Tournament of Virgins Art Parade

[geekster]

As has been discussed in the "Bringing Newbies Into The Fold" thread and first proposed by "Rob the Wop", there is a move afoot to have a fun event during the week involving newbies. The purpose to break the cultural ice and at the same time create a way for them to contribute some art to the community.

The general idea so far is to have a "Virgin Roundup" where volunteers encourage camps to "bring out your virgins" and they are led to an area where they are given a chance to decorate each other. Once all gussied up, they dance in parade to an area where they are broken up into groups and create works of art. When they are all done, the best work is decided on and given a special place among the other pieces or maybe displayed in a different place of distinction.

It is hoped that this might become a Black Rock City tradition along the lines of Critical Tits. We are going to need some community help to pull this off. So far, I have proposed a Wednesday 1:30 PM start time. The idea is to start it after "lunchtime" and get it all done before "suppertime".

We need experianced burners to encourage your camp Virgins to attend and honor them for doing so. The ones participating have decided to interact with the community and give something back in the form of art and probably at that moment start thinking about what they can make for the next year.

We will need any extra thrift shop stuff, glitter, glue, any kind of crap people can think of and might have some extra of to decorate the virgins with. Burners to help decorate them would be fun too! Give the newbies a chance to interact with you, have some fun, share some smiles. Seeing a Virgin smile brings good luck and hugging one is said to bring an hundred more in return. I will certainly be bringing a lot of this stuff but depending on participation, we might need more and besides, variety never hurts. If you want your unused stuff back, mark it somehow and I will do my best to see that it gets back to your camp. Unused items of clothing will be dontated to the Playa Boutique.

We need musicians, clowns, jugglers, maybe a marching band, stuff to give the parade a fun feel and get the Virgins dancing on their way to create their art as they show off their newly decorated selves.

We will need stuff to make art out of. That can be just about anything. Tape, wire, paint, wood, paper, string, markers, you name it. Same goes for the art supplies as for the clothing thing. I will try my best to see that unused stuff gets back to your camp if you mark it. Otherwise, I will probably burn the safe stuff, have a bin for people to pick through during the week and then pack out the rest.

I am assuming that by Wednesday many camps are done their building and might have some stuff left over. This could be a fun way of putting some of it to a good use.

We will need a place to display the art that the Virgins create. It would be nice if this was someplace near Center Camp so the Virgins can show off their creations to the community and really feel that they have made an important contribution. After all, you are a Virgin only once, lets make it an even more memorable experiance.

Finally, we will need some VOLUNTEERS to round up the Virgins, "fashion consultants" to help them decorate themselves, art critics to determine the "best" work of art, and folks to generally give them some support and interaction during the event.

If a camp thinks they might have a good space for doing the decorating, making the works of art, or displaying the finished art, give a shout!

If you read the other thread, you will see that I started running a bit far with the idea. After sleeping on it, I think it would be better to let tradition take its own course over the years. Just round 'em up, decorate 'em, let them make some art and send them back into the city as full participants of BRC.

[ryanicus]

I like this idea. It's a great way for newbies to interact with each other, and contribute to the creative fires of the community.

[geekster]

There is a virginparade.tribe.net page now for anyone interested.

The tribe is called Temple of Vesta

[greg33333]

That virgin parade is the best idea i have read so far out of all the complaints, ideas, thoughts.

All the supplies and costumes and everything, I think is a great idea because we all know they come unprepared. I just have one suggestion for you... seeing that you are in charge of this now.

I see it almost like a wedding procession, where all the burners come to shower the virgins with gifts. For example... all the virgins collect at said time at the MAN. Then start their procession through the city where burners are all set up with gifts for them as they walk by. Kinda like a welcome, thank you for coming, "this is for you." Getting them in the spirit of giving. Hopefully this will make them feel welcome straight away... allow them them make new friends with other virgins... give them something TO DO their first year, but most importantly: "Teach them that a gift society is not a barter society."

