Everyone is happy: specific points noted below
- : I loved it. Especially when someone said, "Did a collective organize this?"
- : Great edition
- : Amazing music, both in and at the jam sessions
- : Touched by seeing people arrive, life during the festival, and the departure afterwards
- : Felt very welcomed
- : Volunteering positions were enjoyable. Smooth communication, very comfortable
- : Great team, great atmosphere
- : Beautiful space-time rift. I liked Mange Bal because it was energetic. I liked this one too, but maybe I like it even more when it's energetic
- : Lots of groups with singing, I loved it. Very touched by the moments of shared singing.
- : Next year is the 10th anniversary!
- : I liked the programming because of the emphasis on vocals. The bands were great to listen to. The atmosphere for beginners was great.
- : Ups and downs (but the downs were still pretty high). Good focus on anti-sexism. Very, very cool sessions.
- : as a non-dancer, it's complicated to have access to the room because it was full, to have access to the stage or anything else: forced to walk along the walls between people who are dancing and those who are sitting. Should we think about circulation?
- : Should we think about chill-out areas?
- Lena: Really enjoyed the evening at CADA. It's a quality of Morimont to mix people from everywhere, with different stories. Also discover dances from Ivory Coast, for example?
- : open and/or expand the bubble... Really want to bring in other energies. The work with refugees is ongoing, and the idea is to go more and more in that direction.
- : Fabien made a comment in that sense: it's great that there is openness, with the snow trapeze act, Cyrille's intervention on different types of voting systems. Let's go even further in that direction.
- : Attention, it's a folk music festival, and people come for that. It's good to stimulate, but not to lose the basic spirit.
- : Opening up would allow for more openness, whereas now we are more and more focused on the most fervent folk dancers. On Friday, people from Oberlarg came even though they had a pass, but they didn't come back: we don't know why, but in their place, I feel like the festival might be a bit closed off.
- : There are plenty of other festivals. If this one doesn't suit some people, they will go elsewhere. Let's not restrict ourselves, while respecting the fact that it's a "folk festival". The goal of the festival is not only to attract the best dancers.
- : I saw a lot of people dancing outside. It could help to have a mini dance floor outside, also for jam sessions. It could provide some fresh air.
- : It would be interesting to know why people from Oberlarg didn't come back.
- Thibault: Indeed, there are many existing festivals, and ours is starting to be well-known. People trust us: we can afford to propose other things. Okay with the ideas of opening up a bit more.
- Yola: Plan a few more dance initiation sessions for beginners. And/or for each dance, have groups that explain the upcoming dance.
- Scillia: At the hotel, I found it difficult to keep the food warm because not everyone came at the same time. Some people ate cold. But the meals were amazing and incredible.
- Marianne: Appreciated the help of Clifford and the team. They helped the people who were doing shifts.
- Églantine: It would be good to have a person in charge of the kitchen, service, and refrigeration afterwards, to avoid having to reinvent the wheel for each service. Even if it means paying that person.
- Temperature check on this idea: medium to positive.
- Guilhem: At the same time, it's not a big deal if some people don't eat super hot food.
- Neige: Even cold, it was good.
- Pascale: It went very well. There are always small issues with hot/cold, but it still goes well. Having someone in charge who gives orders to volunteers is not at all in line with what we do.
- Marianne: We could try, experiment, and see.
- Guilhem: We tried it one year with a volunteer and it was cool.
- Églantine: It wasn't necessarily cool...
- Nolwenn: It's complicated to cook for everyone at the same time, but it's strange to have different meals for volunteers and festival-goers.
- Guilhem: We are trying to do more and more of the cooking ourselves, and this time we did more than usual, but we need feedback from the kitchen to know if we should continue in this direction or not.
- Snow: they looked really good, I would have liked to taste them!
- Quentin: Why not make them for the volunteer party?
- Pascale: It's a good idea, it's not complicated to make and everyone likes it.
- Florian: Maybe there were still some preparation issues, but we are limited by the oven: it's difficult to do better.
