USPS mail at Burning Man

[Marscrumbs]

I remember in years past there was a post office at Black Rock City. They had postcard to send and would take mail in. Will they still be doing this year? What about incoming mail general delivery?

[Stevendalf]

The format I used for sending mail last year (and it was all received on the playa, no problem) was:

Name
Camp Name
Camp Address
c/o BRCPO
Burning Man
Gerlach, NV 89412


Burn on!
Stevendalf

[Cosmic Code Authority]

what happens if you camp alone?

will the BRCPO hold items for you to retrieve?

[Mr_Understanding]

I can see wanting to drop a card out to someone, but do you really need to get your cell phone bill up there that week?

[AntiM]

Our friend's wife was in bootcamp, and I knew the address we'd have. we coordinated it so he'd receive mail from her on th eplaya. Nice!

[EspressoDude]

2 yrs ago, one of our camp mates from Germany could not attend, but early in the week BRCPO delivered a package from her to our camp.

In it was a small doll made up like her, and kitted out with required burner accessories, like a bike, wild costumes, and water canteen.

[robotland]

By Burn Time this year, I'll (probably) be a genuine USPS employee! (Rural Carrier Associate.)

My fondest memory from the BRCPO was from a couple of years back...I had made a "generic" hand-punched metal tag as a gift for whatever post office minion I encountered, knowing that I'd be mailing postcards to Defaultland that year...I approached the head of the line and was given the traditional cruel treatment, only to have the evil PO volunteer immediately apologize and deflate upon receipt of his gift. Good fun, that!

[Mister Jellyfish Mister]

This one still good?:

Name
Camp Name
Camp Address
c/o BRCPO
Burning Man
Gerlach, NV 89412

[ScoNix]

We live in Virginia and we would like to send gifts for burning man to the eplaya. This is our first time and we are not in a camp "YET"! The 3 packages of glowsticks weigh 26lbs a piece! How can I make this happen? Where do I mail it to? How long should I mail in advance? :?: 8)

[MrMullen]

I talked to BRCPO folks last year and they said the above formats will work. They make best effort to deliver packages.

I also asked about packages, specifically large ones, and they said they would deliver them but expect to tip them. They recommend that you do not ship large packages out of Burningman because Playa dust looks like antranx to your average Postal Worker.

[gyre]

We live in Virginia and we would like to send gifts for burning man to the eplaya. This is our first time and we are not in a camp "YET"! The 3 packages of glowsticks weigh 26lbs a piece! How can I make this happen? Where do I mail it to? How long should I mail in advance? :?: 8)

Are you going yourself?
There are a lot of ways to approach this.

[gyre]

I talked to BRCPO folks last year and they said the above formats will work. They make best effort to deliver packages.

I also asked about packages, specifically large ones, and they said they would deliver them but expect to tip them. They recommend that you do not ship large packages out of Burningman because Playa dust looks like antranx to your average Postal Worker.

It looks like explosive material to homeland security.
But when they test it, this little man symbol pops up, so I think they've done that before.

[ScoNix]

We have a new plan...we will fly to Seattle to visit family before Burning man. Prior to leaving VA we will ship our boxes to our fam. Then we are driving down the west coast to Black Rock City! We will have a lot of glow sticks to share and a super fun extended vacation! I'm so excited, I can't sleep!!! Thanks for your advice!

[gyre]

I've heard of people shipping things into Gerlach and picking them up there.

[deadletter]

1) for large packages, consider the Pirate Mail (deadletter camp) approach: give the mail to people traveling and have it delivered hand-to-hand!

2) This year, there will be TWO post offices - both will handle outgoing mail by collecting it and giving it to the post office with the cancellation stamp. One of them will handle incoming mail.

3) For massive shipments inwards, a person can either put HOLD FOR PICKUP IN GERLACH BY ____________ and pay your own person to go get it, or allow it to be picked up to the Post Office with the mail connection.

4) You could discuss in advance having them hold your stuff aside.


This year, deadletter will be doing quite a bit of mail using hand-to-hand mail - want to send mail to Chicago? We'll put your mail out for chicago-bound burners to take off playa!

;-b

[Marscrumbs]

Yes last year '07, I had ordered some hokey spokes and one arrrived a week before DOA. I had a replacement sent to BRC. Somebody hand delivered it to my themecamp (Wishingstar) while I wasn't there which made everybody jealous. It saved my art tricycle.

I've mailed postcards in years past but bring stamps if your going to send anything else from BRC

[AntiM]

Bumping, because I just had to look up the address. Remember your stamps! Send weird random postcards you pick up on your travels!

[Toolmaker]

Mail sent to me never made it. Mail sent to others had to be paid for with booze and/or drugs. At the end of the week someone came by with mail for a campmate but since I had no drugs for them they left with the mail bitching and complaining.

Not really into the whole BRCPO myself, I recommend UPS and a hold for pickup or general deleivery to a real USPS site and pickup in person.

[AntiM]

Huh, we received mail without duress. Must have had a really disgruntled carrier ....

[Intubater69]

Huh, we received mail without duress. Must have had a really disgruntled carrier ....

Yeah, like my wife bwah hah hah hahhhhhhh

[gyre]

Mail sent to me never made it. Mail sent to others had to be paid for with booze and/or drugs. At the end of the week someone came by with mail for a campmate but since I had no drugs for them they left with the mail bitching and complaining.

Not really into the whole BRCPO myself, I recommend UPS and a hold for pickup or general deleivery to a real USPS site and pickup in person.

It's all volunteer mail delivery.
I've delivered mail out there and it's not easy.
Poor signage for the most part, even on huge camps.
Not right to ask for payment.

