Festival Committees & Co-Chairs

AIA Installation - Through a partnership with the Tampa Bay Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, this committee will assist in designing and building an interactive art installation at the north entrance to the festival. One volunteer is needed for this committee. The volunteer will work with our partners at AIA to decide on the design of this year's installation. They will work with the Site Planning Committee to locate the installation and solve any logistical challenges and they will assist AIA's team to build the installation on the Thursday (2/29/24) and/or Friday (3/1/24) before the Festival begins. Volunteers should be organized and have a strong sense of creativity. Some experience with building art installations would be helpful.

This committee member will coordinate with the partner at AIA and develop a design in the months prior to the festival, coordinate the design with site amenities and ensure that all materials are ready for set-up. They must be on-site on Thursday or Friday to set-up and on Sunday afternoon to break-down. This committee will have minimal 

Art Collectors in training is a program designed to create future art collectors. Children enter the ACT tent by themselves to select a piece of art donated by festival artists. The ACT team works to coordinate donations from the artists and operates the tent during the festival.

The team is responsible for securing artwork donations from Festival artists, staffing the booth on Saturday and Sunday, coordinating donation of proceeds as necessary and set- up/ clean-up. They promote tent/program through website/ marketing committee and the distribution of program booklet, etc. This team does coordination and procurement work in the moths leading up to the festival. They will need to be on-site during festival set-up, manning the booth and during break-down. (Thursday/Friday - Sunday) 

Artist Hospitality volunteers support our festival artists throughout festival weekend. They solicit food and beverages, run the artist hospitality center, coordinate setup and clean-up and manage booth sitters. They are also responsible for the Saturday night artist party. They coordinate with concessions, VIP and site amenities to provide all necessary items for the party. Volunteers should be available on-site Friday through Sunday of Festival weekend. 

The Artist Load In/ Load Out Committee organizes the entry into the park for all artists and vendors on Thursday and Friday of festival week. On Sunday, the team coordinates the artists’ exit from the park. This committee also coordinates with the City of Tampa and our security team. This is a physically active committee and a great way to meet the artists.

The team is responsible for Thursday and Friday check-in, assembly of artist load-in/ load-out information packet. The team also coordinates load-out on Sunday evening. This committee has a light workload prior to festival week. The team will be the earliest on-site Thursday and Friday morning. There a very few time commitments durning the actual festival, but they will meet Sunday afternoon 

The Children’s Activity Committee works with the Tampa Museum of Art to prepare an art-making experience for children.

This committee is responsible for creating activities and securing donated and/or purchasing supplies, coordination of contract staff/artists for demonstrations, securing/supervising volunteers, and set-up/ clean-up. In addition, they promote tent/program through the website/marketing committee and distribute the program booklet. This program has coordination and preparation leading up to the festival and requires the members to be on site Friday - Sunday. 

The Concessions Committee orders, organizes and distributes food and beverages sold at the festival. This committee also coordinates with the food vendors and the City of Tampa. These committee members should be available on-site the week of the festival (Thursday- Sunday). Experience in hospitality or bartending would be helpful. This is a physically active role.

This committee is responsible for screening and scheduling food vendors. They also coordinate with beer, wine, ice and soda vendors for beverage outlets. The team organizes and schedules load in and load out for vendors, accepts deliveries of inventory at the site prior to festival, organizes deliveries in storage area, and distributes inventory prior, during and post festival. The team assists in guiding concessions volunteers to assigned outlets each shift and maintains contact and communication with vendors and volunteers. This committee has coordination and purchasing before the festival and must be on-site during the festival 

The emerging artist program volunteers facilitate the selection and mentoring of newly professional artists. These volunteers promote the program, verify applications, prepare the board presentation for artist selection and guide the artists through several mentoring events. During festival weekend, they should be available on-site Thursday through Sunday to assist with set-up, artist support and load-out. 

The entertainment team solicits all bands/ acts performing at the festival. They manage the technical and sound requirements for the festival. The coordinate with the board, site amenities, and artist hospitality to ensure that the equipment, contracts and talent needs are met. They should be available on-site Thursday through Sunday for set-up, management of the entertainment acts and break-down. 

The Festival Liaison Committee are the visionary custodians of Gasparilla Festival of the Arts’s legacy. With a commitment to continuity and collaboration, we are the bridge that connects past, present, and future. They organize and maintain legacy documents, notes, feedback, and agendas, creating a treasure trove of knowledge that serves as a guide for each new wave of co-chairs. The team is entrusted with curating and preserving legacy documents, notes, feedback, and agendas. This position is perfect for individuals with a keen eye for detail, a passion for preserving heritage, and a desire to contribute to the festival’s lasting impact.

The team is responsible for organizing and and documenting information during festival week, coordinating with HQ, and distributing the information collected after the festival. This committee will have few time commitments prior to the festival, but will need to be on-site from Friday-Sunday. After the festival, the committee will need to compile information from the 2024 festival and distribute for next year’s team. 

The HQ Core Committee is the dynamic team behind the scenes at the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts and are dedicated to ensuring seamless operations at the festival headquarters. With a keen eye for organization and a knack for precision, they are the driving force that keeps everything running smoothly. The HQ Coordinators oversee a range of essential tasks to guarantee a successful festival experience. From coordinating radios to facilitating efficient communication among teams, to managing golf carts that keep festival logistics flowing.This role is great for an individual with a talent for orchestrating moving parts.

