I have never been so exhausted in my life.
Don’t get me wrong—I loved every moment of Blues & Brews this year, but organizing hundreds of people, volunteers, musicians, and vendors is hard work. As my first festival with Peak Events, I knew it would be challenging but I never expected the 16 hour days, the massive amounts of sunscreen, and the desperate quest to find and consume Redbull.
One thing I learned was that organizing an event like Blues & Brews is that setting up doesn’t happen in one day. The morning before the event is when the magic really happens—the sea of white tents being put up one by one, the unfolding of the stage (from the back of a giant semi, so cool!), the placement of the banners, the constant fight against those famous Flagstaff winds…To me, setting up was one of the most amazing parts of the event. It’s a shame people never get to see the event truly come alive.
The day of Blues & Brews I worked in the volunteer booth, organizing the massive amounts of volunteers in various areas during the festival. It was a challenge because sometimes one volunteer not showing up would throw off the whole schedule and people would need to be shifted around in order to compensate. Being in charge of so many people was daunting at first, but luckily I had some awesome guidance from some more experienced volunteers, and of course Jen and Debbi were there to help as well. Working the volunteer booth was a rewarding experience—it showed me that volunteers are an absolute necessity for a successful festival. It was awesome to see people come out of nowhere to volunteer too! One man came up to the booth during the event and said that he saw how great everything looked and that he needed be a part of it. He volunteered right then and there!
So yes, working Blues & Brews was exhausting. But at the end of the day when I climbed into bed with my tired feet and sore back, I realized that being exhausted was absolutely worth it. Taking charge and organizing something so huge and terrific is a wonderful feeling.
I look forward to being exhausted after putting on our next event—Mountain Country Music Festival. See you there!
Amanda