Key Liaison Roles

We are very proud of our volunteers and we couldn’t have such a successful festival without you! Below are the key liaison roles – these are the volunteers that take care of the different areas of the festival to ensure its smooth operation.

Festival Director

PMES Vice-President Dave Bennie is the Festival Director and has been organising the Fingerling Festival for many years. If the appropriate liaison is unable to answer your questions, please ask at the Information Desk or contact Dave (604-617-1163) at the festival.

Volunteer Liaison

Takes care of volunteer registration, hand out food tickets to all volunteers (hot dog, drink, chips), lost children, and signage. The volunteer table will be the starting point for all volunteers to register, get their volunteer ID, and confirm roles. This role will co-ordinate the changing of shifts, filling gaps, organising the runners (eg. buying more milk) and will work closely with all other liaisons.

Hatchery Liaison (Inside)

This role ensures that the volunteers receive the training when they are inside the hatchery and ensure that everything required is on hand.

Hatchery Liaison (Outside)

This role trains the volunteers to show the children how to release the salmon (lower the bucket into the water and let them swim out). This volunteer will also be responsible for making sure the fragile environment isn’t being trampled on and that the flow of the ‘bucket brigade’ is moving smoothly. Volunteers working near the creek MUST wear a high visibility vest.

Food Tent Liaisons

This role sets up the food tent, and directing volunteers throughout the day (cleaning, preparation, cooking, serving).

Exhibitor Liaison

This role works closely with the organisers. They welcome the exhibitors and helps them to choose an appropriate place depending on their needs (sponsors, electricity, tables), and making sure they’re happy throughout the festival. They give the exhibitors their food tickets (hot dog, drink and chips) and direct them to the exhibitor food area, located beside the food tent, and provide any other support as required.

Photography Liaison

This dynamic role captures the atmosphere of the festival throughout the day. All volunteers are able, and encouraged to, take general people and event photos but permissions must be signed for ‘up close’ photos of children – please take permission forms and pens with you. If you see something special, please call them. You must wear a high visibility vest for this role.

Social Media Liaison

This role captures the Fingerling Festival experience in just 140 letters! You will be taking photos and creating tweets about the festival. You must wear an ID and high visibility vest for this role.

Hours: Our festival runs from 11am until 3pm, and we need people to help set up starting at 8am. We do our best to rotate shifts so that volunteers have the opportunity to work in different areas, especially popular roles such as the bucket brigade.

Set up from 8am
Registration from 10am
Festival starts at 11am
Festival finishes at 3pm
Taking down from 3pm (usually until 4/5)

Please note: our photographers may take photos of volunteers, which may then be used in our website and advertisements for future events

Also, all volunteers under 16 years of age must have a guardian with them

Volunteer Roles

Volunteer Registration

Putting up directional posters prior to the festival start, marking volunteer names off the list, handing out nametags and meal tickets, giving duties to people that may turn up unexpectedly. Helping the public with questions, directions and taking care of and making announcements regarding lost children.

Helping with Salmon release

Helping children to release the salmon and ensuring they are pouring them into the water and not from a height. Collecting empty buckets and returning them to the hatchery. Making sure nobody, including other volunteers, enter the water. Volunteers in this role should have some hatchery experience.

All volunteers working near the water must wear a high visibility vest. Please ensure that you identify yourself to the hatchery volunteer manager and get a vest from them.

Working in the rink

Helping set up the tables and chairs, helping groups set up (including those that require electricity on the outer circle), speaking with exhibitors and providing them with assistance, looking for lost children, helping the public with directions. Work with the Exhibitor Liaison to ensure the smooth running of the festival.

Food tent

Helping set up the food tent, cook the food, set up the tables, money and ticket handling, handing out food and drinks. Also providing exhibitors and volunteers with their free lunch and refreshments. If you have FoodSafe, please let us know!

Buggy Valet

We have an area set aside for buggy’s and you give a ticket to parents and put the other half of the ticket on their buggy. Watch over the buggies and match their ticket to their buggy ticket and hand it over.

Runner

The person that does this role will move around the festival and will work closely with the Volunteer Liaison help out wherever he/she can.

In the case of an Emergency or Lost children:

Contact the nearest liaison or go directly to the information tent with the child (let the liaison know before you leave your area).

If you need to leave early, please let your liaison know and check-out at the Information Tent to hand in your lanyard.

Please do not bring valuables as we have no storage space.

We encourage family volunteerism. If you are a family with children up to the age of ten, please consider volunteering with us. We understand that it can be difficult to know if your child will be happy to help out on the day so we have a very flexible approach – they can stay for as long as they are happy and when they are ready to go, just let us know. You and your children will help collect buckets during the fish release or might be asked to welcome visitors as they arrive at the festival.