Thank you for choosing to be part of the team that brings Pickathon to life!
For over 20 years Pickathon and our community of volunteers have collaborated to create the most magical of music festivals. It’s not just the amazing artists or the beauty of the woods that gives Pickathon that special something. It’s also the end result of the exceptional energy and care that thousands of volunteers pour into Pickathon every summer! We are truly a volunteer-run festival and every volunteer is vital; Pickathon simply would not exist without your efforts! Whether this will be your first year volunteering with us, or you’ve been doing it for longer than you can remember, we can’t wait to work with you to make 2024 our best year yet!
IMPORTANT: If you are (or expect to be) working with an invite-only crew this year please DO NOT use this application. You will receive a private link and access code at a later date from the crew chief who recruited you. Invite-only crews include design, production, programming, and many site-ops crews, as well as medical services, artist services, and others.
THE BASIC INFORMATION
Pickathon volunteers commit to approximately 12-16 (during festival days, Thursday-Sunday) or 16-20 (during the setup and tear down periods) hours of work in exchange for one ADULT WEEKEND ticket. All volunteers must be at least 18 years of age.
Your adult weekend ticket allows you come-and-go access to the Pickathon festival Friday, August 2nd through Monday, August 5th at noon, and includes a walk-up primitive campsite within the Pendarvis woods.
Your adult weekend ticket does NOT include a parking pass, a shuttle pass, or access to the Pickathon festival/campgrounds on Thursday, August 1st.
Thursday entry tickets and parking or shuttle passes are available for purchase at pickathon.com/tickets OR volunteers can opt to work an additional shift (subject to festival needs) in exchange for Thursday entry or a weekend parking pass (regular weekend parking in the Welcome Lot only, does not apply to car, van, or RV camping). You will be given the option to indicate on your application if you are interested in volunteering for an extra shift in exchange for one of these perks.
Applicants are confirmed volunteers once they have been assigned to a crew and are sent a crew acceptance email. Crew schedules will be sent out to confirmed volunteers in separate emails at a later date, usually within the 2 weeks prior to the start of setup or the Thursday opening day, depending on which crew they are on. Any volunteer needing to cancel their application or position should reach out to the Volunteer Coordinator (volunteer@pickathon.com) and their crew chief (if assigned) ASAP so we can quickly get started in finding a replacement. A cancellation penalty may be assessed for cancellations made close to the start of the festival.
HOW TO APPLY
Step 1: Provide your personal contact information and the phone number for an emergency contact. Confirm you are at least 18 years of age.
Step 2: Answer a few questions regarding your experience with Pickathon, your availability, and your general preferences as a volunteer.
When providing your availability please keep in mind that your crew chief is expecting that you will be able to work a shift at any time on that day. Shifts during the festival can start as early as 6AM and some wrap up as late as 2AM the following day. Shifts before and after the festival are usually between the hours of 9AM and 7PM.
You will not be able to log back into your application to make adjustments, so be sure to double check your answers and if anything changes (especially regarding your availability!) please email volunteer@pickathon.com asap to let us know.
We do our best to accommodate as many volunteer preferences as we can, however this isn’t always possible due to the many demands of the festival. We thank you in advance for your understanding!
Step 3: Select and rank the specific crews you want to apply to. You must apply for at least two crews, however we suggest you apply for all the crews you are interested in because the more information you give us, the easier it is for us to place you with a preferred crew.
Every crew has specific needs and requirements, so be sure to read each crew description carefully. Selecting a crew will bring up a required set of questions for that crew. You must rank each of your crew choices in the order you would like to be considered for them. For example if you apply for both Camp Host Crew and Parking Crew, but you would prefer to be on Parking Crew, you would rank Parking as your first choice and Camp Host as your second choice.
There is a wide variety when it comes to the volunteer capacity for each crew.. Some crews need a few hundred volunteers to operate while others only need a handful of people. Volunteers are NOT assigned to crews on a first-come, first-served basis since a number of our crews require specific and specialized skills. Please take into account the size of each crew when choosing and ranking crews. We recommend ranking at least one of the LARGE crews within your top three crew preferences to avoid getting jammed up in numerous queues for smaller crews. If this will be your first year as a Pickathon volunteer we HIGHLY recommend selecting a LARGE crew as your first or second choice; this will greatly speed up your acceptance to a crew.
Step 4: Sign the volunteer waiver and submit your $35 non-refundable application fee using a credit card (credit card must have an expiration of 08/24 or later) to complete and submit your application! Check your email to make sure you have received an email confirming your application has been successfully submitted. (Check your spam/promotions boxes if necessary!) If you do not receive a confirmation email by the following day email volunteer@pickathon.com so we can check for your application.
