Volunteer

SOAK is a 100% volunteer-run event.

SOAK couldn’t happen without you, that’s a fact. Virtually every team at SOAK is looking for volunteers, so there’s likely to be a role for you, whatever your interests or abilities. Volunteering gives you an opportunity to connect with your fellow participants and contribute towards making SOAK a fabulous and successful event.

Guidelines for Earning Credit Hours
The SOAK volunteer policy has been updated for SOAK*2025!

SOAK*2025

  • 15-credit hours = Full-Price Guaranteed Volunteer Ticket (in 2026)

  • 20-credit hours = Gift Ticket (in 2026)

SOAK uses weighted-credit hours for our volunteer system, which can range from 0.5x to 1.5x credits per hour worked. We recognize that giving up some of your event time to volunteer with us is different than giving up a typical Saturday in town, and that being awake and sober overnight during the event asks even more of our community, so our shift weights reflect these differences. The weighted credit-hours are shown for each shift when you sign up for a volunteer shift in Volcor.

For the past several years, SOAK has used a 16-credit hours = a no-cost Gift Ticket as the standard. Starting in 2025, any hours earned toward 2026 will follow the two-tiered system described above. The community has been clamoring for access to a guaranteed Directed Group Sale (“DGS”) volunteer ticket, which we’re happy to offer for 2026! All Volunteer DGS ticket holders are eligible to apply for access to a Subsidized DGS — more info to come. We have also decided to increase the number of hours required for a Gift Ticket to reflect the greater amount of pre-event work parties and on-site build / strike shifts available, and to reduce the financial burden of our Gift Ticket program (there are no true “free” tickets, the cost is distributed to our theme camps, artists, and newbies, who all purchase full-price tickets!).

Pre-event work: 1 hour = 0.5x credit hours
Some departments offer pre-event work at “work parties,” which generally occur in Portland in the weeks and months leading up to SOAK. Please Note: even pre-event hours count towards the following year’s SOAK, not the current year’s event.

Event work: 1 hour = 1 credit hour
Volunteering on-site for SOAK typically counts as 1 hour worked = 1 credit hour, regardless of the department you volunteer with or if the hours are recorded before, during, or after the event (eg, build shifts with a Working Access Pass, during the event, or post-event with strike or LNT crews).

High-priority event work: 1 hour = 1.5x credit hours
SOAK also awards some high-priority volunteer shifts as 1 hour worked = 1.5x credit hours received. Typically, these are our hardest-to-fill or mission critical shifts (e.g., the DPW truck unload, an overnight Ranger shift, etc). Pay attention in Volcor or inquire with individual Department Leads for more information.

Further Information

  • Volunteering for SOAK always earns a ticket for the subsequent year: Help out with SOAK*2025 and your credit hours this year secure your ticket for SOAK*2026, not for SOAK*2025.

  • Volunteers may accrue credit hours across any number of departments: There is no requirement that all efforts be directed toward a single team.

  • Failing to show up for a scheduled shift will result in a loss of credits: Don’t sign up for shifts you can’t commit to. Contact the Department Leads if you know you can’t make it, repeatedly no-call, no-showing your shifts can get you banned from a department or from volunteering for the event entirely.

  • If you earn a Gift Ticket and are unable to attend the next event cycle, you may request to defer your Gift Ticket for one year.

    • A Gift Ticket may be deferred only once: If you do not claim your Gift Ticket the following year, it is automatically forfeit.

    • Instructions for how to defer your 2025 Gift Ticket will be in the Volunteer Ticket notification email.

  • An individual may donate their Gift Ticket to another person at no cost, SOAK does not allow the reselling of Gift Tickets — doing so can endanger your ability to earn a Gift Ticket in the future.

  • Each volunteer may only earn one DGS or Gift Ticket, regardless of how many credit hours they accrue.

Photo by Whit Gurley

Leadership Roles

Leads Run the departments necessary for the SOAK to happen and manage the team of volunteers that show up to contribute their time and skills.

Directors Help Leads be successful helping with staffing, budgeting, and interdepartmental coordination. They have all the answers, and if they don’t they’re there to find them.

Producers Oversee the entire event and are responsible for its success. In addition to budgeting, managing event operations, and working with vendors, they also support all of the individual Department Leads and Directors. Producers help set the cultural direction of the event, ensuring we act in accordance with the 10 Key Principles.

SOAK Departments

Ambassadors Welcome participants to the event, staffs the Info Booth, and manages Lost + Found.

Art & Civic Grants Houses TAG Peer Review and offers possible funding assistance for art installations, Theme Camp beautification, and civic projects at SOAK. TAG, aka Talented and Gifted, is a volunteer peer review team that reviews civic and art grant applications.

Box Office Manages ticket processing & transfers, DGS sales, Camping Vehicle passes, and Accessibility canine attendee badges.

Census Conducts anonymous surveys of participants upon entry and analyzes the data post-event. Its goal is to better understand our participants and help make informed decisions on behalf of our community.

Department of Public Works (DPW) Manages the transportation, set-up, and tear-down of SOAK infrastructure (trash fence, civic signage, etc.), and event site improvement.

Fire Performance Coordinates fire spinners and other fire performers, and assists with their ability to perform safely throughout the event and during major burns.

Fire Perimeter Staffs the outer safety perimeter at all sanctioned burns at SOAK.

Fire Safety Assists with perimeter protection at sanctioned burns, remediates unintentional fires and life safety emergencies, and inspects fire art.

Gate Staffs the event entrance and perimeter, manages wristbands and participant waivers, performs vehicle searches, and manages the traffic in and out of event.

Ice Manages ice sales during the event.

Leave No Trace (LNT) Performs mid-event sweeps and the post-event cleanup, restoring the event site to its original state (or better).

Major Burnable Sculpture (MBS) Builds the main burnable sculpture for the event (which typically burns on Saturday).

Media Manages event PR, the newsletter, the SOAK website as well as all general communications with the community.

Parks & Wrecks Handles parking lot management and controls traffic flow.

Pathlighters Designs, places and maintains consistent lighting along pathways and roadways for event goers to traverse the property safely.

Placement Responsible for theme camp liaising and coordination as well as the event layout. Art encourages and registers art projects, promotes art at our events and, depending on Artist need, liaisons with SOAK departments and the art grant committee.

Power & Comms Manages event radios and communications, as well as powering vital event infrastructure (such as Medical).

Pyro Works directly with MBS to ensure the safe ignition of the burnable structure.

Radical Inclusion Creates pathways through organization changes, outreach, and education to invite a broader audience to SOAK.

SOAK Train Manages the event-wide public transportation system. It runs all weekend with stops all over the site.

Swag Designs, prints and gets made many of the items that a part of your SOAK experience, from the Survival Guide to the wristbands and stickers. They also design the theme art.

Rangers Handles community safety and burn perimeter patrol. Rangers have a willingness to help others, mediate, and educate.

Temple Builds the burnable structure that the community makes a temple, which burns on Sunday night of the event.

Temple Guardians Maintains a reflective and calm space around the Temple after dark.

Traffic & Exodus Manages the flow of traffic into the event during peak hours, helps direct participants around the event, and leads Exodus.

Volunteer Coordination (VoCo) Communicates with volunteers and helps them get connected to departments of interest.

Volunteer Hospitality (VoHo) Provides on-site support to SOAK departments with snacks, drinks, and a volunteer potluck.