Volunteering at the Bellevue Arts Fair

This summer, I got the chance to volunteer at the Bellevue Arts Fair thanks to Civil Air Patrol. I didn’t expect it, but it turned out to be a cool experience that pushed me a little out of my comfort zone — in a good way.

The event ran from Thursday to Sunday, but because of soccer games over the weekend, I could only help on Thursday and Friday. Even with just those two days, I got a pretty good feeling for what it’s like to work behind the scenes at an event like that.

Thursday: The Hard Workday

Thursday was super busy as it was the first day, so we had a lot to do. Our main job was helping artists and vendors unload their stuff and get their booths set up. Some of the stuff they brought in was seriously heavy. Like, I didn’t expect to be lifting that much, but we just kept going. It was one of those days when you feel kind of exhausted but proud at the end.

There were so many people trying to get organized at the same time, so we had to stay focused and move fast. Even though it was tough, it felt good to help and know we were making things easier for everyone there.

Friday: Chill Day

Friday was a lot more relaxing. Since everything was already set up, we mostly just checked in with the vendors and made sure they didn’t need help with anything. It wasn’t as physically tiring, but it was still important. A lot of people appreciated just having someone there to ask questions or lend a hand if needed.

It was cool seeing how everything came together — all the booths, the different kinds of artwork, and people starting to show up. I had never really thought about what it takes to put on an event like that until I saw it from the inside.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I’m glad I signed up. I wouldn't have even known about the opportunity if it weren’t for Civil Air Patrol, and I probably wouldn’t have thought of volunteering at something like this on my own. It taught me that even if a job seems small, it still helps make the bigger picture work. On top of that I even made a lot of new friends along the way something that was really challenging for me at CAP. Plus, it felt good to give back and it was something totally different from my usual routine of school, soccer, homework, and video games.