- Marianne: €8 for a wrap, just like the meal. I heard that the two didn't match: wraps were too expensive or the meal was not expensive enough.
- Quentin: I'm fine with not making flambé wraps anymore because I'm vegan.
- Florian: Usually there was a vegan option every time, but on Sunday there was no vegan option.
- Thibault: We should stop using Munster cheese because the smell in the room during the dance was really tough.
- Quentin: For the vegan option, we could use soy base, smoked tofu, etc. instead of tomato base.
- Guilhem: Maybe we should stop using bacon bits?
- Florian: Last year, bacon bits were in high demand.
- Marianne: Having only 2 recipes instead of 4 is much better.
- Florian: Producing continuously instead of à la carte, what do you think?
- Pascale: On the second evening, we prepared on our own and then we told people "we have these in stock" and they could choose from that.
- Guilhem: I would be in favor of this solution, but without the carnivore option so that everyone has the same number of choices. And it aligns with the spirit of Labo M.
- Églantine: This year there have been a lot of last-minute changes. It was okay, but complicated to manage logistically, for meals and accommodations. How do we handle these unforeseen events?
- Guilhem: She suggests having more communication with volunteers beforehand, so they understand the importance of keeping their commitment. Maintaining a more personal and regular contact with people who sign up as volunteers.
- Églantine: In our collective organization, we have implicit understandings about how we operate. Some people were very out of sync, and it could have put other people in difficulty. What can we do?
- Lena: I feel out of sync because I use digital tools as little as possible, but I love coming here. However, I can't engage in communication via email, or only for the bare minimum. More and more, everywhere, we prepare virtually, and it's a problem for me. To what extent do we want to use these means, considering they are becoming more complex and consuming more energy? It makes me question. But how do we prepare in advance if we're not on-site?
- Guilhem: We are indeed asking ourselves that question. Volunteers are not forced to participate in the organization. When we say "maintain communication" to avoid dropouts, it can mean making phone calls.
- Thibault: The form is not enough: we need a form + contact.
- Yola: A phone call is great, even to explain the shifts (I didn't know what "tisanerie" was). But maybe it's a lot of work beforehand? That being said, for me, it was okay, and I didn't necessarily lack information.
- Xavier: When I went back to the website to look for the technical sheets, I couldn't find them. In fact, I found them on the app. Can we make them consistent? Regarding these technical sheets, remember to note the year on them.
- Florian: For newcomers, we need to have job descriptions in advance, which could be visual to better understand things. If volunteers want to get involved in that. Create infographics that detail the shifts. Include the essentials without going into detail (which will be provided on-site).
- Nolwenn: For example, at the Grand Bal, there is a phone call for each new volunteer to avoid casting errors. The app is great, but here there is no network, so it's complicated to access it.
- Quentin: We would benefit from having a few more volunteers because some time slots lacked manpower.
- Thibault: Maybe we needed one or two workaways (it's not quite the same thing).
- Quentin: The vehicle was pleasant to drive. I'm not used to automatic, but once I got past the first 100 meters, it was okay. It was nice to welcome the artists in a clean vehicle.
- Églantine: Maybe we could do a bit more in the lower range.
- Pascale: It's great to have a clean and spacious car, but this one felt like a right-hand drive car.
- Pierre: I was a bit lost with the automatic and all the electronics: a briefing would have been useful.
- Quentin: I felt that it was smoother this year than in previous years.
- Églantine: We didn't provide shuttles for festival-goers.
- Guilhem: It was hell to do them, people arrived late and asked us to come back and pick them up. We didn't receive any comments about it.
- Pascale: Providing shuttles for artists + festival-goers became a real headache. Too complicated. Especially because everyone arrives from different places.
- Pierre: Should we plan a carpooling area on-site or somewhere else?
- Lena: Should we write on the website that everyone coming by car should pass by a train station to see if there's someone? Rather skeptical reaction...
- Marianne: I was disturbed. We organized the bar with Ben. But then I didn't have any more shifts at the bar. I understood that my role as a referent was to make sure everything goes well. But I would like to know how the people who did shifts at the bar experienced it.
