Robin Wignall, a Western Folklife Center super-volunteer since 2012, highly recommends volunteering at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering (or year-round!).
Here, Robin writes about some of her many volunteer exploits over the last decade.
It’s one of my favorite times of the year: plotting which Gathering shows and workshops I want to see about tickets for!
Pictured: Robin Wignall and fellow volunteer, Sarah Decker Ning, building stage sets. Says Sarah, “Some of my greatest memories of my time in Elko are from when I showed up early in the week to pitch in and volunteer.”
Also on my mind is which volunteer opportunities I want to put myself forward for. Remember the big oak tree on the mainstage, or the aspens on the mainstage last time we were all in Elko together? Those were me, bringing to life a vision that Marla Mitchnick (video director/producer) and the Western Folklife Center had for the mainstage. I couldn’t have done that without the other great volunteers helping me with the rigging, fabric-macheing, and even building the armature and braces keeping the trees from tipping over (those aspens were real aspen trees donated by the Steninger family in Spring Creek, by the way).
Stagecraft not your thing? There are so many other opportunities to physically give back to the Gathering before, during, and after. I have been a driver, worked in reception and information, helped at both Gift Shop locations with general staffing and autograph session staffing, worked as a logger, bar tended, and door monitored. And, I am the lead volunteer for the Open Mic signups.
No, logging doesn’t involve chainsaws. It is actually recording which poems and songs the artists perform during a session and making note of the really good ones so that the WFC knows what is on the tape and which ones to consider first when getting the videos online for others to enjoy. “But, Robin, I don’t know the name of the songs and poems,” I can hear some of you saying. Neither do I, but the artists are all reminded to introduce their pieces by the stage manager. And, as a last resort, you can describe it and, after the fact, the folks who process the logging information can use your description to back into what piece it was. I found this to be a great way to discover new artists and new pieces that I might not have looked at a second time while ticket shopping.
“I got to drive on stage * excited dance *!” -Robin
Helping haul the wagon on stage.
Door monitoring is a great way to meet your fellow attendees and see part of a show, as you typically take turns on the inside and the outside of the door once the show has started. On the auditorium mainstage, door monitoring can be even more flexible. Some folks stay to monitor doors throughout the performance, while others help with monitoring doors just at the start of the show–they “hold the line and get folks in”–once the audience is seated, they can go back to exploring the other stages.
Bartending is a blast, but also something you need to psych yourself up for because there are rushes when it seems the whole room is thirsty. That said, it is a great way to meet your fellow attendees and the artists, as they sometimes get thirsty as well.
What sounds interesting to you? And remember, volunteer time counts as a match toward grants that help fund this event that we all love, so even an hour of your time is multiplied into so much more.
Robin is a wildland hydrologist who spends time keeping heavy equipment out of trouble on fire lines and restoring riparian systems when not slaying red tape and conquering mounds of paperwork. She also writes poetry. Robin likes to say that, for a hydrologist, she has a dry sense of humor.
Best way to get yourself some of Robin’s understatedly hilarious sense of humor? Get yourself a volunteer slot and you might just rub shoulders with Robin, or any one of the 400+ unique, interesting, and service-oriented volunteers who make the Gathering a success every year. Robin hopes you’ll join her as a volunteer in 2023.
You may also remember Robin from the saga of “Bertie the Bag” on our Instagram account, when she drove 450 miles roundtrip to retrieve an artist’s suitcase from airport purgatory. Above and beyond. Don’t worry, we won’t make you take any 7-hour volunteer road trips. Unless you want to! We’re happy to have your support and participation, in all forms.
Photos courtesy of Robin Wignall and Amy Mills.