If someone wants drugs for services, probably a cop.
A trade is drug distribution, entrapment or not.
As hot as it is, holding someone's head in a cooler long enough encourages better communication, especially if it's full of cooler water.

[stormfeather]

Found the BRCPO to be very reliable last year... both incoming and outgoing.

It helps to have a mailbox with your camp name on it!

I sent mail today to playa buddies reminding them of the parade. I used this form of address-- Hopefully the P.O. in Gerlach knows where Black Rock City is:

Happy Camper
Burning Sam Camp
Corsair and 5:30
Black Rock City, NV 89412

send cookies!

[stormfeather]

Rec'd today from the Portland e-mail list:
From General Purpose and Lady K of the BRCPO (in Center Camp)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTICE FROM THE BLACK ROCK CITY POST OFFICE in Center Camp

For more information on the Black Rock City Post Office please visit www.blackrockcitypostoffice.org or email [email protected]

We are the Black Rock City Post Office located, as in years past, in center camp.

There will be a camp in the 9:00 Plaza using the same name as ours but has no affiliation with us. They will not be working with us in any way and specifically regarding the receiving or delivering of any USPS mail. Any actions or claims they make are to be considered the responsibility of their camp alone and of those who choose to participate with them.

We are aware that misinformation has been sent to the public and this notice is intended to clarify and correctly inform the public regarding the position of our camp, Black Rock city Post Office/ BRCPO, in Center Camp.

The BRCPO in Center Camp, has been and is again this year, the only camp with the privilege to run the USPS mail in and out of Black Rock City for the Burning man festival. The BRCPO in Center Camp will be the only Post Office with the USPS Cancelation Permit and Burning Man Cancelation stamp. Only at the BRCPO in Center Camp may mail be deposited to be delivered off-playa with the official Burning Man 2008 cancellation stamp. This mail will be taken out daily to the USPO in Gerlach by the BRCPO Center Camp transport. All outside mail arriving via the USPS in Gerlach addressed to Black Rock City will be retrieved and delivered by the BRCPO at Center Camp. All incoming USPS mail, once arriving in Black Rock City will then be delivered to the citizens of Black Rock City by our BRCPO volunteers. If you want to send mail off playa with the official Burning Man cancelation stamp, you must come to the BRCPO in center camp to do so. The BRCPO in center camp
will also be providing intra-playa mail services and postcard making stations at various times of the event.

Bring your own postcards, make them on the playa, or pick one up from us. Please remember to bring US postage stamps with you from the real world as none are available for sale on the playa. (42 cents) for mailing letters and (23 cents) for mailing postcards. Extra stamps make great gifts for others who want to send postcards and letters from BRC but did not bring their own stamps.

To receive mail or to send mail to a friend on playa from the outside world, please mail your letters and postcards early to increase the possibility of receiving them during the Burn. We are a volunteer only service and should you use our service we will do the best we can to get your mail to you but we will not be able to guarantee delivery. If you have something valuable, time sensitive or indispensable, we encourage you to bring it with you yourself or to send it to yourself at the Gerlach PO and be prepared to pick it up there yourself.

Should you use our services and are concerned about a particular piece of mail you can send it registered or certified mail. This means that one of us will have to sign for it and so you should be prepared to bring your photo ID with you and come personally to the BRCPO in Center Camp to pick it up. We will send a currier to let you know that it has arrived. We are glad to do you the favor, taking the risk of signing our own names, but we ask that you give us a brake when we ask you to be responsible for showing your ID to retrieve it.

When mailing to the playa please address your playa-bound mail as completely as possible in this format in order to increase the odds of your mail being received:
Camper's PLAYA NAME, REAL NAME or better both
CAMP NAME , (and any helpful descriptions of street facade, tents or large snowmen that might be at this location to help the postie find you.)
CAMP ADDRESS: as close as you can get. (example: 9:35 and Hummer) (nearest cross-street, and man side or mountain side if you know it)
C/O BRCPO
Burning Man
Gerlach, NV 89412

PLEASE be sure to put a legible return address and sip code on all incoming mail. Should we not find you we will return all undelivered mail to sender.

Mail that is sent off playa must have the following:

Legible address-to-sender in the center of the front of the letter and on the right hand side of all post cards. This should include; Full first and last name, street address, city, state, and ZIP CODE,
a return address including a ZIP CODE in the top left had corner of all letters is also encouraged. All Postcards and letters must have an official USPS stamp in the top right hand corner with space around it for the cancelation mark.

If this sounds too serious and bums you out then we advise you to double check you lists, be sure to bring everything with you (or live without it) and leave the mailing process out. should you want to send and receive mail then we just want to remind you how it works and ask that you be self responsibility for your end of the deal. We go to the playa to have fun, just like you.

We look forward to seeing you and serving you on the playa.
Remember to treat your postal workers well.
Soup of the day, Stone soup

General Purpose and Lady K


For more information on the Black Rock City Post Office please visit www.blackrockcitypostoffice.org or email [email protected]

[gyre]

For several years Portland Caco took responsibility for the Disgruntled Postal Workers - a group of surly, heavily armed people in postal uniforms who, when they felt like it, delivered newspapers and other forms of "mail" at the Burning Man annual festival, until the Burning Man organizers outlawed their guns (which, reportedly, made some of them even more disgruntled).

This is how I want to deliver mail!

[Sail Man]

For several years Portland Caco took responsibility for the Disgruntled Postal Workers - a group of surly, heavily armed people in postal uniforms who, when they felt like it, delivered newspapers and other forms of "mail" at the Burning Man annual festival, until the Burning Man organizers outlawed their guns (which, reportedly, made some of them even more disgruntled).

This is how I want to deliver mail!

Gyre, are you a letter carrier?

[gyre]

I've done it on the playa sometimes.