Early arival passes

[LionsNzebras]

Hello everyone,

WE are new to the burner community and are pushing to participate in 2015. I apologize in advance, were just trying to understand how this all works, and participate in the community as a whole. So far so good

Right now I (lion) have a few questions after reading some of the latest "jack rabbit speaks"

I have been reading this (http://blog.burningman.com/2014/12/news ... /?=updated)
and have a questions regarding this:

Regarding entry to BRC and Early Arrival passes – All ticket-holding participants enter either through Gate Road or the BRC airport. There have never been special Gate Road lanes for members of theme camps, and there will be none in the future. There is no “concierge camp” fast lane, nor is there a fast lane for any other camp. We are exploring the possibility of making early entry passes non-transferrable for 2015, but need additional time to examine the administrative and operational impacts.

What is the point of getting and "Early Arrival Pass" If there is no special way to get in early? As an example, A black rock gate lane designated to early arrival pass people.
For us, right now, I would love to arrive a day or two early, setup my space, then help setup other things, or volunteer in other spaces such as BRG, or center camp, or something along that line. In our eyes there is no better way to learn about the community, than jumping in with both feet and getting a little dirty.

Perhaps I have missed something crucial and I have some EGG on my face.

Regards,
Wally (AKA Lion)

[Dr. Pyro]

Allow me to address this if I may. First off, the vast majority of EA passes are reserved for theme camps (many of whom have been a part of the Burning Man fabric for years, such as the revered Barbie Death Camp & Wine Bistro). You cannot just ask for an EA pass and expect to be granted one. They go to those who are putting together the infrastructure of the city and the large theme camps and villages (BDV had 270 in it last year and had EA passes for only a fraction of its members). As far as getting into the city is concerned, those with EA passes come in the same way everyone else does, but because there aren't the maddening hoards of people, wait time at the gate can be as short as a few minutes (Thursday and Friday) to perhaps a half hour (Saturday during the morning and early afternoon). So there doesn't need to be a dedicated lane for those arrivals. They're pretty much by themselves anyway. I hope this makes sense and I did not want to come off as snarky or as a know-it-all. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

[LionsNzebras]

Dr. Pyro,

Thank you for the super quick response.

This does make things a little clearer, I was wondering how they setup the camps so things are ready for participants on gate opening day.
There are several super cool videos of setup and what not on you tube....

I do like the fact that they know "the good camps" that help promote the principals and give them a nudge in the right direction so these camps continually participate.

So from what I understand, if a participant comes on the Friday say at 3am, they get parked in the lot off to the side? Till the gate opens at say 9 or whatever time it opens.

Best Regards,
Wally (AKA Lion)

[FIGJAM]

If you show up more than a couple of hours early without a EE pass you will be sent back to Reno.

Gates open on sunday.

At least for the last couple of years.

[LionsNzebras]

Figjam,

yeah that would suck being turned around, I thought that there was a place they parked people that came early, then made them sit there for a long long while hehe....punitive of course hahaha.

So if the gates open at say 9 am, you plan to be there at 8am, plan the drive, account for a bit of traffic (yeah, a bit haha) all should be well.
Get in line, hold on to your hat, and start the pre-party all should be well...one would think.

[Ratty]

Hmmmm. The gates open for 'general admission' on Sunday. They will announce what time well in advance. Prior to that the gates have been open 24/7 for people with early passes. Saturday is the last day you can use an early pass. If you show up on Friday or Saturday without an early entry pass I don't think they send you to a parking lot. I think they turn you around and send you down the road. D lot is not a campground. It's difficult to time your arrival exactly so on Sunday if you get there before the gates open you are sent to D lot.

As far as early entry goes, it's nice but you really have to work for it. Find burners in your community and get involved now with building and planning. Search online for jobs and camps that interest you. The city had many more people in it last year before the gates opened. (At least it seemed that way to me.) Early entry comes with a commitment but it's worth it if you can get the extra time off to stay that long at the event.

[LionsNzebras]

Ratty,

We plan on taking a few days off without pay to do the volunteer work, if it comes up. In our opinion, its worth it to support community.

W

[trilobyte]

If you arrive on gate day prior to the gate opening, they do put you off in a separate staging lot area... where you will wait for several hours, until after the people who arrived on time get in. It's definitely punitive. Your best bet is to plan to arrive no sooner than when the gates open (if you leave Reno 2 hours before you should be fine).

[Jovankat]

Lion are you planning on doing the theme camp application? If so part of it is asking for how many early entry passes you will need for you camp. Contrary to what Dr Pyro said it's not only the huge camps that get theme camp placement and early entry. Smaller camps can qualify too. It's really about how much interactivity and awesomeness you're providing to the community.

