A COMMUNITY OF VOLUNTEERS
Hundreds pitch in at jazz festival
For every Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival mainstage headliner and free-stage local performer, there’s a volunteer backstage making sure everything goes as smoothly as possible.
Volunteer coordinator Della Beal began helping out with the festival 27 years ago, long before it was a big enough event to warrant the number of volunteers — about 470 — who are involved in 2018. Until just a few years ago, Beal was the only coordinator.
“It’s just incredible, what has happened with the festival,” she said. “We probably had 100 or 150 (volunteers) when I started.”
There’s something about the jazz festival community that keeps volunteers coming back, and she’s made “lifelong friends” working at the festival, Beal said.
Even after moving from Saskatoon to the Victoria, B.C. area, Celine Major and her husband still return to volunteer each year. They flew back this year, but driving halfway across the country isn’t out of the question.
“It’s what we like to do in the summer,” Major joked. “We’ll sleep on the plane, because we don’t have time to sleep while we’re here.”
It’s the community that keeps bringing her back, Major said. She and her husband still have family and friends living in Saskatoon and area, so they can reconnect with old friends and the jazz community.
Despite all the loyalty among volunteers, and a love for the friends they’ve made, it’s not a simple job. Major said she and her husband got so busy volunteering last year, they nearly missed an important milestone in their lives.
“Somebody says, ‘What day is it today?’ And they go ‘June 25.’ And I go, ‘Oh my god, it’s my 40th wedding anniversary,’ ” she laughed.
“My husband’s standing right beside me, and he goes, ‘Here’s looking at you, babe.’ And then on to the Bess Gardens we went.”
The volunteer centre is a room on the second floor of the Bessborough Hotel: about as close as possible to the centre of the action.
Most volunteers are spread out across all the different venues, and the entire volunteer team doesn’t work simultaneously. They clean up, prepare the stages for shows and provide transport for artists.
Over 27 years of volunteering, she’s only actually been in the viewing audience for about six shows, Beal joked. She has some great memories of being involved, like being honoured with an award as a festival builder in 2015.
With only five permanent staff, Beal said the unpaid help makes or breaks the festival’s success behind the scenes.