While the temperatures have said otherwise, today marks the first official day of summer! Summer offers you an abundance of opportunities to enjoy music, friends, family, and most importantly- the sun! Summer festivals attract people of all backgrounds to come together to enjoy one event dedicated to music, family fun, food, and more. Summer festivals also provide a fun and exciting way to volunteer.

Before volunteering with summer festivals, check out if the festival has any restrictions such as a minimum age requirement or weight lifting requirement. Next, decide how much you want to volunteer (e.g. a 4 hour shift or 8 hour shift). Many festivals require an application to see what kind of skills you can offer, to organize the volunteers based on preferred shifts, location, etc. After submitting your application, festival organizers will give you your assignment. Now that you’ve gotten the specifics taken care of, you’re free to have fun volunteering at your summer festival! Here are 3 festivals you may be interested in volunteering for!

1. Be a Green Festival Volunteer in Washington, DC! The Green Festival occurs September 29 through September 30th Washington, DC and reconvenes in San Francisco and Los Angeles in November. Besides enjoying free access to the festivals, volunteers will have the chance to meet new people, have fun and support a great cause! Volunteers are a critical part of the Green Festival! The event would not be possible without them. As a member of our amazing volunteer team at Green Festival, you are an essential part of the nation’s leading sustainability event educating and activating people to make choices for a just and sustainable world!
2. Volunteer with the 2012 Festival of the Arts in Lake Oswego, Oregon! This weekend, a dedicated group of people- from company teams to individual volunteers- work to celebrate the arts and produce a fantastic community event. It takes hundreds of volunteers to help it all come together, and volunteers like you are the driving force of the festival. There are a wide variety of volunteer positions open for the 2012 Festival. Shifts typically run in 3 hour increments, and are available all three days of the Festival. Volunteers are needed to greet guests, operate the festival’s information booth, or to handle administrative duties such as data entry and registration.
3. Become a National Black Arts Festival Volunteer in Atlanta! From Friday, July 6th  to Sunday, July 15th! The National Black Arts Festival convenes in Atlanta, Georgia’s Centinnial Olympic  Park. To volunteer with this event, volunteers are encouraged to attend an orientation for all of the festival details. Share your pride, bring a friend and support the festival together. Orientations will uplift, inform, and educate you about NBAF. You can select from many fulfilling volunteer assignments such as, greeter, information booth guides, stage assistants, ushers, setup/load out, office support, etc.

For more information on all of these volunteer opportunities, check out the festival websites. Whatever you choose to do, all of us at HandsOnNetwork hope you have fun!