This is very essential to the existance of burning man I believe. We run a danger by being a bartering system which destroys the purpose of no-money. And hopefully teaching them straight away, "IT IS OKAY TO JUST GIVE STUFF AWAY!!!" I think that is essential.

However, as I said in the beginning. The most important thing is have the parade in the first place.

Actually...just as a side note. Instead of a parade, might I suggest to you another option?

Have a virgin "sit." Collect all the virgins at the man at said time... well, this could be the hour before the parade... but listen, check this out. Okay, Imagine all the virgins sitting around at the Man, hundreds, thousands of clueless excited folks on the morning of the burn. And Burners from all around just come up and start gifting them... hundreds of thousands of burners coming to officially welcome and gift them with body paint, special gifts... water... anything... you know. And then a parade.

Now that seems cool... but again. Most importantly, is the parade. So keep to it. Congrats on your thoughts and thinking of the children.

They are our future.

[geekster]

That virgin parade is the best idea i have read so far out of all the complaints, ideas, thoughts.

Well, THANKS! But Rob the Wop started it all. He gets the credit on this one. I just stretched his idea a little to add a parade.

One of the things I had envisioned in my head were "wranglers" that start out at the ends of the radial streets where Sedna was this year calling out for camps to "Bring out your Virgins!" as they reached each concentric street. This supposes that word has gotten out in the Jackrabbit, Gazette, Radio Stations, Gate packets, etc. so that the experianced burners have already told their Virgins to expect this and encourage them to participate.

The Virgins fall in behind the Wranglers as they make their way up to the Esplanade and what happens there is still a bit fuzzy to me. We could parade around the esplanade or they could continue past the Esplanade converging on The Man from all directions and begin the parade from there. Yeah, having them all sit around The Man until they are assembled might be a cool idea.

I would also like for some talented experianced burners to take part in the parade to make it fun. Jugglers, clowns, musicians, drummers, marching band, funny bikes, unicycles, whatever. Join the parade and march with the virgins through the streets.

What I would like to get across to the camps is the idea that the Virgins should be honored for accepting an opportunity to participate and give to BRC in the form of some art.

If the burners could just take a few minutes out of their week to shower some love on the virgins as they pass, I think love will be returned many times over both during the event and in years hence. After the parade and art are delivered to the community, the Virgins will FEEL like they are a part of the city, will feel loved and accepted, and probably already thinking about what they will contribute the next year.

I will see if we can find a platform on Friday night to burn their art and celebrate their final night of "virginity". Wouldn't that be awesome? Even if there were only a thousand choosing to participate, have a thousand of them out there on the playa watching their art light the city.

And again I am gonna plug the tribe ... Temple of Vesta http://virginparade.tribe.net

Encourage your virgins to bring something white that they dont mind having decorated for the parade and encourage them to participate. It can be the start of something awesome for everyone.

[greg33333]

Okay, so far we have...
1. wranglers: I think it should be called The Cattle Drive!!! Okay put in the booklet that any interested art cars, and experienced burners meet at 11:00Am on Friday morning. Go to 10:00 and Esplanade or 2:00 and Esplanade (whichever is closer to you). Then at 11:300ish... Wranglers fill all the planetary streets walking towards center camp. They are to Drive all the virgin's out of their camps and to go to center camp. Having art cars will help with loud speakers, music, and make it a larger more fun situation (i bet many of them will be up for the task... it's the only "official" drive they'll do all week). Virgins are told to bring something white and any art..ect. they want.

2. Round-up!! All the virgins meet up at the man after having walked the length of the city with their wranglers and art cars.

****this is where you take it from here...

I think the sit down was a good idea but not practical. Better to go with the parade.

Maybe, during the cattle drive we can collect jugglers, ect.

okay... that's where my imagination is rusty right now... some help on how to go from round-up to the parade.

hey, i saw the tribe message board... how's that work.