Volunteering at Reading Beer Festival
We are now looking for volunteers to be involved in one of the biggest and most successful Beer festivals in Britain!
Volunteers now wanted - fill in the Staffing Form to volunteer
Why Volunteer?
Most of our volunteers return year after year because it's such a friendly community and it's a lot of fun! But the Beer Festival keeps getting bigger, so more and more volunteers are needed.
Who can volunteer?
Usually, volunteers must be members of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. If you are not a member but wish to volunteer, please consider joining. However, we do sometimes have a few volunteers who are not CAMRA members, but only if they are personally known by one of the festival organisers.
What sort of jobs are there?
The work at the Festival falls into two main areas: Setup/Takedown jobs and Open jobs. The jobs whilst the Festival is open to the public are more varied, so there's a wide choice of different areas to work in.
Open Jobs
- Serving at the bars - beer, cider, foreign beer, wine
- Entrance - selling entry tickets, glasses counter, programmes.
- Stewarding - although we need some stewards who are officially qualified, not all of them need be. Stewarding isn't all security.
- Behind the scenes - the jobs which are not directly customer facing. This could involve help with barrels (some heavy lifting), or some lighter duties such as litter picking. Where appropriate, tools and safety gear is provided.
- ...and more besides...
Setup Jobs
For some of Setup, we require volunteers who are physically fit as the work can be demanding with heavy lifting. Please be aware of these Governmental guidelines. All volunteers will also need to indicate that they have read and understood the Instructions to Staff which includes a section on manual handling.
What do you get in return?
Reading Beer Festival offers generous benefits to volunteers:
- Beer Tokens and Food Tokens to spend at the festival.
- Even if you only work a short while, you still get free queue-jumping access to the rest of the festival - just show your badge and go straight in!
- A friendly community - a very good way to make new friends
- Staff party after closing on Sunday night - whatever beer is left over is then free!
- Helpers' Trips - coach trips out to breweries and pubs make a fun day out in the summer, and are free to volunteers (first come, first served)
Delicious