JOB DESCRIPTIONS, PAY RATES AND SHIFTS
These are the basic descriptions of the positions we have available. They'll give you an idea of what's involved in each job and what their pay rate and shift times are.
Pay rates and shift times are described next. If you're already familiar with those things, or would like to find out about the jobs first, you can skip directly to the job descriptions index.
PAY RATES
The basic pay rates are the same for almost all positions:
$6.00/hour first shift;
$6.50/hour second shift;
$7.00/hour third.
There are exceptions: Event Staff is $7.00 first, $8.00 second, $9.00 third shift; Parking is $7.00 first and $8.00 second; and Sanitation pay rates are $7.00 per hour first and second shift.
Festival employees also receive event t-shirts, concerts wristband, and those who live 50 miles or more from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota can camp for free.
Employee camping: There are three main things to be aware of when it comes to employee camping:
1) You have to live 50 miles or more from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, in order to receive an employee camping pass.
2) There are designated employee camping areas within the campgrounds where we have employee camping. Everyone who receives an employee camping pass needs to camp in those areas.
If you're hired and have friends coming to the festival, but not working, that have campground vehicle and camping permits, they can use those permits to stay with you in those employee camping areas, but you can not use your employee vehicle permit and camping pass to stay with them in their campground. If they have a campground vehicle permit (for any campground), you are welcome to purchase a camping permit for that campground and stay with them, but you can't "trade your employee passes" for other campground passes.
3) Anyone hired to work as part of the Camping Staff or as a Camping Cashier will camp or park (if not camping) in the campground in which they're assigned to work.
Those things are important to be aware of when it comes to making plans with friends you may want to camp with during the festival. It's also to important to be aware that Camping Staff and Camping Cashiers begin working at least one day before everyone working in "Concert Area" positions (see below).
SHIFT TIMES
All the positions we have fit into two broad categories: Camping and Concert Area. Camping consists of Camping Staff and Camping Cashiers. All other positions are in or near the Concert Area.
Most Camping Staff and Camping Cashiers begin working at least one day before Concert Area Staff (campgrounds open at least one day before the festival begins and the concert area opens). That will vary depending on which shift a person's working, but it's a good rule of thumb to go by when making plans: Anyone hired in a camping-related position needs to plan to be at Soo Pass Ranch at least one day earlier than people working in the concert area.
There are three, eight-hour Camping Staff shifts. These times are approximate. The actual shift times are set by Camping supervisors and managers:
1 = 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
2 = 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
3 = 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
Camping Cashiers work in two 12-hour shifts. These times are also approximate. The actual shift times are set by Camping Cashier and Ticket Office supervisors:
1 = 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
2 = 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
In almost all cases there are two Concert Area shifts:
1 = 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
2 = 6:00 p.m. to closing (usually around 1:00 a.m.).
Exact starting times for some jobs will vary depending on how the area managers need to do things, but that's the basic rule-of-thumb.
In general, most Camping Staff people put in three or four shifts. Camping Cashiers tend to work two or three shifts (campgrounds are 90% filled by the end of the second day).
Most Concert Area Staff work three shifts.
If hired you'll receive information specific to your particular job's shift times, but this should give you enough of an idea about which "shift preference" box to check on the application.
Again: These (brief) job descriptions, pay rates and shift explanations are only intended to provide a basic idea to make it easier to make your first, second and third choice of jobs on the application. If you apply, and we call to interview you, we can give you more of the details for whatever job(s) you're interested in.
POSITIONS WE DON'T FILL
We don't do the hiring (or refer people) for emergency medical services (EMS), security, backstage production, bartending, or any food services positions. Those areas are all taken care of via "contracted services": People/organizations that specialize in those areas who hire their own people. And we don't provide contact information for those service providers or refer individuals to them unless those providers request it.
With the exception of a few Event Staff positions, we have no "pre-fest" jobs so don't hire anyone to work before the festival.
IT DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN, BUT...
Everyone hired to work at any festival should be aware that it's sometimes necessary to move people from one position to another, regardless of what position they were hired to work in. Most times it's temporary (to help cover overloads happening in one area or another), but sometimes it's permanent (if, at festival time, we're overstaffed in one area, understaffed in another). It doesn't happen often, but it does happen, and we want everyone to know that and be prepared to go wherever people are needed to do whatever needs to be done, should it be necessary.
