The Festival Runs on Volunteers

For the past 37 years, the Cantaloupe Festival and Country Fair have relied on community volunteers to create and produce what has become Nevada’s premier agriculture festival. And this year is no different. 
As the countdown begins in the last month leading up to the festival which will run this year from August 25 – 27, volunteer positions are still available for facilities set-up, vendor check-in, gate monitors, ticket scanners, gate workers for the concerts, guides for the lines, and many other possibilities. 
“Volunteers make this event, bottom line,” said Adrienne Snow, who is in her third year as the Director of the Festival. Joining her this year as the Volunteer Coordinator is Carrie Sheldon-Davis who has taken on the daunting task of organizing the troop of community members who have stepped up to the plate throughout the year to pull together the minute details of the fair, the vendors, entertainment, farmer’s market, the rodeo, and the concerts. She will also schedule the small army that will be on the grounds the week leading up to the festival as well as manage the scheduling that makes sure the hundreds of tasks throughout the weekend are covered. 
“We have seen more people step up this year,” said Snow, “but we still don’t have enough people to keep from wearing people out.” Ideally, the volunteer shifts will be in four-hour blocks and the idea is to get enough volunteers that people can just come do one shift. “This just makes it more convenient for everyone and spreads the load out across more people.” 
Over the years it has been the family and friends of the Festival Board who step in to fill spots that haven’t gotten covered, often working throughout the weekend. But over the past few years, Snow is working to build a volunteer program of which the community can be proud. “We want people to be proud of our event and proud of being a part of it,” she said. She is modeling her efforts after the Reno Rodeo where volunteers come back year after year, being recognized for their efforts and working up in the progression of positions. “They run that event flawlessly, and we want to do that here,” she said. 
For more information or to volunteer contact Carrie Sheldon-Davis at 775-857-7886 or email at [email protected] or sign up online at:  https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/1976211805/false#/invitation