Static theme camps: Is it time for a change?

[Kinetik V]

I have a question. I've attended this event for 7 years now and each year I leave and find myself asking the same question. Why does the event have theme camps that never seem to change? Each year Larry creates a new theme or vision for the event, and despite the possible cost savings and simplicity of using the same base for the man and other related structures the ORG continues to keep things fresh by changing things up year after year. Yet there are other camps....and I won't single any out although I have several in mind who seem to be the exact same year after year, in some cases even with the exact same placement! I find myself wondering if these camps exist to simply claim prime location space?

I find myself thinking that the bar should be raised for theme camps vs the rest of the city...the closer to the Esplanade one is placed, the higher the amount of interactivity that should be required. I'm also thinking of what can be done to get more interactivity off the main playa....now granted I had to miss last year but in '07 we had art cars cruising some of the far out streets. This year I counted less than 5 that passed us. Yes 5. In any case I'm going off on a related tangent...pulling back I simply want to see a fresh experience on the Esplanade and one or two streets back that draws people in. Am I the only one who feels this way? I guess every city has it's staples and institutions...but even institutions like SF's Exploratorium for example may use the same shell but they constantly strive to update the exhibits and interactivity. Why can't theme camps in BRC do the same, even if it's on a much smaller scale?

I thank you for considering my long winded question and hope this will open up a good discussion.

Respectfully,
Kinetic V

[ygmir]

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no
























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[thisisthatwhichis]

You have to realize there are some pretty big costs associated with creating a Theme camp. To ask them to change much, would add additional annual costs (over the normal annual costs) that could be very difficult for many.

I have seen new camps appear, and older camps disbanded.... which I think is good, but it's hard to ask those with camps "that work", to constantly change...... and still be able to pull it off.....

[Elderberry]

You could make bustiers for the booby bar that change every year with the theme. LOL

JK

[Dr. Pyro]

Our thoughts on the matter is why reinvent the wheel? If Larry wants his stupid themes, fine, it's his party. But where the hell am I supposed to dispose of 1300 Barbies? And besides, women flock to our camp so whatever "it" is "it" seems to be working.

[Ugly Dougly]

Ygmir said "no".

[mars]

We make changes to our theme camp every year. It may be easier to do cuz we aren't a huge camp, but changes keep it fresh and fun.

Also, we don't run our theme camp every year, we do it every other year. This gives us a year in between to just enjoy or to volunteer for other peoples' projects, or work for Greeter's or Playa Info or Lamplighters, we all do different things. Then we have two years after a theme camp year, to come up with something new.

When we do our theme camp the basics are the same each time, so we don't have to reinvent the wheel and can reuse equipment from previous years. (We are a Playa Cafe' and we definitely serve the best coffee on the playa.) But we change our name and our look and our location and we try to connect up with the theme in some way. Our playa fans know that if they can't find us, they can look us up on the computers under our old names and we'll be listed with our new address (though this year, the computer system was completely useless and I hope they fix it for next year).

[SageV]

The democratic process of the camps I've been in go down several roads, in descending order of adoption:

1) We're going back to the playa! Get the shit out of storage.

2) Fuck the theme.

3) Elaborate idea for a theme camp that will inevitably fail.

4) Let's organize a camp that strangely seems to be reflective of last year's theme.

5) We're old, tired, and creatively bankrupt so let's direct our energy towards a 70's/80's dance camp or a large version of some game people play when they are drunk (bowling, etc.).

[RedHeaven]

I like that there are some city staples.

It makes the temporary thing more yin yang with something constant....

Money is your answer though I would think.

[thisisthatwhichis]

(((((K-V))))).....

It was great to hug you this year.........



I hope you bring on the camp of your dreams.............. Then we'll raise this thead next year, and talk about it..........

[Kinetik V]

(((((K-V))))).....

It was great to hug you this year.........



I hope you bring on the camp of your dreams.............. Then we'll raise this thead next year, and talk about it..........

I'm sure we will....and I'll be asked how I like my crow. The answer is medium well.

[Patamon]

I've founded or co-counded 3 theme camps in my 10 years at Burning Man.

The typical life span of a middle sized theme camp seems to be around 4-5 years.

The reason they don't change from year to year is money. If you give me $20K every year, I'll gladly create a new theme camp every year.

The theme camps I've been with (The Bayou, Dr. Letaudries, Planet Earth) go through these cycles...

* Year 1: Initial idea, excitement by the founders, awesome first year.
* Year 2: Add a bunch of new ideas to the camp after Year 1's experience. camp grows by 20-25% in size.
* Year 2: Not much new is added, camp grows even more in size, typically twice what it was in year 1 at this point.
* Year 4: Founder Burnout, too many people, too much drama, too much money, founders quit and hand the camp off to someone else...
* Year 5 (or in 4): New peeps running the camp don't have the passion that the original (now gone) founders did. Expenses are more than they thought, more drama. Camp disbands.

