Volunteer

Description

Bealtaine Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2025!  

Established in 1995, Bealtaine is one of Ireland’s largest co-operative festivals and the world’s first national celebration of creativity in older age. The Festival brings people together to foster and inspire creativity among all of us as we age and to promote the skills, experiences and exposure that can lead to a rich creative life for all older people. For this very special 30th anniversary, we are focussing the in-house festival events in one location in Dublin city centre from 1st – 3rd May. There will also be a large outdoor event on Sunday 4th of May, also in Dublin.

Why become a Bealtaine Volunteer?

• An opportunity to meet new people across generations.

• Attend at various venues and see new work first-hand.

• Greeting and meeting the public and artists in a fun and creative setting.

• Great experience to include on your CV.

 

 The Important role of our Bealtaine Volunteers

Volunteers play a crucial role as part of the festival team and have contributed to the success of the festival over a long number of years. Effectively, many of our volunteers are the public face of Bealtaine. We are looking for people who are 18+ and have an interest in the Arts or Creative Ageing and who can commit a small amount of their time (over the key dates of the 1st – 4th May) to joining our festival team. We hope to grow our volunteer base nationwide over the coming years, but for now we are looking to hear from people who can volunteer for events taking place in Dublin. (Please note we can only pay travel expenses up to a limited amount, so this opportunity may not suit those living some distance from Dublin).

There are a variety of important duties that our Bealtaine Volunteers may be asked to carry out which include but are not limited to:

• Being a key point for information at events in relation to the Bealtaine Festival programme. • Being the public face of the Bealtaine Festival at relevant events.

• Carrying out surveys with the public at specific Bealtaine Festival events.

• Liaising with the Arts Programme Assistant Manager and others from the Age & Opportunity team You will be given every support and sufficient training so that you are well prepared for most eventualities. Conducting surveys (if applicable)

• At some events, we may require volunteers to conduct surveys with the public.

 • These surveys help us to evaluate how we are performing and identify needs and so are considered to be an extremely important part of our volunteer’s role.

• Volunteers will be fully briefed about the surveys before the festival.

 

You may be asked to be a Venue Assistant. The key qualities for this volunteering role are:

• To be reliable and a good timekeeper.

• Be a self-starter and take initiative if you see something that needs attention.

• To be friendly and approachable.

• To be informed about the festival programme

 • To be informed about the venue

 • To liaise with venue staff / Bealtaine staff Documentation

• Volunteers may be asked to take some photographs on their phone for documentation purposes at events and share these with the organisation.  

• Volunteers will be given guidelines on taking photos at the orientation session.

 

General Requirements

• To follow the procedures outlined in Age & Opportunity’s Volunteer Handbook.

• To undertake any other reasonable volunteer tasks as may arise from time to time.

• To follow all Covid and Health and Safety Protocols.

 

What do we expect from our Bealtaine Volunteers:

We ask that you are free to commit to the following:

• Attend volunteer shifts over the dates of May 1st – 4th  

• A minimum of two shifts over the four days (up to 4 hour shifts)

• Attend an informal interview

• Attend an orientation event online and in person at the festival venue.

• Sign and submit a volunteer agreement before volunteering

 

How to Apply To apply to be a Bealtaine Volunteer please fill out the application form and return to arts@ageandopportunity.ie or fill out the online form by 12 noon on Wednesday 12th of March 2025.

• Informal interviews will be held online via Zoom on the 18th and 19th of March.  

• A two hour orientation session will be held online on April 28th, you will also receive an in-person orientation at your first shift in the venue. 

Is training provided?: Yes

Tasks that the volunteer(s) will be expected to undertake:

There are a variety of important duties that our Bealtaine Volunteers may be asked to carry out which include but are not limited to:

• Being a key point for information at events in relation to the Bealtaine Festival programme. • Being the public face of the Bealtaine Festival at relevant events.

• Carrying out surveys with the public at specific Bealtaine Festival events.

• Liaising with the Arts Programme Assistant Manager and others from the Age & Opportunity team You will be given every support and sufficient training so that you are well prepared for most eventualities. Conducting surveys (if applicable)

• At some events, we may require volunteers to conduct surveys with the public.

 • These surveys help us to evaluate how we are performing and identify needs and so are considered to be an extremely important part of our volunteer’s role.

• Volunteers will be fully briefed about the surveys before the festival.

 

You may be asked to be a Venue Assistant. The key qualities for this volunteering role are:

• To be reliable and a good timekeeper.

• Be a self-starter and take initiative if you see something that needs attention.

• To be friendly and approachable.

• To be informed about the festival programme

 • To be informed about the venue

 • To liaise with venue staff / Bealtaine staff Documentation

• Volunteers may be asked to take some photographs on their phone for documentation purposes at events and share these with the organisation.  

• Volunteers will be given guidelines on taking photos at the orientation session.

 

General Requirements

• To follow the procedures outlined in Age & Opportunity’s Volunteer Handbook.

• To undertake any other reasonable volunteer tasks as may arise from time to time.

• To follow all Covid and Health and Safety Protocols.

Skills required for this role:

An interest in arts and cultural events and/or working with older people. 

Details of time commitment needed for role:
Attend volunteer shifts over the dates of May 1st – 4th • A minimum of two shifts over the four days (up to 4 hour shifts) • Attend an informal interview • Attend an orientation event online and in person at the festival venue.

Minimum time commitment per week:
8 hour p/week

Additional screening required for this role:
2 references will be required. Informal interviews will be held online via Zoom on the 18th and 19th of March. A two hour orientation session will be held online on April 28th, you will also receive an in-person orientation at your first shift in the venue.