Volunteer
Season 16 Austin, Texas
We hate to brag (or do we?), but our Volunteers are simply the best! They are the heart and soul of ATX TV Festival.
Volunteers are the folks that keep things running smoothly - the magic of TV people committed to helping other TV people have the very best festival ever - and we simply wouldn't be able to festival it up without you.
Season 16 Volunteer Applications will open in Spring 2027, but in the meantime, make sure to check out our handy dandy FAQs below about what to expect when volunteering for #ATXTVs16.
Getting Started
In order to volunteer, you need to be 18 years or older. If you’d like to volunteer for our Transportation Team, you’ll need to be 25 years or older.
General Volunteer Teams includes Events, Festival Operations, Merch, Registration, Venues/Programming, and Volunteer/Flex.
Folks volunteering with our General Volunteer Teams have the
opportunity to craft their own schedules – each volunteer chooses the
shifts they would like work, based on shift availability. A lot of our
volunteers sign up for a variety of departments and jobs throughout the festival so they can check everything out, but it’s all about you crafting a schedule you’ll enjoy.
Support Teams includes Panelist Relations, Social Media, Transportation, and Venues. Support Team Volunteers are entrusted with more responsibility, will require additional trainings ahead of the Festival,and/or their positions require specific experience or skillset.
Absolutely!
Volunteer Orientations will be offered multiple times leading up to the Festival, and are held both virtually and in person in Austin, TX.
At Volunteer Orientation we’ll go over the basics of volunteering with ATX TV Festival, and fill y’all in on what to expect. Bring all your questions! The same information will be given out at all the Volunteer Orientations, so you only have to attend one of the meetings, unless you really like us and just want to hang out.
For those that are coming in from out of town, we recommend coming in the Monday or Tuesday before the festival and heading home the Monday after we’ve wrapped.
Volunteer Shifts & Duties
Shift selections run on a seniority system – returning volunteers are able to register for shifts before our new volunteers. Volunteer shift sign up info will be emailed to you before shifts are open for selection.
If there are highly anticipated panels / screenings / events, it’s definitely possible those volunteer shifts are going to fill up quickly! If all of the shifts are full for a particular piece of programming, we suggest you check your email regularly or touch base with the Volunteer Team.
First off, make sure to add tv@atxfestival.com and volunteer@atxfestival.com to your Contacts to avoid important emails from going to your Spam or Junk folders.
As things start to ramp up, we can’t guarantee specific dates of correspondence, but we’ll be in touch with updates as the festival approaches. We suggest that you routinely check your email for info from the Volunteer Department, but if you’re getting nervous, just reach out to volunteer@atxfestival.com!
Please notify the Volunteer Team at volunteer@atxfestival.com as soon as you can.
At the Festival
Volunteers will be given Volunteer T-Shirts! You must wear your volunteer shirt during every shift, and you can’t alter your shirt in any way during the festival. As for the rest of your outfit, we suggest that you wear comfortable clothes like jeans and tennis shoes. You’ll be running around and on your feet all day, and we want you to be comfy.
And if you’d like to wear shorts / skirts, that’s totally fine – this is Texas and it’s hot in the summer, y’all. Just please be mindful that your shorts or skirt are an appropriate length.
If you’d like to attend programming or events when you’re off shift, make sure to bring another top so you can change out of your Volunteer shirt!
You are responsible for paying for your own parking, and there are several parking lots / garages near the Festival – make sure to check out options on Spot Hero.
But all things being honest, parking downtown can be a headache. Rather than driving your own car, we recommend carpooling, having someone drop you off / pick you up, or making use of other transportation options – Capital Metro, MetroBike, or ride shares. The Downtown Austin Alliance has some suggestions too. If you do decide to drive and want to take advantage of metered street parking, check out Park ATX as you won’t be able to run to your car every two hours to feed the meter.
We work hard to have snacks available but can’t guarantee food, so we strongly suggest you bring your own snacks and water bottles. There are also a bunch of places to eat within walking distance of all our venues, and you’re free to go grab a snack if your shift leader has oked it, or once your shift is completed.
Feel free to reach out to the Volunteer Team at volunteer@atxfestival.com or Team ATX TV at tv@atxfestival.com and we can help you out!