Volunteering
If you have a day or two you could spare (or more, or even just half a day) between 8-14 October and fancy the idea of being part of our team, please fill in the staffing form.
On the form you need to fill in your details and the hours you wish to work. Our staffing officer will then register you, allocate you a job and reserve you (stock permitting) a free staff t-shirt.
There are a variety of roles available depending on your experience and availability, and all volunteers receive a free entry and free beer tokens as well as their t-shirt. Of course, the biggest reward is the satisfaction of being part of an enthusiastic team that makes the festival such a highlight of the Sheffield calendar!
The most obvious roles include serving beer and cider at the bar but we also need staff at the entrance dealing with admissions, glasses, programmes and customer service; staff on the various stalls including merchandise, membership, beer tokens and games; staff in the office for various admin duties and of course members of the cellar team looking after the beer behind the scenes!
We also really need volunteers to help on the site team setting everything up in the days before we open and taking everything down on the Sunday – we move in to an empty site on the Monday and build all the bars etc and have to leave an empty site with everything back in storage on the Sunday!
We are always especially short of helpers taking down and packing away on the Sunday – we do close a little earlier on Saturday where some of the take-down jobs will begin before the staff social (which includes free pizzas and beer!), but there will still be plenty to do on Sunday including van runs to our storage location. There’s no beer to be drunk but we do provide some refreshments, for example last year there were bacon sandwiches and coffee. All the Sunday volunteers are also invited for a free pint and a free buffet a couple of weeks after the festival.
Working a beer festival is generally enjoyed by all – some roles can be hard work, of course, but it’s also fun and if you have a passion for good beer or cider then a successful event makes it all worthwhile!