Dragonfest is a 100% volunteer-run organization. Each year the Board of Directors selects one or more Directors of Operations (“ops”). Ops directs dozens of volunteer staff who handle everything from coordinating rituals to managing the gate to being on call for medical needs. Many volunteer staff position are required being on the land on Monday or Tuesday before the event (see descriptions of positions for details). All though not a hard rule, we would like most of staff to be on the land by Tuesday afternoon by 3PM. Consult the current Ops director(s) if you questions or issues.
Volunteer as Staff: If you would like to volunteer for staff, you can sign up using this form or come to the monthly volunteer meeting. We can never give enough thanks to the staff that run the retreat each year. We are able to provide small perks such as discounted registration, a free staff shirt, early entry into the Retreat, and a Staff Camping Work Weekend the month before the retreat.
Go here Descriptions of Positions for information on each position.
Staff Meetings
Not sure if you want to commit as a volunteer? Attend any of our monthly staff meetings to find out what it is all about and meet the friendly folk you would be working with. Staff meetings locations to be determined. Once you are assigned to a department, the department head will give you further information on important meetings and team organization.
What to volunteer? Please complete this form. The 2024 meeting are third Saturdays – times 10:00 AM at the Jefferson Unitarian Church (14350 W. 32nd Avenue, Golden, Colorado 80401) These are hybrid we will be using Google Meet.
- Jan 20th, 2024
- Feb 17th, 2024
- March 16th, 2024
- April 20, 2024
- May 18, 2024
- June 15, 2024
- July 20, 2024
- July 30th, 2024 5PM – ON THE LAND – this is a mandatory meeting discussing safety, radio communications, etc
All meeting this year will be hybrid. Please email ops@dragonfest.org for a link
Other Volunteers: Dragonfest also relies on volunteers from our skilled and eclectic community to lead rituals and teach workshops. if this sounds like something you’d like to do, contact the appropriate department:
- Rituals Coordinator – rituals@dragonfest.org
- Workshop Coordinator – workshops@dragonfest.org
- Special Events Coordinator – events@dragonfest.org
Work Weekend June 28,29 & 30th 2024
Work Weekend is when volunteers gather at the Dragonfest site to get the land ready for the retreat. This includes clearing the land, collecting dead-fall, working on trails, and planning setup for the retreat. We also take a bit of time to relax and bond as staff. If you are a staff volunteer and willing to put in some work to help prepare the site for Dragonfest, we would love to have you join us. Just be prepared for physical labor – some of it easy, some of it strenuous but we’ll try to make it the best match for your abilities. This year, Work Weekend (tentatively) will take place around July 4th. Exact dates to be determined.
Finally, the retreat happens because the whole community pitches in. Every attendee 16-years-old and older must sign up for a 2-hour service shift during the event. Service shifts range from cooking breakfast in the morning to working with kids at Youthfest to welcoming folks at the gate. You can sign up for your service shift at the Kiosk after you stop at the Gate to get your wristbands and programs.
You can complete your work shift before the retreat starts and after it ends by volunteering for the Setup/Teardown crew. The Setup/Teardown crew get the advantage of camping early and staying later. See the link for more information.
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Volunteer Mission Statement: To provide skills, promote community awareness and empowerment, provide safety for all that participate, ensure protection for the organization and its surroundings, and foster a positive environment through necessary and effective risk management techniques.
Volunteer Code of Conduct: All volunteers must read and abide by the terms in our Dragonfest Code of Conduct. As any volunteer-run organization, we rely heavily on our volunteers to show our community exactly who we are. Each volunteer is often regarded by others as a representative of Dragonfest and as such, should conduct themselves according to standard business practices.
Thank you to all Volunteers, Coordinators, Departmental Directors, Operations, and Directors of the Dragonfest Retreat for giving your time to help make this year’s Pagan retreat one of the premier cultural events of the summer in Colorado.
As Volunteers, we are all partners on the team that provides for smooth operations and a safe and secure community during our Retreat. We ask you to cultivate a “we-are-one attitude” and personally invest in a “community spirit of cooperation” as we work together, connected in a common purpose to create a week community of spiritual and personal enrichment.