Q&A with 30 year Volunteer Nicky Swift

How many years have you volunteered with Ottawa Bluesfest?
2024 will be Nicky’s 30th year volunteering with Ottawa Bluesfest.

Why did you first decide to volunteer at Bluesfest?
Nicky says that she first decided to volunteer mostly for the music. She was going to go as a
patron anyway, so she thought she might as well volunteer.

What Area did you first volunteer with and why did you choose that one?
Nicky first volunteered with Beverage Cashiers. She did work outside of the festival that related
to serving so she was good with numbers and liked to meet people. She started with selling
beer tickets and grew from there.

What Area do you currently volunteer with, and what is your favourite thing about it?
Nicky currently volunteers in VIP Zone, still bartending and selling beer. She enjoys being close
to the music being in the area.“I like it because you see the same people all the time”, says
Nicky. She says that she even trained the current VIP Supervisor back in the day in the Beer
Tents, when she supervised in the area.

What is a favourite memory or story from a previous festival?
Nicky says that when the festival was at City Hall, they sold tickets for Beer in a booth in the
middle of the grounds. It was about 100 degrees in that booth. Eventually they moved the tent
closer to where they were selling the beer. It was a learning curve every year and every year it
has gotten better. The music is always one of Nicky’s favourite parts of the festival. She has
seen a lot of great bands and a lot of repeats. She saw Colin James every year that he came
and it was different every year. She even recalls him playing steel guitar with another artist one year and says that it was really cool. She has met a lot of good people throughout her time with Bluesfest that she is happy to see every year.

What is your favourite performance you’ve seen at Bluesfest?
Nicky recalls both Santana and BB King being really good shows. Recently she saw Boz
Scaggs and she really enjoyed that show. Nicky also says that Lady Gaga was really good and
she played before she was super famous. Last year, Shania Twain put on a great show, and
she says that Styx has been great all the times they have been there.

If you could give one piece of advice to other volunteers, what would it be?
Wear comfortable shoes because you are standing no matter what job you are doing and just
enjoy the experience and meeting new people.

We would like to congratulate Nicky on becoming the first volunteer to volunteer for all
30 years of Bluesfest. We are grateful for your commitment to the festival and growing
with us through the years. We could never put into words how much we appreciate you,
but what we can say is THANK YOU.