Grey Fox Festival Volunteer Crew Descriptions

Working in all phases of the event, Volunteers help create a safe, clean and enjoyable weekend for all. They maintain the Festival site, greet patrons, sell tickets, provide information, park cars, direct traffic, assist campers, prepare food, recycle trash, provide emergency services, and more. As a Volunteer, you become a member of our unique Festival Family, and thousands of visitors will benefit from your service.

Please choose a first, second and third choice of crews if you decide to apply. Only Veteran Volunteers who are positive their Crew Chief expects them should choose only one crew. New applicants who choose only one crew won’t be placed elsewhere if there are no openings on the crew of choice.

If you don’t see one of the choices on the application here under crew descriptions, it’s because that crew is not open. Do not choose it unless you are pre-approved.

Should you be accepted, you will receive e-mails with contact information for your Crew Chief and you can begin planning your Volunteer experience.

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Artist Transportation Crew

This crew assists with Artist, instrument and equipment transport around the Festival, between the different stages and to and from the Artist Parking area. Safe driving skills, timeliness, some lifting and good people skills required. Prior festival volunteering is preferred. Knowledge of the site and surrounding area is helpful. Shifts begin early Thursday through Sunday, all day and evening before, during and after performance times.

Concession Crew

Festival Food Concession with sales to customers and the Grey Fox Lemonade stand. Food preparation, cooking, grilling, clean-up, restocking, order taking, and cashier work. Crew is subdivided into the (a) Breakfast Crew, and (b) Lunch/Dinner Crew, and also small pre-Festival set up and supplies stocking crew which runs Monday-Thursday. Minimum age is 18 for Concessio

Emergency Medical Services Crew

EMS crew provides first aid care at a basic life support level. The first aid station treats minor illnesses and injuries on-site and interfaces with local EMS agencies for advanced care and transport. Patients are referred to more definitive off-site care at local medical facilities when ambulance transport is not warranted. Crew members must have a medical background and be willing to help people in need. New York State licensed health care practitioners are preferred (EMT, CFR, Paramedic, Nurse and physician). Similar training will be reviewed for consideration by the crew chief with all non-NYS certified personnel who will work in a support capacity. National Ski Patrol, Outdoor Emergency Care Technicians and those with other or out-of-state credentials will be considered to provide support assistance. Expect a call from the Crew Chief to review credentials.

Family Stage Crew

Support program coordinator with kids’ activities including preparation of craft materials and supervision of children and families in creating the projects. Volunteers must enjoy working with young people. Teaching, supervisory, or recreational experience with children preferred. Adults should expect some evening hours. Family Stage activities begin Thursday morning festival week through Sunday. Performances and film events are part of the Family Stage offerings. Qualified young people may be referred from the Teen Crew.

Gate Ticketing Crew

Ticket sales, ticket/wristband exchange, and vehicle identification at main Festival entrance. Other duties include greeting and providing helpful information the public. Volunteers should possess an attention to detail and retail experience is a plus for handling cashier duties. Front gate shifts begin 7 AM Wednesday Festival week through Saturday night at 11pm. ALL volunteers must be able to do a shift on Wednesday.

Front of Stage Crew

Working in the High Meadow (main) Stage area, FOS crew keeps aisles clear, assists handicapped patrons find seating and transportation, directs audience to designated areas for smoking and dancing, checks wristbands, etc. Knowledge of Festival Guidelines and location of restrooms, stages and bus stops required. This information can be learned after arrival from the program and will be reviewed by the Crew Chief. ALL SHIFTS ARE EVENINGS. There are a limited number of Wednesday shifts and anyone not working Wednesday will need to work Sunday late morning to close.

Hospitality Crew

This crew provides meals for all volunteers beginning on Wednesday 7/13 through Sunday 7/17 and runs 3 shifts/day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Be advised that even if you are on site early, you will not be able to take advantage of your food benefit unless your Crew Chief lists you as working a full shift on Wednesday.

Most Hospitality Crew volunteers will work one of the following shifts for the entire festival:
Breakfast: 6:00 – 10:30 Thurs – Sun
Lunch: 10:30 – 3:30 Thurs – Sun
Dinner: 3:30 – 8:30 Wed – Sat

ALL volunteers, new and returning, must check in with Chris either at the Farmhouse or under the Hospitality Tent upon arrival and settling in on site. New volunteers will be oriented to Hospitality during their first shift. Traditionally, many new volunteers are assigned to the dinner shift.

Hospitality Pre-Fest Crew

This crew provides meals for Site Crew volunteers before the festival from Saturday 7/9 through Tuesday 7/12 and runs 3 shifts/day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Shift assignments are made based on seniority. We will need several people to work Sunday-Wednesday (instead of Saturday-Tuesday) so please indicate if you would prefer this option.

Information Booth Crew

Prior volunteer service and/or knowledge of the local area is preferred. Information Booth Volunteers answer questions, provide information about the site and surrounding community, and oversee Lost & Found. This team facilitates other services to the Festival and gathers customer suggestions and concerns. You must be resourceful, patient, friendly, have a “can-do” attitude and be a good communicator. Crew duties begin Wednesday morning Festival week through Sunday afternoon. Shifts run from early morning until one hour past the end of the last performance of the day. Everyone works either Wednesday or Sunday.

