Volunteer

VOLUNTEER at Dakota City

Our Spring Field Trip Tours and Summer Education Camps are in need of volunteers to help with the tours to some of the buildings and to assist with the one day or four-day summer camps. Volunteers will receive an orientation and volunteer handbook to know what to expect. Field Trip Tours are scheduled weekdays during the last week of April and during the month of May and early June.  Camps are scheduled in June and July.  Please fill out an EDUCATION VOLUNTEER INTEREST FORM HERE    You will be contacted by our Education Coordinator. Or call our office for more information at (651) 460-8050.

The Dakota County Fair is scheduled for August 5-11, 2024. Our village comes alive with volunteers hosting in our buildings and representing life as it was back in the early 1900’s. Each volunteer is provided information about the building they volunteer in so they can share the history of the village and the building with visitors. Costumes are available also if volunteers wish to dress as a villager.  Scooping ice cream, serving food and selling sweet corn are also volunteer opportunities. Please complete the online Volunteer Registration by clicking the “Become a Volunteer” below.

Our Sign up Genius option for the 2024 Fair dates will be available soon with a link on this page.

Volunteers are essential to the quality of service provided to visitors of Dakota City. Volunteers represent a broad spectrum of society in terms of work experience, age, education, and ability. All volunteer work assigned is important; every effort is made to coordinate volunteer skills and interests with needs of Dakota City. These volunteers come from many backgrounds with many diverse talents, and currently work with paid staff throughout the organization on projects of varying degrees of complexity, from those requiring simple skills to the very specialized. Complete the online Volunteer Registration by clicking “Become a Volunteer” below.

VOLUNTEER at Dakota City

We are using SignUpGenius to schedule volunteers online for our events. Please click the SignUpGenius button below to schedule a volunteer shift for the Village Volunteer during the 2023 Dakota County Fair. If you aren’t comfortable using SignUpGenius, please call the office at 651-460-8050 ext. 1 to schedule a volunteer shift with a live person.

Volunteers are essential to the quality of service provided to visitors of Dakota City. Volunteers represent a broad spectrum of society in terms of work experience, age, education, and ability. All volunteer work assigned is important; every effort is made to coordinate volunteer skills and interests with needs of Dakota City. These volunteers come from many backgrounds with many diverse talents, and currently work with paid staff throughout the organization on projects of varying degrees of complexity, from those requiring simple skills to the very specialized.

For more information on becoming a Dakota City Volunteer, please contact the Dakota City offices at 651-460-8050, ext. 1 or by email at dchvoffice@dakotacity.org. Volunteers for the school programs should contact the Education Coordinator at 651-460-8050 ext. 3, or email education@dakotacity.org. Volunteers for the One Room Schoolhouse do not need to be certified teachers.

VOLUNTEER at Dakota City

Guide tours, play the part of town citizen, interpret a 1900-era building, give demonstrations including blacksmithing, carpentry, printing, cooking, baking, sewing, needlework, laundry and others. Costumes and training are provided by Dakota City.

Teach students in a one-room school setting during spring and fall school programs. Interpret during special events and the Dakota County Fair. Need not be a certified teacher; costumes and training are provided by Dakota City.

Violin/fiddle, guitar, banjo, piano/pump organ, harmonica, dulcimer, auto harp, accordion, and brass instruments musicians sometimes needed. Contact the office for more information.
Perform period music, also barbershop quartets, vaudeville acts.
Dress in costume, act in skits or short vignettes at events.
Sew, mend and repair clothing for volunteers to wear in the Village; catalog costumes for use in the costume room.
Catalog and research books, photos, clothing, furniture and other artifacts. Develop, research and fabricate exhibits with the help of the Curator and Exhibit Coordinator.
Prepare food and drink, greet and serve customers, handle food sales and keep the café clean. Sites include: Dakota City Café, Drugstore, lemonade cart, and corn stand.
Help with groundskeeping, paint, garden, carpentry, repair items, clean, and other general maintenance duties.
Preparation and set up, admission gate, drive tractors and/or guide trolleys, tend wood stoves, run errands, check on volunteers in buildings, shovel walkways and general event preparation and clean-up.
Work on antique tractors used in parades and on display; assist in maintenance and repair of agricultural implements. The men meet every Tuesday morning at Dakota City. They start their 9am meeting with coffee and donuts then work on the equipment until noon. Come as often as you are able.
Join the group of women who come in on Tuesday mornings from 9am – noon and help with a variety of tasks supporting the educational programs and the Village. One week might be helping with office work such as getting mailings out, another week might be doing crafts for an upcoming event. There is time for socializing with a mid-morning coffee and donut break. Many hands get a lot of work done! Come as often as you are able.