Safely back in Portland, it’s a good time to reflect on my experiences at the National Winter Ales Festival in Manchester. In particular, why work at the festival as a volunteer rather than just going as a punter? The work is hard, and all we get is a t-shirt and some free beer, so why do it?
As one of the people who help run the NERAX cask ale festival in Boston, I enjoy the opportunity to learn at the Manchester festival. Manchester seems to attract experienced festival managers from across the UK. Most of the volunteers I met either run a local festival or have a significant position running the Great British Beer Festival in London in August. The opportunity to talk about running festivals is unique, and I inevitably return with new ideas and insights.
There’s far more benefit than just the intricacies of festival management. In my experience volunteering at a festival offers an intensity and breadth of interaction with beer culture that is unavailable in any other way. Just attending a festival offers a unique chance to sample an incredible variety of beers side by side. A volunteer however has a much richer experience.
I particularly like working at the trade session of the festival, wherein brewers and industry people gather. Nowhere else do I get to chat with so many industry people at one time. Putting my NERAX hat on, it’s a great place to recruit speakers and source beer for our festival.
Interacting with fellow volunteers is equally enjoyable. Taken as a group these people know beer as well as any collection of individuals in the world. This is a terrific place to talk about beer! Add in the experience of setting up the beer, caring for it, maintaining cooling systems, and organizing service at the bar, and you begin to see the attractions for a beer lover.
There is another compelling reason for volunteering: without volunteers these beer festivals simply would not exist.
If any of this sounds attractive, we always are looking for new volunteers at NERAX. The festival runs 25 March through 28 March, and we set up Mon and Tues, the 23rd and 24th. You can volunteer for setup, one session, or multiple sessions. We have jobs of every description and skills level; all are welcome. For every session you work you get free admission to another session, a couple of pints of beer, and a Redbones sandwich.
You can sign up at our website, www.NERAX.org