Instrument Raffle

Sells raffle tickets from the booth located near the High Meadow (main) stage area and in other festival areas. Organizational skills, making change, and an upbeat, positive attitude needed. General knowledge of the festival grounds and of our Bluegrass Academy for Kids (which benefits from the sales profits) is very helpful.

Massage Crew

Media Crew

Capturing all aspects of the festival, both day and night, in digital photography and video, crew members provide a broad range of images and/or videos from every day of the festival, Thursday through Sunday. Each crew member will submit “best-of” sets of photos and videos, according to Grey Fox Media Crew guidelines, for use in print and on the web site. All images are to be in digital format. Volunteers should be familiar with resizing, renaming and adding meta descriptions to their images to comply with Media Crew guidelines. Crew members will be given assignments in addition to general shooting on site. Videographers may be asked to interview people at the festival. Images and videos must be submitted within 30 days of the festival (or sooner). We usually have a waiting list for this crew, so if you cannot comply, please don’t apply.

Merchandise Crew

This crew sells Artist merchandise – CDs, DVDs, T-shirts, etc. – in the Grey Fox merchandise area located near the High Meadow Stage and at the Catskill Stage. Knowledge of the Artists and the music is required, as are excellent people skills. Crew members are standing and providing basic retail support to music lovers, so please be ready and able to stay in action during the entire shift. Cashiering skills a plus, including the ability to make accurate change. Shifts are scheduled one hour before the music until one hour after the music Thursday-Sunday. Please bring a fun and energetic attitude!

Shower Crew

Monitors and maintains showers and shower area. Cashiering skills a must including the ability to make change. Excellent people skills required as is the ability to perform light cleaning duties in the shower house, which requires going up steps. Shifts run Wednesday though late Sunday afternoon.

Site Crew

Volunteers 18 years of age and over work in all phases of the event – pre-Festival, during the Festival, and for post-Festival tear down and clean up – using all facets of building trades to create the event infrastructure. Mechanic and small engine repair, plumbing, HVAC, carpentry, and electrical skills are welcome, however, most Volunteers are needed to be ready and able to perform labor intensive work in summer conditions, including lifting. Please elaborate as to your experience on the application. Pre-Festival Volunteering begins long before the gates open. Describe your availability in the notes. Expect a call to review your application. If you have been pre-approved for this crew, please indicate by whom. Post-festival availability is always of interest.

Stage Crews & Green Room

Pre-approved, volunteer Stage and Green Room Crews are generally filled with veterans. You may submit your interest in ONE of these crews, describing your skill set, however, make the remaining two crew choices in other areas of volunteering as there may be no openings on any of these crews. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you can’t lift over 40 pounds, please don’t bother applying for these crews. You won’t be moving mic stands, you’re lifting heavy stuff, like many cases of water.

Teen Crew

Minimum age to volunteer is 18. However, we accept a LIMITED NUMBER of responsible teens 16 and older on a case-to-case basis. Teens must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian who must submit a Parental Release. Forms can be downloaded from the main Volunteer page and forwarded or must be signed at the Festival at Volunteer/Staff Check-In by the parent or guardian. The parent’s name and contact information for the Festival period must be included on the form. The Volunteer Coordinator will call the parent prior to Teen Crew acceptance. Include parental contact information on the online application as well. New Teen Crew Volunteers may work with an adult family Volunteer or guardian Volunteer on a crew. Veteran Teen Crew Volunteers have a number of tasks they might be assigned to including general maintenance and cleanup, working with the Family Stage team, courier duties, etc. Teen Crew Volunteers are expected to follow the same Volunteer Guidelines as adult Volunteers.

Traffic & Safety Crew

Maintains safe traffic flow, parks cars, and ensures general safety throughout the Festival site. T&S Crew members serve as eyes and ears for Festival Security. Most of the crew works on foot, but there is also a small Mountain Bike Patrol. T&S operates 24-hours, so a night schedule is available. T&S begins Wednesday Festival week at 8 AM. Volunteers should arrive by Tuesday for check-in and assignment. The pre-Festival T&S team begins the Friday before gates open and is populated by Veteran Volunteers. Local residents with a broad knowledge of the surroundings are also welcome to apply for the early team. Minimum age is 18 for this crew.

Trash/Recycling Crew

Collects trash and recycling twice daily all over the festivai; the campground, in the concert and concession areas. Heavy lifting required. Bring work gloves, work shoes, rain gear, sunscreen, and a great sense of humor, because trash is fun! This crew gets free hot showers! One Sunday shift required for all crew members. Check in with the Crew Chief for shift sign-ups once you’re onsite. Times for sign up meetings will be listed at VIP/Staff check in.

VIP Check In Crew

This crew checks in volunteers, artists, festival guests, and media at the main festival entrance. Skills and experience required include: prior volunteer service, clear communication skills, substantial knowledge of the event, familiarity with bluegrass artists, patience, and a welcoming nature. Shifts: Noon Tuesday through Noon Sunday. This crew has limited openings each year. During the event volunteers must work a morning (8-noon), afternoon (noon-4pm), early evening (4-8pm) and late evening (8-midnight) shift. Please use the notes section to describe your experience and skills.

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