Hopefully, three days of great weather made up for the washout on Saturday.
Thank you to anyone on the forum that volunteered for Main ST this year. Main ST always has some fantastic volunteers. The artists mention all the time that the volunteers are one of the reasons they return.
I have been the volunteer manager for Main ST (and Parade of Lights) for a few years. It is not an easy job, and I am a volunteer too, but I enjoy interacting with our volunteers.
My biggest struggle during the festival is how to get more volunteers in the evening and during the day on Sunday. We also have a no-show problem, mostly with our younger volunteers.
We have an event management team (EMT) of volunteers that meets once a month on the second Tuesday, from 6:00 until about 7:00 pm.
We meet in the DFWi office on Taylor St. We usually do not meet in July, and sometimes we skip June.
The EMT is divided up into groups that manage the different areas of Main ST and the Parade of Lights. Some of the volunteers work both events, and some of them work only one.
All of the teams for both events need additional help.
Some of the more critical areas for the festival are block captains, information booth, and volunteers.
On my team, I need people that I can trust to manage the center for two or three hours at a time and can also escort some of our younger volunteers to the correct location. You would be amazed at how many teenagers get lost between the volunteer center and the Main ST Creates area!
The volunteer EMT team member would be shared with the information booth team and would help out there too.
Main ST is, of course, a longer obligation time wise. When I was still working (I retired in January), I would take vacation days on Wednesday - Friday the week of the festival. Others take off work Thursday and Friday.
One perk is that members of the EMT staff, that do not live downtown are offered a free hotel room Wednesday - Saturday nights. If the husband and wife are on the team together, you room together. If it is just you, are paired up with someone else. I live downtown. I was at Trinity Urban, but I just moved to the Broadstone, so I am not eligible for a hotel room. I do have thoughts to share about moving to the Broadstone, but I've been to busy with the festival to post.
If you do not have a hotel room, EMT staff get free parking in one of the 777 garages. It is on the top floor and not covered. Thursday - Sunday EMT staff are also provided with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's just breakfast and lunch on Sunday.
You also get shirts, a jacket, and a name tag. We have a holiday get together usually in early December. We do an awards ceremony in May or June. They do yearly certificates and wooden plaques at each 5-year milestone.
I am starting my 6th year on the EMT. If you think you might be interested in joining the Event Management Team, let me know. I would be happy to answer questions.
Attending the meetings is the best way to see if you are a fit for the team. Our August - December meetings are for Parade of Lights. January - June are Main ST.
One last festival comment. This year I didn't get a turkey leg. I waited until about 1:00 pm to go out and the line was too long. I couldn't stay away from the volunteer center that long. Besides the turkey leg and the rain, it was a great festival.
