February 3rd 2011
Hello from our new office!

The Ottawa Folk Festival has changed offices, now being located right downtown above the bus terminal on Catherine Street.  We share space as well as resources with our Bluesfest colleagues who are great folks with whom to work.

Check out the picture to see a good part of our staff in Folk Fest central.

Crystal Kirkpatrick - Operations & Admin Manager,

Ana Miura - Sponsorship Manager,

Mark Morrison - General Manager,

Mark Monahan - Festival Supervisor,
and myself, Emily Addison - Community Engagement & Volunteer Manager

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Now... down to business!  There are four items in this OFF volunteer newsletter:

1. Looking for feature profile writers - an easy and fun project for the winter months
2. Black History Month (Feb 18) looking for volunteers
3. Prairie Scene (Apr 26 - May 8) looking for volunteers
4. Job Creation Program positions opening in February to begin in March
 
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1. A call for feature profile writers...
featureprofile

We have a great team who interview and write feature profiles on Ottawa Folk Fest volunteers and we're looking for a few more folks to join the team.
 

Are you interested??? Writing a feature profile takes 2-3 hours every three months.  If you're interested, email Emily at volunteers@ottawafolk.com.
 

You can check out previous feature profiles at

http://www.ottawafolk.org/volunteer/?profiles.


 

 

 

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2. Black History Month event - looking for volunteers!

Our partners at the Catholic Immigration Centre are looking for volunteers to help with their event on February 18th.  Want to help out and have a great time?  Check out their info below:
 
 

From the organizers...
 

The purpose of this Black History Month event is to promote and emphasize the achievements of Caribbean and African Canadians over the past centuries through poetry, singing, traditional African dances and Art Exhibition by newcomer youths. Related to this year's Black History Ottawa's theme of leadership, we will also have a 'Speed Mentorship' segment for newcomer youth between 5-6pm.  The event will include African and Caribbean cuisine. Last year, there were approximately 400 participants and the venue was at full capacity.  This year, we are expecting over 400 attendees who will primarily be newcomers.   
 

In order to make the event happen, we rely on volunteers such as you to assist with greeting participants at the door, ensuring that guests do not bring food and drinks into the auditorium, preparing the buffet and serving food and dish clean up.  Clean up will finish around 10:00 pm.  

 

Date: Feburary 18th, 2011

Time: 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.  

Location: Library and Archives Canada

Cost: This event is free of charge.

 

Please contact Yodit Girmay at yodit@cic.ca if you are interested in volunteering.
 

 
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3. Prairie Scene looking for volunteers too!

The Ottawa Folk Festival is also partnering with Prairie Scene and they have some great volunteer opportunities.  Check out their info below:
 

We're looking for energetic, dependable individuals to give us a hand in a variety of areas during the 13 days of Prairie Scene.
 


 prairiescene

Benefits:

  • Opportunity to attend performances
  • Your very own Prairie Scene t-shirt
  • Invitation to the volunteer post-festival party
  • Official letter of recognition

Requirements:

  • Complete an application form
  • Agree to a police record check
  • Attend a Volunteer Orientation Session
  • If you work in an establishment that sells alcohol, you have be at least 19 years of age
  • Volunteer a minimum of 8 hours (two 4 hour shifts)
  • Wear a Prairie Scene t-shirt during volunteer shifts

 

To apply, click on the link below and fill out the Application - it's that simple! Begin an application
 

Our first volunteer orientation meeting will take place in March.  If you would like to attend, please call (613) 947-7000, extension 759 and leave a voice message stating your name, telephone number and availability to attend the volunteer meeting, or send an email at info@prairiescene.ca.

 
 

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4. JCP positions opening

We're posting our 2011 Job Creation Program positions on the Ottawa Festivals website this month (February) with the positions beginning mid-March.  This includes the Volunteer and Outreach Associate position.


 

If you are interested in working with the Ottawa Folk Festival or Ottawa Festivals generally, visit the following page: http://www.ottawafestivals.ca/festival-jobs/


Most of the jobs, including all that the Ottawa Folk Festival is posting, fall within the Job Creation Program and so require certain qualifications (e.g., be on EI or or have received EI in the last three years).  These specifications can be found on the above website as well.

If you have any questions, please direct them to Ottawa Festivals.

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That's it from the volunteer corner right now.  More soon!
 

Emily Addison and the rest of the OFF staff

Community Engagement and Volunteer Manager