What are the gate opening hours on Saturday, August 29?

[Rito]

Hi! My camp has Early Arrival Passes and will be arriving on Saturday, but want to make sure the gates are open when we get there.

Are they open 10am Saturday to... evening? 8pm? later? I know they also open 10am Sunday but wasn't sure how long they'd be shut.

Thanks!
- Rito

[digital]

Gate is open 24/7 starting Wednesday (Monday) the week before it opens to the public. They are a hard working bunch.

[fun fact: they prefer liqueur over hugs]

[ygmir]

Gayte is open 24/7. They are a hard working bunch.

[fun fact: they preferliqueur licker over hugs]

[Dr. Pyro]

Gayte is open 24/7. They are a hard working bunch.

[fun fact: they preferliqueur licker over hugs]

pervert

[ygmir]

Gayte is open 24/7. They are a hard working bunch.

[fun fact: they preferliqueur licker over hugs]

pervert

[burner von braun]

I was thinking that I read that gate will close for a few hours right before the main 10:00 am Sunday opening stampede. I think that might be where the OP (Rito) who has an Early Arrival Pass was headed with this question. At what point does early entry no longer apply? I haven't personally experienced EA yet, so I'm pretty clueless on the details.

*makes mental note to bring extra bottle of liquor to give to gate this year*

[Elliot]

Both the Gate itself and the Will Call office are scheduled to be open around the clock. Brief closures may occur for various reasons.
As for the Will Call office, it opens at Noon August 24 and remains open until Noon September 5.

(Note to mods: While I received this information as a volunteer with GP&E, I feel certain this is not restricted information.)

Some of us will be working in the Will Call parking lot, and we get thirsty too.

[burner von braun]

Thanks for the clarification Elliot.

I'll keep the various thirsty entry folks in mind this year on approach!

[Rito]

I'm not sure that EA passes mean you can enter any time. I asked placement if arriving 2am Sunday morning would be an issue, and I was told:

[quote]2am arrival on Sunday morning will be tricky since Placement will most likely be shut down for the night, you will not get placed until the next morning. Part of the criteria of camps receiving registered placement is that they are up and running by Monday morning and we request that camps be on the playa by Saturday (more details around this can be found in Placement Newsletter #8). We ask that all camps be on the playa by Saturday since the gates open at 10am on Sunday and we will not be able to hold your spot.
[/quote]

So, I'm not sure what to think. Can we arrive at 5pm Saturday? 8pm Saturday? 10pm Saturday? Seemingly not at 2am Sunday morning, from the above.

[Elliot]

It might be worthwhile to keep in mind that Placers are human and need to sleep.

And if you are a placed camp, you have been informed long ago that you are expected to be ready for business when the gate opens to the general ticket-holding public.

[ygmir]

arrival has nothing to do with placement. you can arrive anytime after your EA pass is valid. Getting placed will be on their schedule.

[gaminwench]

Placers are humanoid.

Arriving (with EA) anytime during the week of build would best be accommodated during daylight hours; placers and placement are best served then.
Arrange for your LEAD to meet with placers between 10am & 6pm, so your camp can be placed, the rest of your EA crew can arrive whenever it is most convenient.

IMHExperience, placers enjoy whiskey.

[Rito]

Thanks guys! This is super helpful. Looks like there's no "official" close time, but getting there in daylight is really helpful if possible. I bothered the poor Placement team once more and heard this back:

[quote] Both the gate and greeters are open 24/7, placement usually runs until we're tired or, more often, much later than that - until there seems to be a lull in registered camps coming in to the city to be placed, so the earlier the better but I would say no later than midnight on Saturday night if you must since we ask that all registered theme camps be in by Saturday.[/quote]

So there you have it. Appreciate all the help. I'm driving a big ol' box truck and wasn't relishing the thought of spending the night in it.

[trilobyte]

Expect the gates to shut down at around midnight (Saturday night going into Sunday). Early arrivals are not permitted on Sunday, so if you're unable to get to Gerlach by the time it gets dark (which would give you plenty of time for gate lines), you should either be prepared to be turned away and have to come back Sunday morning or just plan your arrival for 10AM Sunday to begin with.

Remember, those who arrive and queue prior to the gates opening at 10AM on Sunday will be moved into a staging lot, where they'll spend several hours waiting until those who arrived at 10AM go in ahead of them.

If you are unsure about your group's ability to get there in time, you may want to take a look at this thread and book a room. Then, on the day as soon as it looks like you'll make it you can call and cancel the reservation... and if you're behind schedule you'll have a place you can stay worked out. Good luck!

[mrchiff]

Trilobyte - Multiple FAQ's state the gate is open 24/7 after they start, and I not aware they have ever closed except for rain and storms and the like. Would you be able to clarify or confirm one or the other?

[mooserider]

Placers are humanoid.

What about Gate? Are they gators?

IMHExperience, placers enjoy whiskey.

What does Gate and Greeters drink?

[Ano]

Gate drinks alcohol. Bring us beer and whiskey and wine and whiskey and beer.

Greeters drink... uh, water, I guess. I don't know any greeters. I'm just one of those gate guys. I think they drink glitter?

[FIGJAM]

And DPW drinks virgin blood.

[robbidobbs]

Just ew.

[trilobyte]

I can confirm that there are NO EARLY ARRIVALS ON SUNDAY.

Plan for the gates to close at around midnight (Saturday into Sunday, as I'd posted). While it is possible that they may stay open a little later to clear through any backlog, it is not continuous. Starting last year, Burning Man stopped allowing EA's on gate day, this allowed time for the teams to prep for the gate opening, and also significantly reduced traffic-related issues that arose from EA people trying to get through lines full of people who'd shown up early for the event.

I'm closing this thread down, as the question has been answered pretty definitively.

[trilobyte]

I can confirm that I STAND CORRECTED! (Thanks, Grover!)

Please note my editing the post above to use the tag to strike through that info. Thanks to Grover for clearing up the miscommunication.

There are NO EARLY ARRIVALS ISSUED FOR SUNDAY... but the gate does in fact remain open. Traffic does become something of a mess on that day, but if all passengers in the vehicle have a valid early arrivals pass they will be able to get in. What they won't be able to get is placement or related services. Hopefully, though, those last early-arrivers are joining camps who are already have people on the ground, otherwise they may need to check with the neighbors or have some additional patience to help find their placed space.