FoCoMX – A Weekend of Music Brought To You By Volunteers

FoCoMX is almost 100% volunteer driven.

There is one paid employee, and for the amount of time she spends, I think she may be kicking in a little extra. Soraya is pictured above and is one of the first people I talk to in the in this interview. I also chat with Dennis Bigelow, a volunteer board member who does not get paid, but puts in plenty of time to produce FoCoMX and support Northern Colorado music in general. He's pictured below, the guy behind the computer who is checking in volunteers.

When you cruise Fort Collins this weekend and see live music all throughout Old Town, it will be because of volunteer effort.

At the second orientation night, the room was packed as Soraya went over all the details of what we had to do. It turns out, getting a free bracelet for FoCoMX is really easy. Volunteers have to watch the door, MC, check in bands, float (the ready for anything position) or be a production assistant to the volunteer sound people.

The overall theme was that of flexibility. All volunteers need to do is create a situation where local people can create great music. So, they make sure people have a wristband and help to keep the acts on time. If some one needs help finding will call, they'll point them in the right direction. Besides that, be cool. Volunteers are what has made it possible to reach a sixth Fort Collins Music Experiment. In the past, it has brought a lot of people to Fort Collins venues, and people travel from out of town for the event.

Of the over 250 volunteers, Soraya had this to say:

There's just so many roles and there's no way we could ever do it without a volunteer body that big.

The schedule is huge. Hundreds of bands in two nights. And it happens because a bunch of people thought it sounded like a cool idea, and they volunteered. For that, we say thank you!