Step 5: Get excited but be patient! Since Pickathon operates on the collaborative efforts of SO MANY volunteers we are able to accept the majority of applicants. Since we do not operate on a first-come, first-served basis but rather by matching the skills and availability of applicants to the crews that need them, it takes a decent amount of time to assign each volunteer to a crew. You should expect to be notified of your crew assignment anytime from two weeks to two months from the date you apply.
Volunteer FAQs
> What are the requirements to volunteer for Pickathon?
All volunteers must be at least 18 years old and be able to commit 12-20 hours (depending on crew) of volunteer time to the festival. Volunteer applicants are required to pay a $35 application fee with a credit card that expires no sooner than September 1, 2024.
> Do I need to purchase a ticket as a volunteer?
Confirmed volunteers (volunteers who have been accepted to a crew) do NOT need to purchase their ADULT WEEKEND ticket. Your ticket will be issued to you via our ticketing system once you accept your assigned shifts. You will receive and be instructed how to accept your shifts via email once your crew chief schedules you. Please do not purchase a weekend ticket if you intend to volunteer as all purchased tickets are non-refundable.
For all other tickets and passes (Thursday tickets, parking passes, single day passes, car camping passes, etc) visit pickathon.com/tickets. Thursday entry and weekend parking are NOT included with your adult weekend ticket unless you have arranged to work additional shifts with your crew.
> Do I have to pay a deposit to apply?
We do not collect and refund deposits from volunteers. Instead, your payment info is encrypted and securely stored when you pay your $35 application fee. As long as you complete your volunteer assignment your payment information will be scrubbed from our system after the festival. If you cancel too close to the opening day of the festival or no show to an assigned volunteer shift your card will be charged the appropriate amount according to the cancellation fee scale at the bottom of this page.
> Why is there a $35 non-refundable application fee?
Building up our volunteer crews each year is a HUGE undertaking. Between the festival being almost entirely run by volunteer crews, and the fact that many of those positions require very specific skills, it takes many, many staff hours. And since we want all of our volunteers to have the best time possible, we take extra time to try our best to accommodate everyone's preferences when creating the shift schedules.
The application fee helps cover the vast number of staff hours required to operate a volunteer team of our size as well as help to cover costs of crew supplies. We also hope the fee will act as financial commitment for the applicant and be a deterrent to cancellations.
> I made a mistake on my application. Can I change it?
Please be sure to triple check your answers on each page of the volunteer application (especially your email) because once submitted you will not be able to log back in and change it yourself. If you are hoping to be scheduled with someone specific during your volunteer assignment make sure you discuss and coordinate your answers before submitting your application.
If you do make a mistake or if anything about your availability changes, please email volunteer@pickathon.com right away so we can make sure your application is up to date. If you have already been accepted to a crew, please make sure you copy your crew chief on this email.
> When will I know if I have been accepted as a volunteer?
Since Pickathon operates on the collaborative efforts of SO MANY volunteers we are able to accept the majority of folks who apply to a crew. We do not operate on a first-come, first-served basis because it is important that we match the skills and availability of each applicant to the crews that need them most. This is a fairly intensive process that can take a while, which is why we do not make any promises about how long it will take for you to receive your acceptance email. On average it can take anywhere from a few weeks to a month and a half to receive a response, but so long as you are patient and open to a variety of volunteer opportunities we will very likely have a spot for you!
> My friend and I applied at the same time and she’s already been accepted, but I haven’t heard anything. What's going on?
There are a number of reasons this could happen, the first being that we do not accept applications in the order they are received. Each crew chief reviews the applications in their queue and then selects volunteers they believe will be a good fit. Additionally, applications are reviewed by individual crew chiefs in the order you ranked them on your volunteer application, so if you and your friend did not apply to the exact same crews in the exact same order, your applications are being reviewed by different people on separate timelines. Finally, if you and your friend applied for the same crew, but your friend has more relevant experience for that particular crew than you do, it’s possible your application was passed on to the next crew in your ranking, or that the chief of that crew will accept you on their second pass through their applications. Either way, just be patient and open to working wherever you are needed and we will have a position for you!
> Am I guaranteed a position on one of my preferred crews?
We always try to assign and schedule volunteers in accordance with their preferences, and most of the time this works out. Occasionally, issues such as too many applicants to one crew and not enough to another require us to assign volunteers to crews they did not select as a preference on their application.
> When will I know my volunteer schedule?
