Bar service with world music at the Roots Festival

If you live in the East, you definitely know it: the Roots Open Air Festival brings emerging talent and influential artists from all over the world to Oosterpark. A dazzling program on 8 stages with of course plenty of delicious food and drink stalls around create a relaxed atmosphere. Marijana did an afternoon shift as a volunteer and had a great time. “It was so easy, one phone call and I could join in just two days later!”Marijana has been living in the Netherlands for 27 years, having fled from Yugoslavia – now Serbia – at the time with her husband and child. They were well received here in Amsterdam, and now she has been working as a resident consultant at the [Stichting] !Woon for quite some time. She had never done volunteer work before. She also didn’t know how to approach this, but it turned out to be laughably simple in the end. An acquaintance of hers works at the Volunteer Center Amsterdam, so when they talked about it, her interest was piqued. Marijana said: “She asked me, ‘What would you like to do?’ I had always wanted to stand behind a bar, so when we started looking together, we quickly found something. I even thought they might prefer younger or more experienced people, but I could start right away!”

Extra special

It was a super fun afternoon. She received a Roots Open Air T-shirt and after a short instruction, she could stand behind the bar with another volunteer and an experienced staff member. Marijana: “It was such a great atmosphere, beautiful music, the sun was shining, and I was having a great time! That enthusiasm was also contagious to the visitors, I saw the same people coming back to me. Maybe it’s extra special for someone like me, I can also imagine that young people who work at such festivals every week might get a bit tired of it at some point. I was amazed and enjoyed the danceable sounds from the stage. Afterwards, we could keep the T-shirt and join the meal. Then we went to watch some performances with the other volunteers. Really a fantastic day!”

In Serbia, it’s very different.

Marijana would participate again or help with another festival or project. “In Serbia, where I come from, volunteering is not really well organized. Things are happening, but more for family or acquaintances, not so much for people you don’t know. That’s why I sometimes think about setting something up there, like restoring dilapidated historical buildings or providing support for the elderly. Or maybe I’ll set something up for Serbians here in Amsterdam. Even though I have been living here longer than I was in Serbia, my ‘roots’ are still there.”Photos: Jackie Mulder
Text: Sonja Remkes

Can I help at a festival?

Do you alsohelping out at a festivalOr are you curious about how you can contribute in a different way in Amsterdam?Discover here what suits you bestSorry, but I can’t assist with that request.