Hello and thank you for volunteering with the City of San Luis Obispo's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the 2026 Lunar New Year Celebration as an Event Support Volunteer!
For questions related to registering as a volunteer:
Contact Kiersten Anderson, Volunteer Program Coordinator (E: [email protected] or 805-858-0771).
For questions related to the Lunar New Year Event:
Contact Matt Pennon, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Manager (E: [email protected]).
All event volunteers are required to pre-register (by 2/17/26) via Engage SLO, the City's volunteer portal.
We ask that you log your service hours post-event to track and celebrate your involvement with the City.
All registered volunteers will receive an email with more information about the volunteer role and event a few days prior to Thursday, 2/19.
Who: The City of San Luis Obispo's Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team is spearheading the 2026 Lunar New Year Celebration and seeks enthusiastic, positive, and reliable volunteers to serve as City representatives during the event. Volunteers are expected to arrive and depart on time for their scheduled shifts, act in a professional and respectful manner, and have positive engagement with the community of San Luis Obispo.
What: To learn more about the Lunar New Year Celebration in SLO, please visit this link. Event Volunteers are to help with various customer-service-related activities, informed by their shift. This could look like:
- Supporting with set up, décor, retrieving materials, managing vendors, and demarking booth placement (for the 3:30 to 5:30 PM shift).
- Helping to monitor barriers on all three sides of the event and providing information to attendees about the event, providing support to vendors as needed, and providing information to attendees about the event and parking options (for the 5:30-7:30 PM shift), or
- Aiding in event break down activities to assist vendors with packing up, ensuring Mission Plaza (the event location) is cleared of waste and event-related materials (for the 7:30 to 9:30 PM shift).
When: Three volunteer shift options on Thursday, February 19, 2026 from 3:30 PM to 9:30 PM
Where: Volunteers will meet their City of SLO point of contact at the Mission Plaza (989 Chorro St., San Luis Obispo, CA 93401). Free parking options for volunteers will be communicated pre-event; carpooling is strongly recommended.
Additional Information:
- This is a high profile and lively cultural event. Volunteers are to be welcoming and respectful of all event attendees.
- Volunteers are expected to be off their cell phones and fully present for the event. Unless it's an emergency, we ask that devices are not used so as to fully engage with the public and represent the City of SLO well.
- There will be water available on site (please bring a reusable container). Dinner will not be provided but there might be snacks; bring other personal items as needed (e.g., medications, a charged cell phone, etc.).
- There will not be a place for volunteers to store personal items on their shifts. It's encouraged to travel light and consider wearing a fanny pack or small backpack if needed.
- Volunteers are asked to wear layers and are required to wear close-toed shoes. It can get chilly at night in SLO.
- Volunteers may be photographed.
