With this year’s Blueberry Jam Music Gathering now only days away, organizers are still hoping to fill volunteer slots for the event.
Flin Flon’s annual free music festival, which will take place at the Flinty Campground festival grounds from August 7-9, still needs a few more people to step up and help out, organizers say.
Blueberry Jam board chair Colleen Arnold said that previous calls for volunteers had been successful, but that more hands on board would still be needed.
“The volunteers are starting to call in, we're getting that filled, but we could always use more,” she said.
“There's a few people that are stepping up and doing a lot more shifts, so hopefully we can get a few more volunteers.”
Organizers are looking for people to help out with gate duties at the two main entrances for the show - at Dadson Row and at the entrance of the Flin Flon Station Museum and Flinty Campground - as well as people to man 50/50 sales and donation bucket duties. The Flin Flon Rotary Club, which is handling a concession stand and the beer garden at the event, are still looking for volunteers to work shifts.
“We've been getting people calling in and leaving their names, so we're we're doing okay that way but we still absolutely can use more,” Arnold said.
“We're both trying to work everybody in there, sharing people and trying to get it all filled up. So absolutely, we can use more volunteers.”
Beyond calls for extra help, more parts of the weekend itself have been confirmed. A second stage will be ready to go for the weekend in front of the Flin Flon Station Museum, to be used instead of the usual second site at the Rotary Wheel. Johnny’s Social Club will not be used as an official third venue, as it has in the past for the Jam, and the festival will start on Friday evening instead of Thursday, as it did in 2019.
More performers have been confirmed, including several bands from Flin Flon and other northern communities, but no firm schedule has yet been announced as of press time.
“It’s looking pretty good. We’ve got more performers confirmed - there’s about 40 acts and we’re having the second stage at the museum, so that’s a go,” Arnold said.
Most of the parking for the event will be based around the Flintoba Shopping Centre, with lots at both Walmart and Canadian Tire likely to be used, as well as the lot further away at the former Extra Foods building. A shuttle service will be used to bring seniors or people with mobility issues to and from the festival grounds - a temporary crosswalk will also be put in place between the parking lot and museum, along with lights and signs for pedestrians.
Organizers have estimated that well over 100 volunteers may be needed to successfully pull off what has been planned.
“We’ve been hearing people say throughout all of this - it takes a lot of blueberries if you want to make Blueberry Jam,” Arnold said.
Possible volunteers are asked to contact the Flin Flon Arts Council at (204) 687-5974 or Dean Grove from the Flin Flon Rotary Club at (204) 923-0315 or [email protected] to get involved.
