Below you will find a list of tasks/skills that we are always looking for help with.
If you have any questions please call 1-902-542-7668.
After Hours Social Events
Assist in co-ordination of Festival After Hours social events (parties!). Use customer service skills. Use food handling skills. Ensure performers and volunteers hospitality needs are met at After Hours parties.
Mostly preparing and presenting buffet-style finger foods, serving beverages, cleaning up. Requires the ability to stay cheerful and productive until VERY LATE at night (3 or 4 a.m.)
Animators
Learn to operate the giant puppets of Wee Giant Theatre, participate in the parade and play in the park afterwards during the family program.
Need good fitness and stamina, people skills and ability to deal with the heat inside a big costume. Fun-loving and playful. Performance skills an asset – theatrical or musical.
Under the direction of Moni Wildemann, of Wee Giant Theatre, wear costumes; help others choose costume elements; play, facilitate, participate in the parade, hang out in the park, and assist with clean-up afterwards.
We need 12+ people to play and have fun from 9:30 to 2:30 on Saturday, plus we can also use some help Friday when the Wee Giants arrive (~4 or 5 pm?), to load their stuff into Festival Theatre, and of course on Sunday for the Finale.
A playful personality, excellent hydration and good stamina are important for this job. It can get very hot inside the costumes if the sun is shining brightly. This is a great volunteer opportunity for pairs or groups of adults with kids ages 13 and up. Tall people are also especially suited to manipulating the giant puppet bodies.
Box Office
Under direction of Box Office Co-ordinator, assist in selling tickets at each event. Use customer service skills. Need to be comfortable handling money, making change, and reconciling sales at the end of event.
Can be a hectic environment.
Concessions
Under direction of Concessions Co-ordinator, assist in selling promotional materials at each event. Use customer service skills. Need to be comfortable handling money, making change, using cash point, reconciling sales at the end of event.
Can be a hectic environment.
Event Manager
Oversee a specific event: all volunteers initially check in with the Event Manager who has detailed knowledge of all aspects of each event and oversees all activity. Keep records of volunteer activity and overall success of each event. Trouble shoot and solve problems as needed.
Need good organizational and people skills and ability to function under pressure.
Festival Stewards
Deep Roots front-facing volunteers at events. Provide information and assistance to Festival guests regarding all things Deep Roots.
Among Deep Root’s values is an abiding respect for people, land, and culture. We know that to work towards our goals of inclusivity, meaningful connections between cultures, and establishing safe spaces for community groups, artists, and audiences, we must work together with the broader community to dismantle oppression and racism in everything that we do. Our Festival Stewards are in the lobbies of our shows, to help us take care of our place here, and to help take care of our guests. They answer questions about our values, people’s experience with the festival, our environmental footprint, and everyone’s health and safety.
Here are just a few examples of how our Festival Stewards might help:
- Ensure that our sound level policy is being followed to minimize discomfort and to mitigate the risk of hearing damage due to high volume levels.
- Help people who are new to Nova Scotia figure out how to sort garbage (source separation recycling)
- Aid folks with accessibility issues
- Assist those with an issue to submit an occurrence report
- Explain our “Respect For All” policy
- Oversee health and safety protocols like offering hand sanitizer
- Listen to ideas of how else to make Deep Roots safer, more inclusive, or more sustainable
Festival Stewards also replenish water stations; service Festival recycling units (replacing filled bags as needed and placing bags of non-refundable items next to Festival bins); clean sites after programs at venues are finished.
An outgoing personality helps – will be asked many questions by Festival guests. You will need to explain to people how to recycle – or just do it for them. Requires understanding the various waste/resource sorting streams and recognizing what is what! Knowledge of Respect for All policy and Sound Level policy.
Green Room Host
Ensure performers hospitality needs are met in the Festival “Green Rooms” (performer hospitality rooms backstage). See to needs of performers before and during events. One person per Green Room.
A respectful and professional attitude is important. Musical knowledge and familiarity with performance environment an asset.
Kitchen
As member of a kitchen team, help to prepare and/or serve buffet-style meals for performers and volunteers, and clean up afterwards. Use food handling skills. Some volunteers wash dishes and operate the sanitizer. Bring own clean apron, hair restraint, paring knife and peeler each day. Wear closed toes shoes and ensure hair is covered.
For Prep: Basic kitchen skills needed. Bring own paring knife and peeler each day.
Office Work
Assists Office Manager in various aspect of office work – creating festival badges and signs, making phone calls, general maintenance, data entry, greeting visitors, and various other tasks.
Runner
On-call extra person to do whatever is needed at each event or at the Festival office. Runs errands – like making last-minute purchases, relaying messages, delivering meals to technical personnel, etc.
A car or a bicycle would be an asset.
Set Up/Take Down – Load In/Load Out Crew
Under direction of the site manager helps load in, set up and take down, load out equipment for each venue. Most work takes place before and after events. Involves lifting and moving heavy gear. Must have own steel toed shoes and understand safe lifting practices. Ideally will volunteer over the entire weekend, either day shifts (8 a.m. – 5 p.m.) or night shifts (5 p.m. – 2 a.m.).
Stage Hand
Helping out on stage and backstage. Trouble-shooting last minute needs under the direction of the Stage Manager for each event. Knowledge of sound equipment and musical instruments an asset.
Specialized Volunteers
People with specific skills such as stage management, sound technicians, house technician, site management, first aid, kitchen management, data entry, and security are always welcome.
Please let us know your skills.