Theme camps: how about forming a new festival?

[graidawg]

I can imagine nothing more horrible than Burning Man 24/7/365.

is it the inclusion you hate? or the free expression? the art? tell me what is so horrible you just dont want to take it back to your 9 to 5 life? i genuinely want to know

[Not Here]

[quote="graidawg"]

[quote="Not Here"]I can imagine nothing more horrible than Burning Man 24/7/365.[/quote]

is it the inclusion you hate? or the free expression? the art? tell me what is so horrible you just dont want to take it back to your 9 to 5 life? i genuinely want to know[/quote]

24/7/365 of that guy's 140db of klezmer music being freely-expressed next to my tent while I'm trying to freely sleep. 24/7/365 of having to radically include my shit in porta-potties that are filthy within 10 seconds of being cleaned. 24/7/365 of that couple in camp artfully tearing down each others' tents in a rage during their 4368th breakup. Not to mention Bacon Without Borders would always be running dry by the time I got there.

But 24/7/14? Best 2 weeks of my year!

[theCryptofishist]

@Cryptofishist: Are you laughing about the scale?

No. But organizing a small event is going to be several times more complicated than a theme camp. You're going to have to start covering the permits and possibly jots. Our shitczar had enough trouble getting regular pump-out for a mere four jots, for instance, that ...

I have no words. Maybe I'll roll around on the floor again.

[bluberryln]

Ours will be female and we'll call it Burning Bitch.

I just got excited.

[CornMan]

Ours will be female and we'll call it Burning Bitch.

I just got excited.

Actually, it'll be called "Burnin' Bitch." That will make it just below the copyright radar.

[Not Here]

I'm a water sign...how about we drown the Bitch instead?

[Ugly Dougly]

Hey! I know! Water Woman! Wouldn't that be cool?

[Ugly Dougly]

And this belongs in Regionals, yo.

[trilobyte]

@Not Here - I think your suggestion makes the mistake of assuming that suitable venues, permits, and other logistical concerns are solved by way of magic. I'm pretty sure they aren't, and that solving them would be a tremendous amount of additional work above and beyond the normally huge amount of work that goes into organizing, planning, and paying for all the camps you'd like to join you. Good luck with that.

[Pipey]

I was thinking that it could be cool if, rather than fretting, all the disenfranchised camps and art cars who don't have enough tickets banded together to start a new festival the same week as Burning Man. Opulent Temple, Distrikt, Deathguild, Disorient, Nexus, Suspended Animation, Animal Control, Dust City Diner...all on a different playa or in another remote location like a mountaintop or a beach somewhere. It wouldn't take a ton more work than it does to prepare for Burning Man, plus it would be more intimate. It could be amazing. Thoughts?

As a member of DISTRIKT (yes, a drrrrrrrrreaded sound camp - starting to feel like a pariah on eplaya this week - sheesh! just trying to provide some slushy drinks and (dub-step-free) beats and for the first time this year, art grants, in hopes of bridging the ever widening gap), I applaud your suggestion and enthusiasm for a possible new arena. "Living Burning Man" and creating regionals, etc. was highly suggested actually by BMOrg for those folks who may not make it out to the dust so I have to say I'm surprised at some of the banter here. While pulling together $$, land permits, et al, at this stage for something the same week as the burn might be challenging in 2012, something tells me this crew of vets could pull it together - cue, more laughter from cryptofish - but I'm doing my first permitting with the city of San Francisco this year and you LEARN through doing. It's my very favorite education actually. I learn more every year I burn.

Thanks for the Facebook group link and the what we CAN do attitude. I like it!! For me, my joy is in building & giving and in having this amazing week with the people I love most in the world. As long as they're beside me and there are smiles to be gifted out, I'm a happy camper anywhere. We're working very hard to get back out to BRC with whatever crew we can finagle, a mackie, and some beer, but would love to be a part of any new dreams that come to light...the times, they are a'changin!

[freeatlast]

Forming a new festival is a great idea! Its really the only solution to the ticketing problem. Burning Man will sell out every year, supply has exceeded demand for three years in a row. The problem is not the ticketing structure, its that we've grown bigger than Gerlach playa.
My first burn had 16000 people and it was essentially the same as the current burns with 50000. Perhaps a regional burn can figure out how to do one this summer for 10000 or more.
How about Moist Woman in Louisiana? Or alternative burns in: nevada, arizona, florida, brazil, spain, israel? Or next year, Burning Man running at least two festivals? The essential element is the gift economy, and no big stars/spectators.
It's time for us to evolve. Eventually we should be like Carnival, celebrated in many countries with millions of participants.
Its a great time for Burning Man! It's become big enough to give birth to more festivals.

