GOT TIME? VOLUNTEER!
 It takes our village to keep this wonderful, crowd-pleasing event making its yearly appearance down State and Main Streets.

No experience is necessary and we can really use your help. As you will see, some volunteer opportunities are one-time fundraising events, some involve ongoing parade preparation in October and November, and some only require your time the night of the parade. If you are interested in any of these positions, please send your name and the best method to contact you to losaltosfestivaloflights@gmail.com.

Rock Back the Clock Fundraiser

This is our annual ‘50s family dance party, held at Rancho Shopping Center the first Friday after Labor Day. In 2008, it will take place September 5 from 6 pm to 10 pm. (click here for more information).

Volunteer Opportunities (all jobs take place on the day of the event):

10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Move supplies and materials to Rancho
3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Set up stage, fence, gates, tables and chairs
5:00p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Ticket sales, manage exit
5:00p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Hula hoop and air guitar sales
5:00p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Event security and staging maintenance
9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. Clean-up

Parade Preparation

Floats
Assist in maintaining and refurbishing floats owned by the Festival of Lights Parade. Work parties occur every Sunday morning from September through November, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Hands-on electrical and mechanical experience is valuable. Jobs include:
• Remove plastic covers from all floats.
• Check all lights and sound systems. Repair as required.
• Check all tires and mechanical systems. Add air/repair as required.
• Check all generators. Add oil and gas. Install on floats.

Costumes
WEAR: We need teenagers and adults to wear costumes the night of the parade.
Time commitment includes a costume “try on” that takes about ½ hour in October, and then being available for dressing and marching on parade night from 5 pm to 8 pm. This is one of our most rewarding jobs, since you have the best view of all the smiling faces as you travel the parade route!

REPAIR OR SEW NEW COSTUMES: This volunteer activity lets you work at home on your own time. After parade night our costumes need new buttons and seams repaired.
We also need new costumes to replace our old ones. This year we are looking for someone to sew a new Raggedy Ann and Andy costume.

MAKEUP: We need volunteers who can work parade night 4:30 to 7:00 applying makeup to the characters that march in the parade. No experience is required; we have simple instructions and a leader to advise you. It’s a fun way to get a backstage look at the parade, and a great opportunity for budding makeup artists! Note that you will be done by the time the parade begins, so you won’t miss a minute of the action.

Parade Night

Necklace Sales
The sale of glow-in-the-dark necklaces is one of Festival of Lights’ biggest fundraisers! On parade night we need volunteers to work from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. selling necklaces to the crowd of people gathered for the parade. Since this is done in pairs of two, it’s great for parent-child or other teams! If you are coming to the parade anyway this is just a little effort before it begins – you’ll be done by 7:00 so you won’t miss a minute of the parade excitement.

Back Stage (12:00 p.m. – 10:00pm – place to be determined)
Many important tasks take place the day of the parade; following is a condensed list, but if you’re available to help, please e-mail us for more detailed information.
- Preparation of staging area (12:00 – 4:00pm)
- Costume character sign-ins (4:00-6:00pm)
- Makeup and costume assistance (4:30 – 6:30pm)
- Escorting costumed characters to and from Parade areas (6:30-8:00pm)
- Tear down and clean up staging area (8:00 – 10:00pm)

Staging Area (5:00 – 8:00 – North Plaza Parking Lot
- Assist participants and characters to their assigned spaces
- Lead participants into the main Parade queue
- Take apart staging area (stakes, tent and lighting)