First timer sober burn..

Waffles · Post by **Waffles** » Mon May 05, 2014 1:45 pm

Hello, my name is Mikey. I am seriously interested in attending the burn this year. This would be my first burn, and I would be proudly experiencing this event sober. I would like to join a sober camp, so if anyone has any suggestions for some good sober burner communities. I have been a chef by trade for 10 years and am slowly transitioning into the art world, with painting, drawing and entering the tattoo world. I come from a graffiti background, with a desire to produce hyper realism and abstract art/tattoos, and sacred geometry. I practice meditation, yoga and healthy/spiritual living. So if anyone has recommendations for a camp that would suit me. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you, peace.

lucky420 · Post by **lucky420** » Mon May 05, 2014 1:48 pm

Hola and hello...

I personally don't know of any sober camps but have seen the topic here on eplaya.
Someone wiser than me will most likely be along to help you out. I think if you google "eplaya sober camps" you might get a hit.

Just_Joe · Post by **Just_Joe** » Mon May 05, 2014 2:12 pm

Welcome!
Try here:
www.burnanon.org/

*Kat* · Post by ***Kat*** » Mon May 05, 2014 2:55 pm

Hello and welcome!

This might help you: http://www.burningman.com/preparation/e ... 2gHMV4dLwI

(On a sidenote: Joe, it looks like that link does not work anymore. It's the same link that is still on the official site - any idea if they have moved to a new address?)

Just_Joe · Post by **Just_Joe** » Mon May 05, 2014 4:47 pm

*Kat* wrote: (On a sidenote: Joe, it looks like that link does not work anymore. It's the same link that is still on the official site - any idea if they have moved to a new address?)

Thx. It must be a temporary (or new) problem. I can view a Google cache of the site from yesty.

Here is their (working) facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/50738475350/

Post by **trilobyte** » Mon May 05, 2014 8:23 pm

Hello and welcome to the site. I'm giving this a nudge over to the camps board, since that's a better fit for a 'where do I camp' thread.

msj2u · Post by **msj2u** » Mon May 05, 2014 8:55 pm

You can check out Anonymous Village (also on FB), Hokey Pokey, Camp Stella. These even have daily meetings according to my source.

Good Luck!

MSJ

bigbluedoggy · Post by **bigbluedoggy** » Mon May 05, 2014 9:20 pm

Hey there. If you are newly sober (less than a year) you are going about it the right way. It's going to be important for you to have a safe haven of like minded folks out there. Temptation is everywhere and if you don't have some support, you could be in trouble. Good luck!

mgb327 · Post by **mgb327** » Tue May 06, 2014 3:26 pm

There are noon meetings at Anonymous Village and 5PM at Hokey Pokey. I am not sure if HP will be there this year. You can camp with AV, as they are a "sober camp". If you are under, say 2 years, you might take the "going to meetings" to heart, as it is not your normal environment. I was 20 years sober when I went the first time and I even got a bit squirrely. Good luck, and I will see you at the noon meeting at AV on Tuesday.

Hope-a-Lope · Post by **Hope-a-Lope** » Thu May 08, 2014 7:37 pm

Hey Mikey Waffles! Welcome to eplaya, and I'm excited for you to come to BM this year!

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu May 08, 2014 7:41 pm

Recover is spoken at my camp.. Look for the circle and triangle on the facade.

Elorrum · Post by **Elorrum** » Thu May 08, 2014 8:03 pm

Welcome Waffles/Mikey. I suggest you have a plan for going back to a safe camp, from wherever you are, at all times. This is a good thing about Burning Man, you may excuse yourself from wherever you are, if you think somewhere else is where you should be. People understand that. Making a decision to camp with other sober people your first time is wise, and trust your gut on this one. Being on your own with only your own self for counsel makes Burning Man a very slippery place indeed. You may just get weary of having to acknowledge the sheer overwhelming quantity of alcohol there. It's like saying to yourself, "watch out, broken glass" a hell of a lot, for a whole week. Having a place where you can relax from that, and be supported, is important.

Meat Hunter · Post by **Meat Hunter** » Thu May 08, 2014 10:05 pm

Waffles/Mikey,

You are in very good company. There are many of us who have to be back home before February.

pink · Post by **pink** » Fri May 09, 2014 2:16 am

Hi Waffles/Mikey! I'm with Retrofrolic, and although we a definitely not a sober camp, we have a lot of sober campers, myself included. So if you are feeling squirrelly, pop by and say hi & ask for one of us clean & sober perverts.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri May 09, 2014 10:44 am

Hey Mikey, are you recovering or are you just a teetotaler?

ZimDownUnder · Post by **ZimDownUnder** » Sat May 10, 2014 5:51 am

Hey Mikey

Two and a half years sobriety here and also attending my first BM and seeking a sober camp to return to. I'm guessing that as camps have only recently formed it may be a while before sober camps form. I'll keep checking back here but I am sure we will find a home. There are at least two of us now!

pink · Post by **pink** » Mon May 12, 2014 1:03 am

Anonymous Village is the biggest of the clean & sober camps. I believe their website is in an earlier post?

Lost of meetings on the playa, and a lot more sober burners than you'd think from the Burning Man reputation as drunken bacchanalia.