- Églantine: The shifts were done before you took on your role as a referent, that's why...
- Yola: It was very clear at the bar, with the signage, etc.
- Florian: Very clear indeed. Maybe just the signs were a bit small. And seeing where the prices are.
- Pierre: The festival-goers seemed to have difficulty seeing the menus and prices.
- Thibault: We need a lot more ginger.
- Quentin: There was a comment about the opening hours + moving the bar to sell cold drinks and others outdoors.
- Scillia: The beer at the tea room worked well, on Sunday at 1:15 pm. And it didn't create stress in the tea room.
- Pierre: Tea room from 5 pm to 7 pm, there were also quite a few requests for beer. So it's better to have the tap there, rather than going through the dressing rooms to fill carafes with beer.
- Florian: To be arranged according to the weather.
- Guilhem: On the application, it is possible to leave comments for each shift, so that we can adapt next year.
- Marianne: Ben and I would like to offer more cocktails. We sold everything, even though it's the most expensive drink: 4 bottles of gin.
- Neige: Plan for non-alcoholic cocktails.
- Yelo: If there are more cocktails, we need oral briefings (the signs won't be enough).
- Thibault: Build a new bar, easier to build/deconstruct.
- Scillia: I feel really good in the tea room. But I found that the bottles of rum didn't sell (at the times I was there).
- Guilhem: Maybe it sells more after closing ;-)
- Nolwenn: At one point, we ran out of shot glasses, which was less pleasant for drinking.
- Thibault: I did the last shift on Saturday. People came a lot until 3 am. We can't close the tea room before the bars close.
- Pascale: Did anyone sleep in the tea room (people on the phone had asked if it was possible)? Answer: no (or only during opening hours).
- Guilhem: This year we did the entrance with the cash register. What did you think?
- Pierre: Some people were a bit lost, especially because of the wraps. So some people went to the tea room to buy drink coupons, but the cash register was on the other side.
- Pascale: I found it good to have a place where everything is sold. There are rush moments where we need to be many, but it's good to have a reference point.
- Neige: Move the cash register towards the big door, where the PhotoBoost was? This would allow for a special entrance for volunteers towards the back. But the entrance to the tea room was already not very visible, so maybe it would isolate it even more.
- Nolwenn: We ran out of tickets and had to cut more as we went along. There were some issues with people who didn't understand that they could only get their tickets refunded until Sunday evening (they asked for a refund on Monday). Better communication is also needed regarding suspended drinks: say it at the cash register and/or through signage.
- Guilhem: Indeed, we didn't really organize the suspended tickets.
- Marianne: Put it on the website in advance?
- Nolwenn: Maybe put a sheet with the prices at the cash register (for people who want tickets for 2 beers).
- Thibault: The hours written on the cash register table were incorrect.
- Quentin: I was responsible for it.
To be completed
- Églantine: There is a checklist to follow, but you also need to look beyond it.
- Lena: It's good to have 2 people because there is a lot to do. 1 hour is not enough if you are alone. For the gas, it was dangerous because people don't know that they need to close the stove. An explanation on how to use the stove should be provided. It seems that some festival-goers used the stove themselves.
- Scillia: The shift lasts more than 1 hour. We were 2 people, and it took us more than 2 hours. It would have been good to have 3 people or split the shift in 2.
- Neige: Have cleaning shifts by zone.
- Quentin: It is possible to do things by following a route.
- Églantine: We didn't find anything with the rake, but I found the festival-goers dirty this year, tables not cleaned, etc. Should we put up signs?
- Thibault: A festival-goer took care of turning on the showers. I had the impression that you were running around a lot for cleaning. The toilets inside were clogged several times.
- Neige: A festival-goer asked me for cold water for the showers, which were boiling hot.
- Lena: The pipes should always be accessible.
- Lena: I found it pleasant with the hotel team, we could ask them questions. Being a team of 3 was good.
- Marianne: Maybe put labels so we know where to put things.
- Thibaut: It was annoying to do the kitchen dishes when there were immediate needs behind the bar.
