Animating Edmonton’s Folk Fest Volunteers
“It’s like a phantom village,” says Amanda Schutz of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, where she’s volunteered for over 20 years. “Over four days, old and new friends get together to form a community that disappears on Monday.”
And it all runs on volunteer power. A corps of nearly 3000 volunteers per year split duties in Food Services, Hospitality, Safety, and more. New volunteers join every year, and all their training is overseen by a two-person staff.
In 2024, the coordinators decided a volunteer orientation video would be a key asset, and it was suggested that Curio Studio might be a good creative partner in delivering the video.
Curio worked with the Folk Fest team to develop scripts and storyboards. The best part, says Amanda, was designing the story’s characters.
“You want the characters to be inclusive and representative, without being too bland or generic,” she says. “I decided to go with a mix of human and anthropomorphized characters, drawn in simple lines, but complemented with a lot of colour and texture to make the animation pop.”
The final result will officially be part of the volunteer orientation in 2025; if you or anyone you know wants to get in on a great volunteer opportunity, apply on the Folk Fest website!
Services
- Illustration
- Animation
- Social Media Campaign
WELCOME VIDEO
ILLUSTRATIONS
