ePlaya

I'm still hoping to make it this year, but have learned it's almost impossible for a single traveler, who is a "virgin," to get a ticket. I tried offering to volunteer, but understand why virgins are almost never selected, "unknown volunteer quality," which makes sense now. Scouring the internet to get a ticket sounds no fun. Iowa does have a Regional Network, but my job makes it very hard to participate - lots of weekends.

So here's the question: I have a friend who is a very talented custom car builder and we both are expert tinkerers. If we build a mutant vehicle for 2024, does that drastically improve the odds of getting tickets? I know there is a selection process and a crappy entry isn't likely to be selected.

I'm simply thinking of a way to scratch off this bucket list item since the odds are not in my favor. (Mexico banned great white shark diving, so that one got scratched off for me. Crap!!)

I forgot to say thanks.

Thanks

super schafe wrote: ↑

Thu May 04, 2023 8:12 pm

I'm still hoping to make it this year, but have learned it's almost impossible for a single traveler, who is a "virgin," to get a ticket. I tried offering to volunteer, but understand why virgins are almost never selected, "unknown volunteer quality," which makes sense now. Scouring the internet to get a ticket sounds no fun. Iowa does have a Regional Network, but my job makes it very hard to participate - lots of weekends.

So here's the question: I have a friend who is a very talented custom car builder and we both are expert tinkerers. If we build a mutant vehicle for 2024, does that drastically improve the odds of getting tickets? I know there is a selection process and a crappy entry isn't likely to be selected.

I'm simply thinking of a way to scratch off this bucket list item since the odds are not in my favor. (Mexico banned great white shark diving, so that one got scratched off for me. Crap!!)

Hi super schafe. It's very hard, if not impossible to call Burning Man a bucket list item. Once you leave the pavement and hit the playa, you find yourself fully immersed in an amazing city and culture. Going to the top of the Eiffel Tower is a bucket list check. Getting that golden ticket your first year can be tricky, but not impossible. My advice would be for you to prepare to go. Get all your gear and lists together. Lots of tickets go on sale weeks before the event, because people can't get time off from work. Stay positive and we will hopefully see you in the dust.

The simple answer is no, a mutant vehicle acceptance letter comes with no tickets attached. While a mutant vehicle is fun and desirable it can also be a pain in the ass sometimes. Between building, financing, transporting, repairing, maintaining, enforcing, fueling and storing, it's not all fun and games. Getting your hands on a couple of tickets should surely be easier than all of that.

I hope you jumped into STEP ASAP, as another angle. Not sure if this has been gone over, but if you have a vehicle that tows, extra time off around the event, these are valuable to camps as the time approaches. Even if you don't have much time to network and connect thru the year, any contact is better than none. A casual exchange, a brief meeting, knowing a person is real, not a scam, can open doors.
Actual person to person contact is invaluable in getting a ticket outside the official sales. If you had the time, towing capabilities, skills, etc to bring a mutant vehicle, some already existing mutant vehicle or camp could use you. Any particular hard skill set (welding, bike maintenance, cooking, solar, hazardous material handling, commercial driving license, cat wrangler, first aid, etc) can be hyped as an asset and addition to a camp, vehicle or art piece. Art is another target for tickets. There is SPARK, and other avenues to connect. For the future, I think it's easier to start a camp, than bring a mutant vehicle. It isn't a sure ticket either, but it's possible to make it happen. As has been said, if you plan and are prepared, follow through where you can, it's very possible to get a ticket between now and gate. Good luck

If you have capacity to tow something, anything really, you may leverage that alone as a way to get tickets. Many camps use their stewards tickets to purchase services when they start experiencing holes in their camp support infrastructure nearer to the burn. Join some Facebook burner pages and you’ll see offers appearing. Most people active on this forum are guaranteed tickets through long term service or camp relationships, and don’t feel the entitled ticket exchange for services is a bad thing. I’ve found that even the org response at “doing it wrong” only draws the line at actual cash transactions above face value…. You may benefit from this loophole.

Thanks for the tips!!

I think my STEP acceptance screen from Lyte showed up at 12:07. I read somewhere you have to monitor your inbox often as tickets are only held for 72 hours. Wasn't the point of entering my credit card so that when a ticket is available, and it is my turn, it is automatically purchased?

As far as skills to offer, I've got that covered!! I grew up in a welding shop that evolved from a blacksmith shop that started over a century ago. All types of metal fab and carpentry - no problem. I work in the maintenance dept at a General Mills plant. We cover everything from industrial motors and servos to PLC's, mechanical devices, 3 phase electricity and the occasional leaky faucet. I even have a piece of paper showing 15516 hours of perfect attendance. Bike repair - easy, and so on. I already have vacation scheduled including several days before and after for travel and hopefully helping out somehow/somewhere.

It sounds like I need to figure out how to market myself to a camp or something. Social media has never been important to me so that will be a challenge.

Have you checked your area for local burners? The main website has regional contacts all around the country and the world. Burners get together for projects, fund raisers, meet and greets, regional events etc. Meeting burners, making some friends and helping out with projects for the burn, attending regional burns and camping out even, sounds a bit more fun to me than “marketing oneself” to camps. Good luck to you.

Moderator edit to add link for Regional Network. https://regionals.burningman.org/