Okeechobee & FestiVOL Certification Spring 2020
I began my FestiVOL certification process in January 2020 and was immediately fascinated to learn the behind the scenes of working with festival producers, department heads, and workers to help run a smooth event.
Every week for six weeks, myself and a handful of other certificate seekers logged onto Zoom for a virtual lesson with Amy Eckles- the CEO and founder of the Work Exchange Team and FestiVOL program.
Our classes were interesting and packed full of information. During our lessons, we were taught how to use the FestiVOL software to generate applications and create worker schedules, expectations for managing our team on-site, as well as the history of the Work Exchange Team and some amazing stories from Amy’s long history of working in the festival industry. At the end of our lessons, we were finally able to put what we had learned to the test: scheduling real employees to work Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival in March.
I found the software to be incredibly user friendly and was extremely eager to put what I had learned to the test at my first real event.
We arrived at Okeechobee on Tuesday, March 3rd and were some of the first people inside the staff camping area. All around us, production was working to finish setting up the event before attendees began arriving. There’s something truly magical about being on-site at a festival before anyone has arrived and I was excited to experience the friendships and memories that would no doubt be created over the weekend. Being part of the team that helps to create those moments for people is hands down one of the best feelings in the world.
On Tuesday night, the management team met Amy at her Airbnb to touch base and go over what our schedule of events would look like for the weekend. There were a total of eight people on the Okeechobee management team, including two other FestiVOL certificate seekers like myself. We were split into two shifts and responsible for managing around 125 workers.
Our workers began arriving on Thursday and we spent most of the day getting them checked in, verifying their I-9’s and other payroll documents were in order, and directing them to their staff camping location. Almost everyone was camping in the section directly in front of the Work Exchange Headquarters. This made it incredibly easy for them to clock-in each day, as well as creating an environment where they could get to know each other and hang-out outside of their shifts.
Once the event began, the management team was primarily responsible for clocking workers in and transporting them via golf cart around the festival grounds to their respective departments. At Okeechobee, some of the departments we were responsible for staffing were Catering, Artist Relations, ADA, Shower Pods, Ground Control (health and safety team), VIP, Info Hubs, Toll Booths, and Event Water Solutions. We would also regularly check-in with these departments to get feedback or provide additional support when needed. When scheduling our staff, we always make sure to plan around their top artist they want to see and also work hard to schedule friends together when requested.
For the management team, our shifts were from 6am-3pm or 3pm-10pm. Whether we had the morning or the night shift would change each day, so everyone had more than enough time to check out the festival as an attendee and catch sets. Over the course of the weekend, I saw Caspa, Bassnectar, Lotus, Tipper, LSDream, Mumford & Sons, Griz, and Subtronics, among others. We were also provided with vendor coupons which could be used at any of the food trucks throughout the festival.
By the end of the event, the family atmosphere of the Work Exchange Team was undeniable and I felt extremely lucky to have gotten to know so many of our workers on a personal level. I’m still very close with many of the people I met at Okeechobee and I couldn’t be more grateful for the friendships that the community has brought to me.
As we deal with the current realities of Covid-19 and it’s subsequent cancellation of events, I can’t help but look back on Okeechobee Festival and feel overwhelmingly appreciative that I had the opportunity to work there.
Until next time Okeechobee.
For more information on the FestiVOL certification program, including how to apply, please click here: https://festivol.com/festivol-certified/.
