• Form #2: 2013 Volunteer Sign-Up Form, Availability & Interests: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFJzTFhpZld3NmZYLVpvdmR2dTlBdnc6MA#gid=0.  If you missed the meeting, let me know your availability during the Westfest setup week and 4 day event

These links are always available on the right of this blog under "Related and more Official Links".

Thanks again, talk to you all soon!

Retro Westfest T-shirts Cheap Cheap Cheap! (oh, and Volunteer Orientation)

Monday April 29

I am (frantically as usual) getting ready for Westfest Volunteer Orientation tomorrow.  And as promised, we will have a small selection of Retro Westfest T-shirts for sale to volunteers at the low low price of $5 per T!  Pick yours up before they go on sale to the public.

So just to remind all you volunteers, bring yourself and your 5 dollar bills to:

• Place:   The Clocktower Brew Pub in Westboro, 418 Richmond Road -  http://richmond.clocktower.ca/Contact/Location/tabid/107532/Default.aspx
• Date: Tuesday April 30th
• Time:    6pm until 8pm

See you then!

2013 Westfest Media Launch a Great Success!

March 25, 2013

On Friday March 22, the sun came out and it almost felt like spring.  In related news, Westfest is officially just around the corner and the line-up looks amazing.  If you missed the Media Launch at the Clocktower Pub in Westboro, here's what the news had to say about it:

• Ottawa Sun: http://www.ottawasun.com/2013/03/22/ottawas-westfest-celebrates-10th-year-faces-questions-about-future 
• Ottawa Citizen: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/Westfest+2013+lineup+includes+Jane+Siberry+Skydiggers+Elliott+Brood/8137627/story.html

Me, I'm no journalist, but here's some of my personal highlights from Friday:

• Do you remember this guitar?  Elaina Martin officially presented the Westfest guitar to M^cMillan for their logo designs and other assistance donated to Westfest over the years.  Or as Elaina said, it's McMillan "...who makes Westfest cool."
• Elaina thanked Chris Wojcik and the Real Canadian Superstore for, not only the space that becomes the Domicile Main Stage ("It's a dream to have that space"), but for all their other goods and services they kindly donate during the festival.
• Something new for this year: Metroland Media, will be including Westfest flyers in their EMC Community Newspaper.  If you live in the Westboro area, keep any eye on your mailbox.
• Then of course there's the line-up; yay Amos the Transparent is back, my personal fav.   To find out who will be your favourite band this year, check out the official web-site: http://www.westfest.ca/

Last but not least, I got on Twitter!  In accepting the "Rock Star Award", I wish I had been composed enough to say something like "I accept this award on behalf of all the great volunteers that I have worked with over the years".  But I think my speech came out more gushing like "You love, you really love me!"  Regardless, my thanks to Elaina for the recognition, and I feel truly blessed to have been able to work with her and with all of you.  Thank You!

First Post of 2013

...or Brrr, is June really just around the corner?

It's February in Ottawa, and cold as h-e-double hockey sticks (so says the girl who grew up in Vancouver BC).  Hence, it is hard to believe that Westfest 2013, the 10th year anniversary edition, is only 4 months away!

As is typical for me this time of year, I don't know much about anything:

• Westfest 2013 will be 4 days: June 6 - 9, 2013
• All the stage acts are fully booked, but don't ask me who they are, I will find out at the Media Launch like everyone else
• We always need more Volunteers, but I don't yet know for what :-)
• I do know that Volunteers would be very welcome at the Westfest office for pre-festival assistance.  Feel free to call Claudia (Westfest General Manager) at 613-729-3565 if you can assist with weekday office or promotion work.

All previous volunteers are still in my database, so don't worry, I'll be reaching out to you a couple of months before the festival to see if you will be joining us again.

For any new volunteers out there, please fill out Form #1: New Volunteer Application which is always available in the RELATED AND MORE OFFICIAL LINKS section on the top right of this page, and I'll be sure to include you in the volunteer communications as well.

Hope everyone is having a great winter, and we'll be in touch soon!