Volunteers who are on Pre and Post Festival crews generally receive their schedules by the end of June/first week of July. Volunteers who will be working during the festival generally receive their schedules within the week or two leading up to the first day of the festival. Each crew chief is responsible for making the shift schedule for their crew so there is no specific time they are sent out as different crew chiefs work at different paces.
Since volunteers during the festival may not know their schedule until a few days before, it is VERY IMPORTANT that your availability is up to date and accurate.
> My availability has changed since I completed my application. Can I update it?
If anything about the availability you provided on your application changes, please email volunteer@pickathon.com right away so we can make sure your application is up to date.
> Can I be scheduled to volunteer with my friends?
On your application you can request up to three additional people you'd like to be scheduled with, if possible. To increase your chances of being scheduled with someone(s) specific we suggest getting together with you friends and filling out your applications side by side to make sure you are both submitting the same crew rankings, availability, and other preferences. We always try to accommodate these requests when we can and we ask you to please be understanding that the demands of the festival always come first, so it’s not always possible to schedule your shifts with your preferred people. Thanks!
> Can I bring my kids with me to volunteer?
Although we highly encourage you to bring your kiddos with you to Pickathon (all kids 12 and under are FREE to bring to Pickathon) you are NOT allowed to bring them with you to your volunteer shifts. Your volunteer position will require your full attention while you are on your shift and it will not be possible to keep an eye on your child and complete your duties at the same time. Additionally, many environments where volunteers work (before, during, and after the festival) could be dangerous or otherwise unsuitable for children. If you are coming to Pickathon with your kids, please be sure to secure childcare during your shift times.
> Are there any volunteer opportunities for teens/kids under the age of 18?
At this time we do not have a youth volunteer program, but we may be looking to add one in the future.
> Can I come on Thursday?
The general admission adult weekend wristband does NOT include Thursday entry to the festival or the campgrounds/parking lots. Volunteers wishing to attend the festival starting on Thursday can either arrange to work an additional shift with their crew in exchange for a Thursday ticket, or can purchase one at pickathon.com/tickets.
> Does my weekend ticket include weekend parking or a shuttle pass?
The general admission adult weekend wristband does NOT include weekend parking or a shuttle pass. Volunteers who intend to drive to and park at the festival can arrange to work an additional shift with their crew in exchange for a Welcome Lot weekend parking pass, or can purchase one at pickathon.com/tickets. Volunteers who intend to take public transportation to the festival can purchase a shuttle pass at pickathon.com/tickets. The shuttle runs hourly between Pendarvis Farm and the Lents Town Center, where there are connections to various forms of public transportation.
> Is there special camping and/or parking for volunteers?
There are no special camping or parking areas specifically for volunteers. The weekend ticket/wristband is the same ticket/wristband that is provided to anyone who purchases a ticket. The only difference is that instead of paying for your ticket with money, volunteers pay for their ticket with their hours.
Since we work with over 2,000 volunteers each year, and that number represents about a third of all festival attendees, it is simply not possible to have set aside areas for volunteer camping and parking.
> If I am volunteering before the festival, can I set up my camp early?
NO VOLUNTEER CAMPING ALLOWED PRIOR TO THURSDAY, AUGUST 1ST. For safety, security, and privacy reasons (the farm is a year-round home that the Pendarvis’s graciously share with us) we cannot allow volunteers to camp or set up any camping equipment of any sort prior to Thursday, August 1st. The tents you see set up on the farm prior to Thursday belong to festival site staff who are living and working on the farm full time. Any unaccounted for personal property left on the farm prior to Thursday, August 1st is subject to removal.
> I only want to attend the festival for a single day. Am I able to volunteer just enough for a single day ticket?
At this time we only accept volunteers who can contribute the full amount of volunteer hours required to earn a weekend pass. Anyone with a weekend pass can come and go as they please, and attend as much or as little of the festival as they please, but 12 is the minimum number of hours required for a weekend pass.
> What if I need to cancel?
If you need to withdraw your volunteer application please email volunteer@pickathon.com asap so we can cancel your application. If you have already been accepted to a crew you must also copy your crew chief on this email so that everyone is aware of the situation and we can work on refilling your position. Depending on how close to the festival weekend you cancel you may be charged a cancellation fee.
> What are the cancellation fees?
Volunteers may cancel penalty fee free up until and on July 18th, 2024.
For cancellations on and after July 19th a $25 cancellation fee will be assessed.
For cancellations on and after July 25th a $70 cancellation fee will be assessed.
For cancellations on and after July 31st a $185 cancellation fee will be assessed.
Any volunteers who cancel on August 1st or later will be considered no-shows and will be charged the full cost of a ticket and will not be accepted as a volunteer for future festivals.