- Églantine: There were some issues, and it's the first time. Only 3 folk workshops (2 dance, 1 music) and several off-program. There were 2 professional workshops where people had a bad experience: one where someone felt uncomfortable with physical contact (even though it was well explained on the website). And a mistake: the updated presentation of the Ensemble Music workshop was not posted online. 2 people had to leave the workshop. Fortunately, Fabien felt free and confident to manage his workshop as he saw fit.
- Neige: I saw the Contact Dance workshop and I thought it was great that it expanded the range of dance.
- Guilhem: I think we didn't communicate well about the off-program/in-program. We put them on the same level, even though some were free and others were not. Clearly state that at the folk festival, there is an off-program, and provide descriptions as early as possible.
- Quentin: I thought it was great that there was a workshop presentation.
- Adeline: The singing restitution was a bit improvised.
- Neige: During the stage change, a musician asked what dances there would be. Surprising question. Should we inform the groups about the dances that people are used to dancing?
- Xavier: For the contact dance workshop, maybe there should have been something a bit lighter for beginners who didn't know.
- Quentin: The initiations were really great. A bit chaotic because they didn't agree in advance on which dances to teach. But positive feedback. We did initiations of some complicated dances, and it was
- Adeline: Good feedback on the initiations. Regarding the singing workshop: the free aspect makes the registration strange. In the end, half of the participants were not registered. It's complicated to manage.
- Neige: Interplateau on anti-sexism: good initiative and it was good (we'll talk about it later)
- Thibault: Having a dance floor outdoors would allow for impromptu workshops.
- Yola: How about having a board for self-managed workshops?
- Neige: How about having an open stage on an outdoor dance floor?
- Églantine: Open stages and self-managed events are a good way for organizers to have free programming. I'm quite against that.
- Yola: But there are people who come and pay their entrance fees but cannot afford the workshops. Having spontaneous workshops is great for those who can't afford it.
- Xavier: Open stages also allow beginner groups to get known. Considering it as an addition, it doesn't change anything for the programming.
- Nolwenn: Since there is free off-programming, it raises questions.
- Florian: There are already free workshops.
- Églantine: What we should do is ensure that people who can't afford it can attend all the workshops they want. Having free programming is discussed with the people, and it can be reconsidered.
- Neige: The entrance fees are for the evening events. In the afternoon, it would allow
- Nolwenn:
- Églantine:
- Adeline: Define what the off-programming is, who can propose what.
- Églantine: For me, the off-programming is what is "outside of folk". So the initiations and the concert in the forest are part of the main program even if they are free.
- Thibault: The decoration in the main hall could have been more. But the exterior was very beautiful.
- Nolwenn: It's my first time here, and it was very beautiful.
- Marianne: The fact that there was less decoration also made the setup and teardown easier. Especially since I struggle with teardown, I have no more energy...
- Florian: It's complicated to find the balance in the time invested in decoration, especially since the setup week is short.
- Thibault: We felt the impact of having 4 to 5 fewer people.
- Lena: The barn is so beautiful: seeing the walls and beams, it's very beautiful.
- Églantine: I loved the stage backdrop.
- Snow: When we talked about it on Sunday evening, there were few people, and they were the most briefed. And tried to make it attractive: stage it?
- Quentin: The speech was given at the end of each initiation + once every evening during the intermissions. It's a topic on which we could agree to have a meeting beforehand. Lucas wanted to speak, but felt unprepared and didn't go. I found it difficult to be clear and concise, in 2 languages. Need to prepare and be prepared in advance.
- Xavier: It's surprising and disappointing that we still have to do this type of speaking. The Violentometer on the bar was written too small.
- Thibault: I felt uncomfortable that we only talked about it at the end of the briefing on Thursday. Plus, I didn't agree with everything and there wasn't space to discuss it.
- Marianne: Me too. I was interested but didn't have the time.
- Snow: Okay, let's have a meeting and prepare. But what you said, I found it very good.
- Florian: The posters in the toilets should be placed on dedicated surfaces, not directly on the paper.
