Volunteers
We’re getting close to go-time on WMC Fest, and we’re still looking for volunteers. While there’s work to be done in all aspects of the festival, I’m personally responsible for making sure that we have quality photos and video of the whole weekend.
So why would you want to volunteer your time for WMC Fest? Well…
It’s Fun.
If you’re worried that volunteering means you’ll miss all the good stuff, don’t be. Shifts are short, so you’re not “stuck” in any one space for the whole day. Last year I opted to cover the speakers all weekend, and got to hear some AMAZING presentations while I worked.
Meet Cool People.
This isn’t exactly exclusive to volunteering, since you’ll meet great people anyway. But I got to hang out behind the scenes a lot as a volunteer, and spend some time with the folks that make the festival happen.
It’s Good for Your Portfolio.
Believe me, I’m the LAST person on the planet to pull a “it’s good exposure” on you. What I will say is that you’re guaranteed to have opportunities to shoot some really cool stuff. Last year I got to shoot things like Aaron Draplin planting the Puerto Rican flag onstage, a rainbow parade, live bands, and a breakdance battle.
Support WMC Fest.
WMC Fest is a unique festival and community event, and it’s something that I’m proud to be a part of. I saw first hand last year how much volunteers are needed to keep everything running smoothly. This year, I’m seeing first hand how all of the money going to the festival is getting put back into it, and making it better.
Get in Free.
While this is probably the most reasonably priced festival I know of, free stuff is still pretty great. Put in four hours taking photos or shooting video for the event, and you can hang out the rest of that day for free (plus, you get a t-shirt. And since it’s a design festival, you know it’ll be an awesome t-shirt.)
Where Do I Sign Up?
If you’re looking to volunteer for our photo or video crew, email me at info@mooreclick.com. If you want to volunteer for other positions, you can sign up here. Also, if you’re local-ish to Cleveland, we’re having a volunteer orientation at Go Media on May 23rd at 6:00. You can find out more or RSVP on the Facebook event page.
Weapons of Mass Creation
Yeah, it’s that time of year again where I start telling people how they really need to go to WMC Fest (June 8-10, 2012). Last year was the first one I was able to make it to, and I know that Jeff and company have been working crazy hard to make this year’s even better.
Explaining what exactly the festival is… well it’s a lot of things. It’s a design conference – they have 20 amazing speakers lined up from all different disciplines, and I learned a ton last year.
And it’s a gallery show – you can check out and purchase some great artwork (I’ve finally gotten that Aaron Draplin print framed, this year I plan on blowing some serious cash on Jon Contino’s work).
Oh, and a music festival. I think they’re up to around 30 bands for this year, and have locked down a new space. You get to see Signals Midwest and Two Hand Fools before they play The Fest in the fall (congrats to both of yous, by the way).
It’s also a pretty amazing community event. I spoke to a lot of attendees last year that said they felt like they’d gone to summer camp. You meet a ton of cool people, and most of the cool people that I met at last year’s are coming back – as speakers, or artists, or just to hang for the weekend.
Now usually when I look at design conferences I get psyched about the speakers, the content, and then I look at the price and go back to what I was doing. I don’t have a day job subsidizing my continuing education, which means I can’t drop a grand on a conference (not including travel, etc.) The other awesome thing about WMC Fest is that it’s $50. That’s not even per day, or per conference hall, that’s it guys. For $50, you get access to all of the speakers, the gallery, and the music for the whole weekend. As an added bonus for my East Coast crew, it’s in Cleveland, which means the travel for us is also mega cheap.
That said, I believe it’s $50 through April 30th. I’m sure the price will still be totally reasonable after that, but this is the cheapest it’ll be. If you want to get your tickets and some swag to go with it, check out the WMC Fest Kickstarter. For the same $50 you were going to spend on tickets, you can get tickets and some cool WMC Fest gear, plus help to make sure they get funded (for those that haven’t been involved in Kickstarter projects, you only get money if the goal gets met. So if they don’t meet their $7,000 goal in time, they get $0).
And if $50 is still too much for you to spend on this sort of thing (hey, we’ve all been there), consider volunteering. I volunteered last year to take photographs during the presentations, and they have spots available for all different skill sets. This year, I’m actually going to be organizing our photo squad (so if you have some photography skills, or have a friend that does and might be interested, get in touch with me). You can also sign up to volunteer for any position here, or sign up for the street team to help spread the word.
Seriously, folks, go get those tickets.
You guys like free stuff, right?
If you keep up with me on Facebook or the Twitter, you’ve probably seen me pimping this year’s WMC Fest in Cleveland, OH. It’s a conference, it’s a design show, it’s concerts. It’s a bunch of people in a room talking about and showing off things you’re interested in.
You can see the whole line-up here, including Miss Stephanie Rexroth. We graduated from Cal’s Design program together, as well as Cal’s Honors program. It’s gonna be cool.
Onto the freebies! Since I backed WMC Fests on Kickstarter, they’ve been kind enough to hook me up with a weekend pass. And since I already bought mine, I’m giving it away. You want it? Tweet this:
Win a free pass to @wmcfest from @mooreclick: http://tinyurl.com/3arxyvu
I’ll put everyone’s name into a hat, and on May 21st (that’s next Saturday) I’ll pick a winner.
