Cold Snaps

Judging by the chilling wind whistling down Russell Street this morning, winter is upon us. Season of doonas, dvds and bar heaters, many of us choose to stay at home.
Even so, there's plenty of things going on around town. Get out of your trackie dacks and Ughs this weekend and head on down to one of these exciting events for a rosy winter glow.

The Next Wave Festival is here. From the 13th of May until the 30th, the festival always presents a clutch of gems that showcases Melbourne's best edgy art. This year the festival features roof-top art, fascinating short film and left-field comedy, the greater part of which is entirely free. Get amongst it.

Buddha Day is celebrated in the city with a festival on the 15th - 16th May. Celebrating the birthday of one of the world's most influential spiritual leaders, the event features an art installation in St. Paul's Court, Federation Square, a concert, workshops, meditation classes, Tai Chi , and vegetarian cooking demos, amongst many other goings on.

Fancy warming up with a little dancing? Learn to salsa for free! Classes are 530pm Every Wed and Thu in Melbourne CBD, venue is Syn Bar, Level 1, 163 Russell St, Melbourne (enter via alley behind Hungry Jacks). Bookings are essential in order to balance male and female numbers. To book, SMS 0400 933 285, or visit www.thesalsafoundation.com.au.

This week is National Volunteer Week 2010. Consider learning a new skill, and giving back to the community. Sure to give you a warm toasty feeling inside!
Visit here for thousands of volunteer opportunities.

Festival Vollies

I've absolutely FALLEN IN LOVE with festival volunteering this year.
There's so many benefits.
Including:

1. Meeting Cool People - People from all age groups, backgrounds and parts of town put their hands up for these things. You'll also be likely to meet people with similar interests to you. It's a great way to meet new people if you're new in town, or break out of a social circle that's suddenly decided to go all boa-constrictor on your arse.

2. Giving back to your community - C'mon, it gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside, you know it! Be a part of Generation Generosity and lend a helping hand to an event or festival you care about!

3. Learning new skills and getting job experience - This is a great way to learn about opportunities in the field, gaining new skills, improving your confidence, and even getting a good reference or two. Make sure you whack all of this on your resume. You'll get brownie points for being involved in your community, and if you're unemployed you are showing initiative for not just sitting on your hands.

3. Getting free stuff - Oh yes.

So far, I've volunteered for The Melbourne Writer's Festival, Fringe Festival and Overload Poetry Festival. All have been exciting, challenging and stimulating events to work for, and I've gotten to experience some great arts events that I couldn't have otherwise afforded in my wildest dreams. Also - they tend to throw not too shabby volunteer parties afterwards. :)

These things usually start searching for vollies a few months before, so you have to be onto it, as demand is usually high, especially for the particularly popular events.

Just FYI: Some of the events are so exclusive that they require quite a bit of experience before they'll accept you, so if you get some work under your belt around this time of year, you'll have a better chance of succeeding in them. These events include: MIFF, The Melbourne Festival, ANY music event, and The Food and Wine Festival.

It's a good idea to do your volunteering in 'chunks'. I've just done mine: I put my name down for Midsumma and The Food and Wine Festival.