And poof.. people disperse, re-form, and start a new camp.

So you see, you're wrong. Camps do change all the time, but it's just a longer process than you think. 3-4-5 years not every year.

[teardropper]

"...now granted I had to miss last year but in '07 we had art cars cruising some of the far out streets. This year I counted less than 5 that passed us. Yes 5. In any case I'm going off on a related tangent..."

I was at 3:30 and B and we had a lot more art cars than that. And all night, up until 4 am. They were great.

[oneeyeddick]

oops

[oneeyeddick]

I've founded or co-counded 3 theme camps in my 10 years at Burning Man.

The typical life span of a middle sized theme camp seems to be around 4-5 years.

The reason they don't change from year to year is money. If you give me $20K every year, I'll gladly create a new theme camp every year.

The theme camps I've been with (The Bayou, Dr. Letaudries, Planet Earth) go through these cycles...

* Year 1: Initial idea, excitement by the founders, awesome first year.
* Year 2: Add a bunch of new ideas to the camp after Year 1's experience. camp grows by 20-25% in size.
* Year 2: Not much new is added, camp grows even more in size, typically twice what it was in year 1 at this point.
* Year 4: Founder Burnout, too many people, too much drama, too much money, founders quit and hand the camp off to someone else...
* Year 5 (or in 4): New peeps running the camp don't have the passion that the original (now gone) founders did. Expenses are more than they thought, more drama. Camp disbands.

And poof.. people disperse, re-form, and start a new camp.

So you see, you're wrong. Camps do change all the time, but it's just a longer process than you think. 3-4-5 years not every year.

Whatever.

That is your take on it, because of your camp's failures.

you say you formed/co-founded 3 themecamps in your 10 years ?
First off, you didn't found one on your first year, that reduces your experience to a possible 9 years.
How did 3 themecamps fail after 5th(or 4th) year when you haven't been there that long ?

I can name more camps that are still there than you can that have dissolved following your equation.

Good camps don't die.......they form/join a village.

[SageV]

I've founded or co-counded 3 theme camps in my 10 years at Burning Man.

Well Planet was all you. I'm not sure but I might disagree on LeTawdries, Bayou (or BRAF or BR school district) for that matter. I didn't see them so much as "founded, vision driven" camps but the same camp, with mostly the same infrastructure, and the same people, just with the unecessary stuff shedded each year (like burning the shacks and ditching the domes). From that perspective, LeTawdries is just a ten year refinement of Bayou with a slightly freshened theme every few years. I don't know if you could say they started and broke-up Patamon, as much as people had different goals and objectives and went different ways.

It's the same with the mega camps I've been involved with like the 'Glom, which grew village sized until everyone divided onto their own projects, and the infrastructure has suffused between a dozen other camps now. Some with ridiculous failed ideas, some that continue casually with the same people year to year and the same "shit from storage."

Yes I was just giving you a hard time by throwing eighties dance camp on my list, don't get touchy. I missed this year, so I'm pissed.

[oneeyeddick]

The glom was good in 2003.

[Simon of the Playa]

we get fresh hotties every year.

[dragonfly Jafe]

The glom was good in 2003.

but by 2006 had lost most of the original members, and so became "The Playground" (same stuff though), and when that failed to repeat was picked up by Painjoy and morphed into Spanky's Wine Bar...which seems to have re-energized into a new camp...that is very similar in look & feel to the GLOM...although many old members are no longer camping there...

and many of those splinter camps that came from the GLOM are still looking for an identity, which is why I am with Terminal City now...Blunderland was great in 2005 (anchored the BORG2 project space), and pretty good in 2007 too (but renamed "Bats in the Belfry" or some-such). But it has now splintered into 3-4 camps, all pretty small but growing. Maybe in a year or two, they will re-merge into something GLOM-like again...more likely not though.

[SageV]

and many of those splinter camps that came from the GLOM are still looking for an identity, which is why I am with Terminal City now...Blunderland was great in 2005 (anchored the BORG2 project space), and pretty good in 2007 too (but renamed "Bats in the Belfry" or some-such). But it has now splintered into 3-4 camps, all pretty small but growing. Maybe in a year or two, they will re-merge into something GLOM-like again...more likely not though.

Belfry was unfortunately a camp with amplification schizophrenia between the dj-driven side and the acoustic driven performance space it also hosted, mostly on the old blunderland infrastructure, other than that it went okay. Most of that crew split into Spudsville the following year, which was little more than a camping spot with a bar. I think Spanky's sucked up most of the gung ho people.

I think Spanky's will continue to grow as a Esplanade feature, the others I don't see ever growing to 'Glom proportions again, but there's enough infrastructure and creative folk left floating around there I think we'll see a few new theme camps materialize.