[Ugly Dougly]

@Not Here - I think your suggestion makes the mistake of assuming that suitable venues, permits, and other logistical concerns are solved by way of magic. I'm pretty sure they aren't, and that solving them would be a tremendous amount of additional work above and beyond the normally huge amount of work that goes into organizing, planning, and paying for all the camps you'd like to join you. Good luck with that.

You seem to be assuming that Not Here (or anyone else) is incapable of pulling something like that together.
Is it something that only the sacred BMorg is capable of? I think not.

[theCryptofishist]

@Not Here - I think your suggestion makes the mistake of assuming that suitable venues, permits, and other logistical concerns are solved by way of magic. I'm pretty sure they aren't, and that solving them would be a tremendous amount of additional work above and beyond the normally huge amount of work that goes into organizing, planning, and paying for all the camps you'd like to join you. Good luck with that.

You seem to be assuming that Not Here (or anyone else) is incapable of pulling something like that together.
Is it something that only the sacred BMorg is capable of? I think not.

No, I think that others can do it. But I think that it isn't thing to get off the ground. The one alternative festival to burningman that I went to, never had a second shot and the four people who orgainzed it stressed their friendships to each other. I think the llc were lucky that the event came first, and then they decided to herd the cats. So even though they were inventing things from scratch in the festival organization, the "participants" were already learning to carry a load. I don't much like the llc and I don't make it a particular secret. I do think they are a necessary evil, and I'm glad someone else has to spend the burn having meetings with BLM and the sheriffs and all the other beuricratic necessity. And I openly admit that I am not a natural leader or organizer. I just don't trust that anyone who things it will be simple and no more work has the slightest clue of what's actually going on, and I think that naivitee would be fatal for either the event or the organizer or both.
YMMV

[zerzura]

As a member of DISTRIKT (yes, a drrrrrrrrreaded sound camp - starting to feel like a pariah on eplaya this week - sheesh! just trying to provide some slushy drinks and (dub-step-free) beats and for the first time this year, art grants, in hopes of bridging the ever widening gap).

Thanks for the Facebook group link and the what we CAN do attitude. I like it!! For me, my joy is in building & giving and in having this amazing week with the people I love most in the world. As long as they're beside me and there are smiles to be gifted out, I'm a happy camper anywhere. We're working very hard to get back out to BRC with whatever crew we can finagle, a mackie, and some beer, but would love to be a part of any new dreams that come to light...the times, they are a'changin!

I'm sorry that you feel like a pariah, there is a lot of them/us and finger pointing by everyone lately. I'm not a big supporter of sound camps, but I do like DISTRIKT; and I was super impressed when you all offered your own art grant.

I feel the same way about the finagling, we'll figure something out as well, just sad a lot of my favorite people to see will not be there with whatever is their new cool thing this year. That's why it would be worth exploring a different venue. There are a number of people in the Bay Area who have put on very large events, it is not un-doable. It used to be that the BM ORG opposed other events that drew people away from Burning Man (ones that drew heavily from the BM Bay Area core or were thrown in the same desert area), but they actually may welcome it now. It is interesting to watch unfold.

[theCryptofishist]

It really has been ugly seeing how easily these tensions erupt under pressure...

[trilobyte]

@Ugly Dougly - I'm not making that assumption at all. In fact, I have no doubt it's possible (other events exist, and are organized by humans, therefore humans can do it). I'm taking issue with the idea that it wouldn't take a ton more work than it does to prepare for Burning Man. I believe it's quite a lot of work.

[Ugly Dougly]

Certainly for 50,000, but a group of twelve friends? Might have to re-boot.

[havoc]

And this belongs in Regionals, yo.

that was my thought...why the fuck isn't anyone bringing up regionals?

is your regional sold out? no regional in your area? FIND SOME AWESOME PEOPLE NEARBY AND START YOUR OWN!

[theCryptofishist]

Certainly for 50,000, but a group of twelve friends? Might have to re-boot.

Yeah, but the vision of the op implies a lot more than a dozen would be going.

[Ugly Dougly]

Reckon so. And among the camps listed, I'll bet there is enough can-do attitude to put together a bona fide alt burn. Still MUCH smaller than the current one.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

[Not Here]

Time to Godwin this thread with "Hitler's Theme Camp Loses in the 2012 Burning Man Lottery."

http://youtu.be/jK00cpUvt3o

And yeah, we can do it if we want. Big events are not that hard to organize.

[CornMan]

Time to Godwin this thread with "Hitler's Theme Camp Loses in the 2012 Burning Man Lottery."

http://youtu.be/jK00cpUvt3o

And yeah, we can do it if we want. Big events are not that hard to organize.

Time to Godwin this thread with "Hitler's Theme Camp Loses in the 2012 Burning Man Lottery."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK00cpUvt3o

And yeah, we can do it if we want. Big events are not that hard to organize.

That was pretty good. I tried reposting it with the video showing, but the video wouldn't fit in the window.

[lucky420]

havoc
is your regional sold out?

Yes it appears that it is...