The Word On The Street is seeking talented book lovers to support our annual festival and year-round programs.
The Word On The Street champions reading and writing in Canada through a free annual festival and year-round literary programming that celebrates storytelling, ideas, and imagination.
The Word On The Street values inclusion and diversity, and encourages those who are Indigenous, racialized, disabled, LGBTQ2S, and others facing systemic oppression to apply.
Want to be a part of the WOTS team and help make our 35th annual festival unforgettable?
We are hiring three (3) Stage Managers to oversee the smooth operation of programming on our festival stages.
Job Title: Stage Manager (3 Positions Available)
Location: Queen’s Park Circle, Toronto
Dates: Saturday, September 28 and Sunday, September 29, 2024
Honorarium: $250 per day
Hours:
Saturday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM (with a 1-hour lunch break)
Sunday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (with a 1-hour lunch break)
Applications are officially open for our 2024 Festival weekend, September 28-29 at Queen’s Park!
Shifts are 3 hours (unless otherwise stated), giving you plenty of time to explore the festival and see your favourite authors!
Distribution Crew
Can’t make it to the festival but still want to help out? This role has flexible hours and includes the distribution of promotional material before our event. Prior to distribution, you will be required to meet some of our team at the office space to pick up your materials. You will not be required to attend training for this crew.
** This crew shifts are flexible and happen from the end of August 2024 – September 2024
WOTS Volunteer Captains
Captains will be assigned to a crew for one entire festival day. You will also serve as a go-to person for the volunteers working on your crew. This could include delegating tasks, performing check-ins, answering questions, liaising with festival staff, and leading by example with your positive attitude and festival expertise!
Exhibitor Relations Crew
Exhibitor Relations Crew members are responsible for the 100+ vendors in our Exhibitor Marketplace! Tasks include helping exhibitors set up, hanging signs, monitoring traffic in and out of the site, and assisting with anything else vendors and sponsors might need.
Logistics Crew
Logistics Crew volunteers are responsible for helping to set up and tear down The Word On The Street, working closely with the staff team and rental vendors working on-site at Queen’s Park to make sure that everything is in place for the festival to run smoothly.
Tasks include setting up programming areas, distributing materials to info booths, collecting signage, loading trucks, and much more! This is an active and critical role that will have you up on your feet and moving around.
Volunteer Management Crew
This essential behind-the-scenes role at the festival works with the Director of Community Engagement to ensure that all volunteers are present, accounted for, and prepared.
Tasks include greeting our ~140 volunteers, distributing supplies and resources, and supporting the Director of Community Engagement with various administrative tasks.
Information Crew
Tasks include answering questions from visitors, providing directions and handing out festival materials. The Info Crew is the face of The Word On The Street to our 100,000+ visitors, helping to answer questions and provide excellent customer service. Be prepared to study up on our festival program to make sure you’re in the know!
Stage Crew
You will be working at one of our 4 stages to ensure that all of our programming runs smoothly! You’ll be responsible for greeting authors, ensuring timely hand-off between segments, and assisting the staff team at the venue. Other duties include: assisting with signing lines, audience counts, and sanitation measures between events.
Photography Crew
Do you take photos of everything? Do you have a passion and eye for phone photography?
Photography Crew members work with our Communications team to share The Word On The Street’s festivities to our online audiences. Tasks include generating content for social media channels and assisting the Communications team in capturing a variety of programming across the festival site.
Flex Crew
Do you feel passionate about keeping The Word On The Street free and accessible for all? Are you always up for an adventure?
Flex Crew members could be assigned to any of the various crews, asked to move through the festival encouraging donations or asked to help out with something completely different! They are expected to jump in wherever an extra pair of hands is needed, so no two shifts will look the same. Tasks include acting as a runner between festival sites, offering support at programming venues, filling in at info tents, providing relief breaks for other volunteers, and more. This is a great position if it is your first year volunteering with The Word On The Street, and you are not sure which crew is best for you.
