Feathers On The Playa

[MichelleMaBelle]

[Edited by moderator to add]
This thread is a split from this venerable thread, which preached NO FEATHERS ON THE PLAYA. Since that thread was posted (and lived out it's natural life as a thread), Burning Man's policy regarding feathers has changed. From the JRS Volume 17 #30...

FEATHERS ARE BAD BAD BAD, RIGHT? WELL ... MAYBE NOT.

Back in the day, folks would show up at Burning Man with cheap feather boas, and they'd inevitably fall to pieces and blow all over the playa, get stuck on the trash fence, and generally be a super MOOPy pain in the butt for everybody.

So we've kept a warning in the Survival Guide for years to not bring feathers (primarily this was directed at cheap boas, as this predated the headdress and fedora fads), and even had the Gate confiscate feathers and boas and whatnot from people as they enter, to prevent a MOOPocalypse.

But here's the thing ... some feathers are super MOOPy and others, well, aren't. So use your head. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE YOUR STUFF DOESN'T BECOME MOOP.

Whether it's a costume, or a vehicle, or an art installation, your food, your camp, your bike, your trinkets, whatever, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE YOUR STUFF DOESN'T BECOME MOOP.

So be smart. Be self-reliant. Use good judgment and be careful about what you do and don't bring (and wear) to the playa. If you want to wear feathers, OK ... but make sure they're attached in way that won't fail, and if you can't do that then don't wear 'em, because it's on YOU if they become MOOP.

And that goes for anything you bring to Black Rock City.

[End of edit - now for MichellMaBelle's post]
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I was doing a search for non-MOOP feather alternatives, and your daughter's idea is fabulous, inthecolumbiagorge!! So impressed. May have to steal that idea.
I also like your link, katiebaby25! Thanks!

[Ugly Dougly]

The reason I bring this up is...I have chickens and an emu. I'm not interested in putting feathers on my body. (I've seen to many mites to shake the icky feeling). Just for the record, I'm opposed to all moop. Up in my bird yard I found a bead from something I wore ages ago. The feathers on the other hand break down relatively quickly. Even the emu feathers which are similar to ostrich. That just got me thinking. Synthetic Vs. organic.

You're saying that replacing natural feathers with synthetic is possibly worse. You're probably right.

[BoyScoutGirl]

...I have chickens and an emu....

Here's another bit of evidence of why you are just the coolest lady in my eyes, Ratty.

[trilobyte]

I've done a bit of a slice and dice here. The new posts have been sliced into a new thread, which links back to the old thread (which started in 2011). Burning Man's policy on the subject has changed since that thread was active, and so for context I've added the official information as posted back on July 20, 2013.

[FossaFerox]

This thread is a split from this venerable thread, which preached NO FEATHERS ON THE PLAYA. Since that thread was posted (and lived out it's natural life as a thread), Burning Man's policy regarding feathers has changed. From the JRS Volume 17 #30...

Any idea when the website will be updated to be accurate?

This link still lists feathers as banned: http://www.burningman.com/preparation/e ... wQeZPldXCc

I'm wondering if there are any other inaccuracies/inconsistencies between the different pockets of resources on the official website. I initially referred to that link as being part of the survival guide (probably due to the event_survival part of the URL) but it clearly isn't...

[Ano]

The Burning Man website is kind of messy in general. Lots of weird linkage and an odd navigation... it could use an overhaul at some point, but, eh, it's kind of endearing in a funky way.

[trilobyte]

Typically, there's an annual refresh of the Survival Guide content sometime around June. Since the online guide is tied to the printed guide and has its own review and approval process (Burning Man has many teams and departments that have some involvement), any updates or changes won't be reflected in it until the next season's guide comes out (likely in June).

Site updates are a separate matter. Burning Man is working on a pretty significant overhaul of the main site, but that's a pretty big project - I couldn't really comment on schedules or timetables.

The information in JRS V17#30 is newer than what had been posted, which is why I included the details and date of publication.

[EspressoDude]

Also please remember when making any clothing choice, Burning Man is all about FIRE. Feathers are combustible. So are humans. If you wear feathers it is possible that they can be ignited while riding a mutant vehicle, or standing around a burn barrel.
Don't become a burning man or burning woman.

[FossaFerox]

Also please remember when making any clothing choice, Burning Man is all about FIRE. Feathers are combustible. So are humans. If you wear feathers it is possible that they can be ignited while riding a mutant vehicle, or standing around a burn barrel.
Don't become a burning man or burning woman.

Honestly natural feathers burn pretty safe compared to the fake fur and other synthetics everyone (myself included) seems to love. Natural materials burn and char with relatively little danger of efficiently transferring the heat to your body even if your clothing does burst into flames. Synthetics, on the other hand, will melt to your skin and cook you. You'll get extremely rapid, horrifically deep burns in an instant and you won't be able to get the stuff off.

Take it from a fire spinner, natural > synthetic when it comes to fire safety. Rule 1 though? Be alert and don't be somewhere you could be set on fire in the first place unless it's part of a performance and you have someone ready to put you out.

[Ratty]

When you hold a freshly plucked chicken over a flame to get the 'nubs' off, it stinks. It takes some doing. Try that with your Beddy Bunny stuffed animal and see how fast you toss that flaming hazard as far away as possible.

However, I love fake fur and yes, it is singed here and there. Hey, it is BURNING Man.