ZimDownUnder · Post by **ZimDownUnder** » Mon May 12, 2014 3:17 pm

I thought I would share what I found in my quest to locate a sober camp for BM 2014

Anonymous Village
Unfortunately their website at http://www.burnanon.org seems to be dead so difficult to know what will happen with Anonymous Village just yet but as someone mentioned their Facebook page is here https://www.facebook.com/groups/50738475350/ - that too is a closed group so you will have to ask to join.

Camp Stella
Their website at http://campstella.wordpress.com/ has not been updated with any information for 2014 just yet, but their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/115647961857314/ shows that things are starting to rumble with talk of Placement Questionnaires and a meeting in May.

Run Free
Run Free camp have a website at http://runfreecamp.com/ (duh!) and a Yahoo Group at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/runfreecamp/info. There seems to have been activity at the Yahoo group recently but its a restricted group so can't see what those messages are - have applied to join the group.

HokeyPokey Camp
HokeyPokey Camp has a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/hokeypokey.camp but there does not seem to be much activity there just yet other than a change of cover photo in February.

MrTetris · Post by **MrTetris** » Thu May 15, 2014 8:47 am

I have been 3 times sober.
First year we went our camp was next door to Anonymous Village around 6'oclock. That was nifty. They have meetings all throughout the day.

Keep your head on straight and don't take and food or drink from strangers. Hell I don't even take them from my friends.

Have fun, and enjoy not being burned out on Wednesday from drinking all day and staying up all night blasted on chemicals like a lot of folks get

And I have had many occasions out on the Playa when I was dead sober that I thought I was intoxicated by something from all the crazy shit happening around me.
The Playa is the greatest drug on earth for me

LittleJack · Post by **LittleJack** » Sat May 24, 2014 4:54 pm

There are A LOT of us out there. You can find me in Hushville under the "Pervy Burner" flag, or hanging out at Retrofrolic, Black Rock S.O.C.K., Suspended Animation, Black Rock Beacon, or goddesses only knows where else.

I've been to all of the sober camps listed, and they're all great.

mournlight · Post by **mournlight** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 2:20 pm

Hey, Zim and all - Just a quick note to say that Anonymous Village is alive and well and growing! It looks like we'll have over 200 camping with us this year. Our web site is getting some spiffing up lately, but all things done by volunteers move at a bit slower pace. We have a very active facebook page. You can PM me here and I'll answer, or reach us on http://www.burnanon.org/ as well. Just wanted you to know we're around and strong! And as always, anyone can drop by anytime, no membership required! Mournlight

mournlight · Post by **mournlight** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 2:34 pm

Hey Mikey~
We at Anonymous Village have another artist extroidinaire who is working on a project for this year, and it sounds like you should meet her! Reach out to us on burnanon.org or facebook and I'll introduce the two of you. (I'll also PM this info.)
Anonymous Village is alive and well - it sounds like a few of you tried to reach us during the four weeks it took us to switch our web hosting service. Our apologies. You know when people are volunteering and still have full time life going on, it can take a few days for things to happen. But we're here, the new site is progressing nicely, and we're expecting to have way over 200 camping with us this year. Anyone who wants to camp clean is welcome. Just reach out. And of course we love us some volunteers just like all of Burning Man, so step on over and lend a hand when you can. You can find out more info on all of that via the web site. Anyone can PM me and I'll answer what I can or point you in the right direction.
(Of course, we like to communicate with all the sober camps, so if anyone has a new one we don't know about, let us know so we can cross post info and support.)
Mickey, we do a lot of activities together, and there are meetings going on all the time, so please take advantage of the presence of AV and her sister camps.

Zhust · Post by **Zhust** » Fri Jul 04, 2014 6:32 am

2012 was my first year sober. I had quit drinking on my own in November 2011, so I had the better part of a year to acclimate. First, let me say I agree that if your gut says to find a sober camp, do it.

Now on to 2012. You can read my blog about the whole thing, but I'll skip to the pertinent parts.

Let me start and say I'm a skeptic by nature and really believe that we manifest coincidences into something more profound, but sometimes—especially at Burning Man—I find it hard to resist that there are forces effecting things in my life that I don't understand. And I want to add that in past years, I basically stayed drunk 168 hours. I'd drink beer, wine, liquor, mixed drinks, you name it. I met lots of people that way and had a good time. So when I went back sober, I figured it would be a huge challenge.

First instance: when I plunked down my tent in the middle of the night, I ended up in a bit of an inhospitable location. Across the street they were playing an astonishing variety of music (my favorite genre) and I went over and helped them a bit, and they invited me to stay. Of <i>course</i>, they don't even offer people alcohol but rather water, lemonade, and gaytorade. While they're not entirely sober, they are pretty light on the booze, especially as TTiTD goes.

Second instance: while I was driving the art car (yeah, I got to drive an art car—for the first time—and it was awesome ... until it got dull) some people ran out on Iris and asked to take a picture, so I stopped and obliged. Then they came running back with drinks and said, "hey, do you want some—" of course you know what's next, it's Burning Man: "PBR"? nope. "whiskey"? nope—"lemonade." Friggin' fresh-squeezed lemonade. It was awesome.

My point is that although Burning Man can be a week-long drug-and-alcohol-fueled hedonism fest, it is also surprisingly rich with oases free from all that.

First timer sober burn..

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