- Yola: It's great that there are signs. For next time, have a meeting to define more clearly who we can address. Was the pink ribbon clear to the festival-goers? (response: it was mentioned at the end of the initiations and during the intermissions)
- Lena: The posters were really well done. And it's not easy to go on stage and talk about this. Thank you for doing it.
- Xavier: The pink ribbon is a symbol of the fight against breast cancer, especially in October (bad timing).
- Thibault: For me, speaking on the microphone on stage is useless and makes the evenings heavier. Only the convinced ones listen, and it annoys the others.
- Snow: I agree with that.
- Marianne: I was asked a lot if I wanted to lead, and I found it super positive.
- Thibault: I loved the charades game and the karaoke.
- Églantine: It was spontaneous, but I felt like I struggled when starting the charades game. It was fine for me, but do we think we continue like this or set some boundaries?
- Guilhem: It would be good to have a reference person who thinks with other people. To avoid it fizzling out if no one takes charge.
- Snow: If there is a reference person, how can we contact them? Answer: participate in the virtual organization meetings!
- Florian: It's great that people take the lead, but it's also nice when things are defined.
- Thibault: I liked the charades game, but I think I would have liked more games to create more unity. This year, I didn't feel a group of volunteers, there were rather isolated groups.
- Snow: I only found out where the HQ was after two days.
- Xavier: Remember to invite the employees.
- Adeline: I arrived on Friday at 8:30 pm, so obviously I wasn't part of the group. In previous years, when I couldn't come early, I didn't consider myself a "volunteer". This time I did it because I proposed workshops and intermissions, but it's strange to be a volunteer without really being in the group.
- Scillia: It's indeed strange to meet people when starting your shift.
- Snow: Having a distinctive sign is good.
- Églantine: We had planned screen-printed t-shirts, but it didn't work out...
- Quentin: This year I didn't go there too much, even though it was good. But it's probably because the weather was nice. Maybe it lacked drinks.
- Églantine: I didn't find it cool to come several times and find the bowls empty, even though the stocks were right next to it.
- Neige: I found it great to have a place to warm up before doing the trapeze.
- Marianne: I found it convenient to have a place to put my things.
- Églantine: What if the HQ became a storage for instruments? Because there is a demand for storage.
- Thibault: I didn't use it (others say "me neither").
- Yola: I think I didn't quite understand the concept, so I didn't go there. But I don't know if I would have gone anyway.
- Nolwenn: I don't need an HQ, but knowing that there is a place with information and resources is interesting.
- Thibault: We kind of missed the mark with the bulletin board. The lunch meetings too.
- Églantine: What I understand is that the volunteers are arriving little by little, and we can't regroup. We managed to take the photo and it was cool. We were supposed to have briefings every lunchtime, and it didn't work out.
- Guilhem: It's great to do group activities, but I feel like at the moment it annoys everyone, it breaks the energy of the shifts. Define more clearly the purpose of this meeting so that it's worth it.
- Neige: Create a ritual, where at a certain time of the day we do something together to energize the thing.
- Nolwenn: Put up a photo directory with the displays?
- Quentin: I found the briefings useful. On Saturday, it allowed us to address things, especially regarding anti-sexism.
- Guilhem: We should go and get everyone, but it's complicated to have the energy to do it. Have a person responsible for the volunteers during the festival?
- Florian: Ring the bell of Morimont? Find a sign.
- Églantine: How to handle people who make us feel bad...? It's complicated, when you're a volunteer, to welcome ethical-political criticisms of the organization. Someone said we were horrible people, that we let her go hungry, etc.: it's tough.
- Guilhem: Someone who didn't pay for their tickets, cut the line for wraps without paying, and made a lot of criticisms. On Sunday night at midnight, she made demands and reproaches.
- Yola: I also had to deal with her at the tea room. It's complicated because we don't know what happened before. How to handle it, and should we talk to others about it?
- Quentin: What's most important is that no one ends up dealing with heaviness or even violence alone.
- Lena: Yesterday she fell asleep by the fire, and people came to me asking the organization to take care of her. I stayed with her for a while, but then I asked for help because I didn't have the patience to stay any longer.
