Festival's Gold 2

Have you noticed this year's official t-shirt? On the back it says 'Festivalens Gull'. We have had a chat with some of the people who are involved and working to make it a festival. Sigrid Strand Stiberg has worked as a clerk since she was around 18, and this year she is the leader and sole member of what must be the festival's smallest working group; 'Internal'. 

"There are approximately 100 volunteers who come to Kongsberg to work as clerks. They need accommodation, so my job is to find housing/beds for them," says Sigrid. There is a lot of coordination to find the right accommodation for people and, in addition, it is not easy to find enough accommodation options.

Sigrid laughs a little when she is asked who the internal group is? "In many ways I am the group leader for one person - myself". Sigrid reports that it has been a lot to get used to and a big solitaire to get everything in place. Next year, she wants even more people who want to rent out a house, apartment or guest room in/or close to the city centre. If you have a guest room available next summer, just let Sigrid know. 

When asked why Sigrid chooses to spend so much time working as a civil servant, she says: "All my friends are involved and I myself have been involved since high school". Sigrid describes herself as a real jazz child, since her parents met during the Kongsberg Jazz Festival a couple of years before Sigrid was born. As an active member of Kongsberg's music community, with vocals and piano as her instruments, she has contributed musically in addition to being involved in both Barnivalen and in the technical group. "It's nice to work with accommodation. People are pleasant and solution-oriented. Among other things, we have rented the Kongsberg parish center for accommodation. The list of who takes the fire watch at night was fully subscribed in a short time with guards both at 03.00 and 06.00.” Sigrid ends our conversation. 

Text: Anna Moxnes / Photo: Morten Kolve