Festival Volunteering

Please familiarize yourself with the 2024 volunteer roles below. You will be asked to identify your top three choices on the application form. Please note the qualifications and any physical demands that are required in each role and ensure that you are comfortable with these requests before applying.

Training/Orientation: All new volunteers are required to attend a mandatory Volunteer Orientation which provides an overview of the Festival and Banff Centre. 

Time commitment: Volunteers must commit a minimum of 8 hours. 

Info Booth Attendant

Volunteer Role: Assist Festival attendees by answering questions, giving directions, handing out programs, etc.

Qualifications: General knowledge of the Festival and Banff Centre facilities, customer service skills.

Theatre Host

Volunteer Role: Meet and greet audience members, answer questions and assist Ushers in guiding patrons to their seats. Assist Ushers and patrons in the venue.

Qualifications: General knowledge of the Festival and Banff Centre facilities, customer service skills, requires standing/walking throughout shift

Guest Registration Assistant

Volunteer Role: Assist in operation of guest registration desk, greet speakers, filmmakers, and media as they arrive, distribute guest kits, answer questions, provide directions.

Qualifications: General knowledge of the Festival and Banff Centre facilities, exemplary customer service skills, comfortable using an online database and knowledge of Microsoft Office tools an asset.

Reading Room Assistants

Volunteer Role: Oversee Festival Reading Room, allowing guests to browse Book Festival entries

Qualifications: General knowledge of the Festival and Banff Centre facilities, customer service skills.

GO Team Assistant

Volunteer Role: Assist in delivering recyclables from Festival venues to the Centre’s recycling depot, and be on call for various Festival tasks such as deliveries, providing direction to guests, and lighting/monitoring outdoor firepits.

Qualifications: Knowledge of recycling standards an asset, customer service skills. Walking/lifting required.

Marketplace Assistants

Volunteer Role: Assist Festival vendors or sponsors with booth set-up as required, answer questions, provide directions, provide access to storage area.

Qualifications: General knowledge of the Festival and Banff Centre facilities, customer service skills, may require some lifting

Pre-event Assistant/ Kit-Stuffing

Volunteer Role: Assist with assembling guest kits and nametags, room-set-up, binder preparation, distribution of programs and posters, signage and package delivery in the days immediately prior to the Festival.

Qualifications: General knowledge of the Festival and Banff Centre facilities, organizational skills. Some walking/lifting required.

Volunteer Room Attendant

Volunteer Role: Check-in volunteers for each shift, assist with questions and directions, maintain volunteer room amenities.

Qualifications: A friendly smile for all volunteers, general knowledge of the Festival and Banff Centre facilities, customer service skills

Set-up / Tear-down Assistant

Volunteer Role: Volunteers assist Banff Centre staff, sponsors, and exhibitors in the set-up and tear-down of booths, exhibits, and Festival spaces as required.

Qualifications: It is a requirement of this position that volunteers be capable of moderate lifting and that they have an awareness of safe work practices regarding physical tasks. General knowledge of Banff Centre and our facilities preferred.

In addition to the great people you will meet and work with, the skills and experience you can add to your resume, and the fun you will have as a Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival Volunteer, you will also receive the following rewards:

Rewards Per 8 Hours Volunteered:
(all volunteers must commit to a minimum of 8 hours)

• Festival T-Shirt
• Festival Voucher
• Invitation To Wrap Party
• +1 Extra Voucher per additional 4 hours volunteered!

Festival vouchers are redeemable for tickets to events in the Rolston VIP Theatre (Rolston Recital Hall) and to a limited number of public Festival events. The Rolston VIP Theatre will feature a simulcast presentation of films and/or speakers from the Jenny Belzberg Theatre. Use of the Rolston VIP Theatre will be exclusive to Festival speakers, filmmakers, sponsors, special guests, and volunteers.

Please note:
Volunteer vouchers are distributed in person at the Volunteer Orientation (date TBA) or during the Festival week when volunteers pick up their kits. Vouchers are redeemable for events on a first-come, first-served basis and some events may sell out. Volunteers therefore cannot be guaranteed access to tickets to all events.

Invitation to Wrap Party

The Festival Wrap Party takes place on the closing night of the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival. This legendary invitation-only event brings our special guests, sponsors and volunteers together for an evening of entertainment. Food and drink are provided. You'll be talking about what fun you had for years - we guarantee it! (The Volunteer Coordinator will announce more details closer to the event)

• Provide adequate supervision, training, and orientation
• Provide meaningful work with similar space, equipment, and working conditions given to paid staff doing similar work
• Maintain records of volunteer hours, performance, and projects and respect the confidentiality of these records
• Provide letters of recommendation upon request
• Accord the volunteer respect and responsibility

We believe that:

• Volunteers are an integral part of Banff Centre and are critical in the production of a successful event
• Every hour contributed by a volunteer is a valuable gift that deserves to be managed, recognized, and honored
• All volunteers have the right to understand the big picture of the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival and to see where their efforts fit into the overall structure and mission
• It is the primary responsibility of the volunteer coordinator to place the volunteer in a position that fits both the interest and giftedness of the volunteer and the needs of the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival.

Banff Centre is committed to:

• A diverse and inclusive workplace, as detailed in the Centre’s Diversity Statement
• Acknowledging, with deep respect and gratitude, our home on the side of Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain. In the spirit of respect and truth, we honour and acknowledge the Banff area, known as “Minhrpa” (translated in Stoney Nakoda as “the waterfalls”) and the Treaty 7 territory and oral practices of the Îyârhe Nakoda (Stoney Nakoda) – comprised of the Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Wesley First Nations – as well as the Tsuut’ina First Nation and the Blackfoot Confederacy comprised of the Siksika, Piikani, Kainai. We acknowledge that this territory is home to the Shuswap Nations, Ktunaxa Nations, and Metis Nation of Alberta, Region 3. We acknowledge all Nations who live, work, and play here, help us steward this land, and honour and celebrate this place.

• Represent and support Banff Centre and the Festival in a positive way;
• Contribute to a respectful and inclusive environment for all individuals, as detailed in Banff Centre’s Diversity Statement
• Attend orientation and training required for assigned work;
• Carry out agreed tasks to the best of their ability and consistent with instructions provided, and in accordance with any procedures as set out by the Festival;
• Visibly wear a Volunteer ID name tag and T-shirt at all times while on duty as a volunteer;
• Meet agreed commitments with respect to attendance and time, providing advance notice of inability to attend where possible;
• Understand the function of paid staff, maintain a smooth working relationship, and stay within the bounds of volunteer responsibility;
• Work constructively and cooperatively with staff, Festival guests and volunteers;
• Ask for support if required;
• Maintain the dignity of Banff Centre and its integrity with the public, and honor confidential information;
• Adhere scrupulously to any relevant security procedures;
• Be receptive to performance appraisal, advice and feedback;
• Provide any relevant information reasonably required by the Festival and allow this to be used for statistical or reporting purposes; and
• Contribute to the maintenance of a safe and secure workplace