- Marianne: At the beginning of the festival, have a meeting among volunteers to discuss these kinds of cases. Say that you shouldn't be alone and take responsibility on your own shoulders.
- Neige: Is there a first aid station? Find out if there are first aiders on the team. (Answer: we had, but we didn't communicate it)
- Nolwenn: Suggest to people to put their remarks in a suggestion box.
- Églantine: Regarding the case with the dog, the person overreacted a bit to my remark. And I told her she could send an email with proposals. It was a way to limit the discussion.
- Yola: The person says she felt humiliated. Should we provide spaces or people to react in these kinds of cases?
- Thibault: Remember: always ask for support, don't be alone.
- Guilhem: These are always different cases, and we don't see them coming. However, we absolutely need to show solidarity among ourselves: if we see a comrade in difficulty, intervene by their side.
- Xavier: About ticketing and entrance control. We were checking people's bracelets while all the doors were open elsewhere.
- Xavier: I know some luthiers who asked me if there were any luthiers at the festival. Is there a place for luthiers in the festival?
- Lena: Benjamin told me he wanted to stay at the festival for an extra week to do things together, like construction or other projects. I'm not sure if I can take 2 weeks off, but I found the idea interesting.
- Églantine: We need a clock.
- Églantine: We need a meeting point to work collectively and start dismantling on Monday.
- Neige: Lack of communication about who is a first aider, where the first aid station is, etc.
- Guilhem: I received feedback from Ella, who is part of the organization, and she said that she might not participate in the organization anymore because she doesn't feel useful. Have we stopped giving people the means to participate in the organization? Additionally, as the organization grows, it doesn't help with feeling invested.
- Marianne: I would like to be part of the organization, especially to create job descriptions. We struggled with the bar.
- Adeline: We should plan one or two meetings, maybe 15 days before, to welcome volunteers and give them a brief introduction.
- Églantine: We did that, but people didn't log in.
- Quentin: It could be an opportunity to start discussing topics related to sexism and others.
- Nolwenn: Is the idea to integrate volunteers into the organizing team?
- Églantine: The organizing team is not separate from the volunteers. Apparently, volunteers can be part of the organizing team.
- Nolwenn: In many festivals, the organization and the volunteers are two different things. I realized on-site that I could propose things.
- Guilhem: There are new people who have taken on responsibilities. If someone comes and wants to do something, it's possible. It's entirely possible to work on job descriptions in advance, to contact other volunteers, etc. It would be useful to know what tools are missing and could be helpful. The app is for the pre-event. For the during, we need to make printouts.
- Nolwenn: If the organizing team is not fixed, how are decisions made? Answer: Discussions take place during meetings with the attendees.
- Should we emphasize that it's the 10th anniversary?
- Églantine: Should we do it over 2 consecutive weekends?
- Guilhem: We have too many people who want tickets, and it's unsatisfactory. Should we do 2 weeks in a row, with the same programming (or not)?
- Quentin: As a volunteer, it seems complicated for me to be available for setup + the week + teardown. In that case, I would be absent during the week between the two: it would be an additional logistics, but I'm not far away.
- Xavier: What about the number of volunteers? Are there enough to form 2 teams?
- Thibault: That's what happens at long festivals.
- Marianne: Does that mean Morimont accommodates and feeds volunteers for an extra week?
- Églantine: We can also do a small, not too difficult project during the week.
- Guilhem: Or have a longer festival?
- Xavier: Are there enough people who stay until Sunday evening?
- Guilhem: Yes, especially since many people buy the 3-day pass.
- Thibault: The feedback I've received is that it's great that the concerts start earlier (like on Sunday) to avoid the balls ending at 4 am: finishing at midnight is cool.
- Florian: Especially since there are jam sessions afterward.
- Guilhem: To do that, we shouldn't have workshops in the barn (as it affects the start time of soundchecks).
- Neige: We should have a wooden floor in the barn.
- Plan a quiz.
Meeting in 2 weeks for virtual meetings.