Description of festival tasks
During the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, a lot of hired labour, i.e. employees, and volunteers are needed. The following is a description of the specifics of the job descriptions and related clarifications. For more information, please contact staff@kaustinen.net.
Employees (staff)
Staff positions require either previous experience, training, or other suitability for the job. Staff members are remunerated and are required to commit to longer working hours and, where necessary, to night work.
Staff jobs include security, catering, ticketing, customer service at the information desk, and the most demanding clerical tasks.
They will be offered a workplace, a staff member's pass for access to the festival area, accommodation in shared accommodation and a discount on food at the festival restaurant.
Staff duties (paid posts)
The steward
The stewards are responsible for the general orderliness of the event, ticket control, supervision of the bar areas and other necessary tasks. Some of the stewards are involved in traffic control. The stewards must hold a valid stewards' card. Other qualifications will be considered as additional qualifications. The work involves walking and night shifts. The minimum age required is 18 years.
Ticket sales
Ticket vendors work at the event gates from 9am to 9pm, depending on demand and the duration of the programme. Gate shifts are two hours at a time, followed by a paid hour off. The length of the days may vary according to need or by agreement. There will be between one and two ticket sellers, depending on the situation. Ticket sales are also available at the People's Arts Centre, where general advice is also provided. The ticket seller must be 18 years of age or older.
Information worker
The Info Point staff work in a 24-hour office at the Music School. They provide general information about the event, give directions to the various service points inside the building, and receive and hand out various in-event mailings and other items, among other things. The work includes night shifts.
Restaurant worker
Restaurant workers will work in the event's bar and café areas. These include bar staff, festival catering staff, cafeteria staff and caterers. Most jobs require a bar pass and a hygiene pass. The minimum age for restaurant and café work is 15 years. Bar workers must be of legal age and the job includes night shifts. Restaurant workers apply on their own form below.
Construction worker
As a rule, the staff of the construction team work throughout the summer. This includes the construction of the event in the early summer and its dismantling after the event. The tasks also include repair and transport during the festival.
Individual more demanding office tasks
The event organisation also has a variety of more demanding clerical tasks, for which people are selected on a case-by-case basis.
Employee application form: https://gest.fi/customers/chfaei/9369
Application form for restaurant workers: https://gest.fi/customers/chfaei/9370
Volunteers
Volunteering is a more general and varied range of tasks that are needed to support the festival organisation. Volunteers are not paid for their work, but are offered the benefits mentioned below. The maximum number of shifts a volunteer can work is five hours. Priority will be given to volunteers who are able to be present throughout the week.
Examples of volunteer tasks include supervising accommodation, a children's play tent, organising, guiding and transporting artists and cleaning up.
Volunteers will also be offered a workshop, accommodation and a volunteer pass, as well as a hot meal daily at the festival restaurant.
Voluntary work (unpaid activities)
Calling line
The call box is open from morning until late evening and a large number of volunteers are needed to staff it. The volunteers will receive the instruments for storage, check them and hand them over to their owners when they are collected.
Accommodation control
Accommodation supervisors sit near the entrances of accommodation facilities such as the Sports Hall and school buildings to welcome guests and ensure that the accommodation runs smoothly. If necessary, they will report any shortcomings or other issues that they find, and can, for example, replenish toilet paper when it runs out.
Infotool
Info volunteers carry out the same tasks as staff members, where applicable, but with shorter hours and without night shifts. In the Info Shop in Juhlapiha, the job also involves selling festival merchandise.
Roudari / sender
The couriers carry supplies and water to the platforms, gates and other necessary points. They can also carry other necessities on request. The means of transport in the event area are milk and beak trolleys. In the mornings, couriers will also distribute daily stage programmes to the stage programme boards.
Stage manager
Stage managers are responsible for the operation of the marquees and assist and instruct performers as needed. They oversee stage schedules, cleanliness and are the face of the festival for performers and the public.
Presented by
The presenters host the entrances and exits of the performers, and concerts may also have interludes. The promoter should plan the acts in advance by getting to know the performers, for example online and/or by talking to them before the show. Depending on the situation, you can also improvise on the basis of the plot outline. As a rule, the plots run from afternoon until late at night on stages of various sizes. The duration of a single day is about 5-6 hours.
Children's Tent
Children's Kaustinen includes the Children's Tent with a children's programme and the adjacent Play Tent. Children participate in the activities in the tent with an adult or alone under the responsibility of an adult. The activities in the Wooden Tent include guided handicrafts and free drawing. The volunteer must have good interpersonal skills and be able to interact with children in a natural way. The task is to guide and assist the children in the activities in the tent.
Artist transporter
Artists and other authorised persons will be transported by artist drivers in the festival's rental cars. They pick up artists mainly from airports, trains and other possible pick-up points in the surrounding area and then take them back. Transport may also be provided within the locality or beyond the county boundaries. The job requires a B licence and the journeys can be long, even if they are within the limits of the volunteer's working hours.
Cleaner
The cleaners work alongside the festival's cleaning services to keep the event clean. The volunteer cleaners are mainly responsible for keeping the backstage areas of some of the stages clean, as well as other smaller-scale cleaning tasks where necessary. The actual cleaning of the event is carried out by a contract cleaning company.
Information and communication
Press Office volunteers are an important part of the festival's communications team, supporting the work of media representatives and capturing the festival's atmosphere for various communication channels. Their tasks include producing social media content (please bring your own camera or a good quality mobile phone), conducting small interviews and capturing the festival atmosphere, organising briefings and other communication-related tasks. The role is particularly suited to someone who enjoys working with people, has a good command of social media content production and is interested in communication. In the Press Office, shifts are flexible, with morning and evening shifts.
Office worker
A clerical assistant can work in customer service roles such as assisting in the performers' reception, accommodation office, or staff reception, as well as assisting in other necessary event offices.
Application form for volunteers: https://gest.fi/customers/chfaei/9365
Other general points
A break room is available for staff and volunteers during the celebrations, where coffee is served and refrigerators are available to store snacks. All staff are insured against accidents on behalf of the event. A joint welcome event for staff will be held at the beginning of the event, with the necessary inductions for each role.
Construction and demolition projects
We also organise festival set-up and tear-down events, mainly in the evenings during June and July. Tasks include organising the festival area and facilities, preparing accommodation, decorating the area and general tidying up.
You can also use the same form to register for the festival's volunteer reserve. We will be in touch at short notice with varying offers of tasks. The construction tool form will be opened in May.