[Eric]

Point of clarification:
Early Entry passes (EAs) are only given to approved theme camps, art projects & infrastructure camps. To receive one you have to either apply to be one of those camps (theme or a major art project), or be involved with one of those camps. Camps who get EAs do not get them for all of their members, they only get them for "core personnel", and it's up to each camp to decide who those people are.

They are a strictly monitored item, and camps can lose them (for their entire camp) for trading/ bartering/ selling them, and even get banned from the event. It's forbidden on this board to ask or offer them in any way, it should be something dealt with at the camp level - this information isn't to make you feel bad for asking your general question, just to let you know these are not easy to obtain, and you generally need to prove yourself to get one. Lot's of people want to volunteer to help get the event rolling, but there's no way even a small fraction of those can get EAs. Your best bet would be to either plan your own theme camp for this year & go through the placement application, or to join an existing theme camp (preferably in your area) and prove to them that you're kick-ass and valuable, so they want to give you one.

[LionsNzebras]

Lion are you planning on doing the theme camp application? If so part of it is asking for how many early entry passes you will need for you camp. Contrary to what Dr Pyro said it's not only the huge camps that get theme camp placement and early entry. Smaller camps can qualify too. It's really about how much interactivity and awesomeness you're providing to the community.

Jovankat, No this will be our first burn, were just working on self reliance and trying to figure out what we want to do. We are participates by nature, so we will most likely volunteer work as we see fit, we were told there is a place in center camp for that.

My only thought on getting in early was to setup, get a lay of the land, and to help others nothing more.

But the more that I think about it, half the fun is waiting in line, meeting people, dancing, singing and having a good time.

[LionsNzebras]

Point of clarification:
Early Entry passes (EAs) are only given to approved theme camps, art projects & infrastructure camps. To receive one you have to either apply to be one of those camps (theme or a major art project), or be involved with one of those camps. Camps who get EAs do not get them for all of their members, they only get them for "core personnel", and it's up to each camp to decide who those people are.

They are a strictly monitored item, and camps can lose them (for their entire camp) for trading/ bartering/ selling them, and even get banned from the event. It's forbidden on this board to ask or offer them in any way, it should be something dealt with at the camp level - this information isn't to make you feel bad for asking your general question, just to let you know these are not easy to obtain, and you generally need to prove yourself to get one. Lot's of people want to volunteer to help get the event rolling, but there's no way even a small fraction of those can get EAs. Your best bet would be to either plan your own theme camp for this year & go through the placement application, or to join an existing theme camp (preferably in your area) and prove to them that you're kick-ass and valuable, so they want to give you one.

Eric, this is exactly what we thought, thank you for the clarification.

We are by no means trying to circumvent the system, more to understand it, thus we ask the questions. No offense taken by your post, its informative and I like that.
I am currently working at\on the Alberta burning man group, everything is very quiet right now, I suspect things will pickup in February.
There was a camp that contacted me earlier in the year as well, I have been poking around with their stuff and people to see if we fit in that group as well. There is opportunity everywhere, just a matter of figuring out where we fit.

As for our own theme camp, as a first burn, I dont think that is a good idea, we are looking for a good positive camp to join into, or even just go on our own, and have a little fun, check out some artwork and find out exactly where we fit in. Part of it is also meeting people and getting to know them.

The board is only one facet of that "getting to know people"

Thank you for all the help and feel free to PM me anything you think may be of assistance.

Wally (AKA Lion)

[halo_in_jeopardy]

Here's a chicken-and-egg question ...

We're a group of folks who have been coming for several years, and will likely be making a formal theme camp application - which I understand is in the February-April timeframe. If we're approved (fingers crossed), we would definitely like some Early Arrival passes.

But ... (here's the question) ... it looks like the EA passes are applied for and awarded before this February-April timeframe?

So ... how do we, as first-time theme camp appliers, get EA passes? If you're an established camp with a track record, this isn't a problem ... if we're a first-time applicant, how do we do this??

Any suggestions, hints, pro-tips appreciated!

[Jovankat]

The early entry pass request for theme camps is a question in the application. You just say how many you want for what date. It's all intergrated into the process.

[mudpuppy000]

EA passes don't get assigned until after you are approved for placement. (close to the event)

[Jovankat]

Last year the email sent to let you know you'd been placed also said how many early entry passes you had been approved for.

Think of placement and early entry as being two sides of the same coin.

[halo_in_jeopardy]

Thank you ... very helpful!

So even as a first-time theme camp applicant, we would have access to EA (if approved). Good to know, and thanks again!

[Jovankat]

Yep. The idea is theme camps are supposed to be ready to be interactive once the event starts so they get a head start on set up. Both theme camps I've camped with were first time camps and both got EA passes. Just be aware that there are a limited number available and it's just supposed to be your core crew that get them. I imagine how many you get and for how early relates to how big your camp is in terms of people and interactive infrastructure that needs to be built