The team is responsible for organizing and planning at HQ, graphic representations of the festival schedules, arranging performances, exhibitions, and activities graphically to create a harmonious schedule for festival week. Ensuring coordination with jury and photography schedules festival weekend and ensuring that all committees on the festival and board level are heard and seen festival weekend. This committee will order necessary supplies prior to the festival, prepare graphics for HQ, and organize schedules. They must be on-site for the festival from Thursday/Friday through Sunday. It is helpful if at least one member is available for breakdown on Monday (3/4). This role is not a physically demanding role, 

Local Artists Spotlight - With support from the Gobioff Foundation, each year we invite five local artists to receive a free booth to present and sell their work to those who attend the Festival. The LAS Committee is responsible for helping the GFA Board of Directors to select the artists, providing the artists with the logistical support they will need to set up their booth and then ensuring that the artists have what they need during the two days of the festival. Two volunteers are needed for this committee. Volunteers must be very organized, responsive to emails and at least one of the two should have some experience with Powerpoint.

The team is responsible for creating a presentation for the board of potential artist and assisting with artist selection. They set-up/breakdown at the start and end of the festival and coordinate requests from selected artists. They must be on-site during the festival (Friday-Sunday). 

One chairperson and volunteer support, with direction from the Board, to oversee all things related to the planning, coordination, and operation of marketing and public relations for the festival and organization, to include strategy, social media posts, newsletters, media coordination, and marketing design.

One chairperson and members to develop quarterly programming, with direction from the Board of Directors, to help GFA maintain a year-round presence with supporters and to provide an added benefit for existing and potential sponsors. This programming is intended to be art-related and could consist of lectures, artist demonstrations, studio tours, gallery tours, etc. The committee will develop a quarterly calendar, coordinate the programming content, and organize and produce the events.

The Signage Committee creates and installs the signage for the festival. The team works with the other committees to determine their needs and assists with set-up festival week (on-site between Wednesday and Friday). On Sunday, the team assists with the removal of signage and it’s storage for the following year.

The team works to place check-in signage on Wednesday evening/Thursday morning and Festival signage Friday evening/Saturday morning. They inventory and photograph existing signage, salvage/dispose damaged and out-of-date signs, submit and set deadline for submission of each committee’s needs, coordinate production of new/ replacement signage, update banners with current dates, coordinate placement of banners in early February, coordinate placement of signage for off-site check-in, directional signage to Festival from off-site check-in. At the close of the festival, they remove and store signage and banners on Sunday. They also coordinate with the Board of Directors with respect to sponsorship to get logos, banners and other materials properly placed. The committee has a large amount of coordination and ordering prior to the festival and is very involved in set-up and break-down. There are minimal time commitments during the actual festival. 

The Site Amenities Committee facilitates the organization, ordering and installation of all equipment and city resources for the festival. They coordinate with the City of Tampa and the Site Planning Committee.

This team coordinates requests with all committees and solicits bids for booths, tents, port-o-lets, tables, chairs, radios, golf carts and other equipment needs. Members will be on site Wednesday through Friday prior to Festival weekend for set-up for these items: including radios and carts, bringing supplies from storage unit, implementing requirements per site planning design, coordinating needs for electricity, water, etc. with city and securing on-site storage. The team coordinates with the city and orders equipment prior to the festival. They must be onsite during Festival and coordinate breakdown. (Wednesday - Sunday) 

The Sustainability committee is a new team focusing on improving GFA’s environmental impact. Goals for the team this year are improving recycling options, new water refilling stations and more sustainable merchandise options.

This committee will be researching new vendors and coordinating with the city of Tampa and Site Amenities prior to the festival. During festival weekend, they will be on-site Thursday or Friday for set-up and Sunday for break-down. 

The Committee treasurer maintains all festival funds and accounts used by the committee. They coordinate with the co-chairs and board to create a budget, handle all festival payments/ reimbursements and work with the board treasurer to create an accurate accounting of all festival funds. 

The committee VIP committee works in conjunction with the board VIP committee to plan and execute the preview party, Showcase and VIP tent. They coordinate with site amenities, signage, concessions and the sponsorship team. The team manages all invitations and ticket purchases for these events. They should be on-site Thursday through Sunday. 

The volunteer coordinators will verify committee volunteer requirements for festival weekend. They compile volunteer sign-ups and coordinate with corporations to provide volunteer teams. During festival weekend, they sign-in volunteers and direct them to their assignments. They should be available on-site Saturday and Sunday. 

The Volunteer Hospitality Committee is dedicated to serving our invaluable volunteers throughout the festival week. They are committed to creating a comfortable and nurturing environment for them. The committee will set up a dedicated hospitality station to keep our committee volunteers energized and hydrated. In addition, the team will man an information booth for visitors. This is a wonderful committee for individuals who are social and enjoy interacting with the festival’s many volunteers. This committee is responsible for providing information to the festival weekend volunteers and the public, stocking water stations and helping to direct volunteers to the location of their assignments. They will order food and beverages for the festival committee and keep this area stocked during the festival. This committee will procure the food and beverages for volunteers prior to the festival, but will have a minimal workload before festival week. The team will need to be on-site during the festival (Wednesday - Sunday) and be prepared to man the information tent and restock volunteer refreshments. They will assist with break-down on Sunday. 

One chairperson coordinates with local high schools in early Fall. The chairperson and members meet art teachers/students at the festival site on Thursday and Friday afternoon for load-in and display of art. Staff booth Saturday and Sunday. Meet teachers/students for load out Sunday afternoon.