Theme Camps that were NOT!

[otakup0pe]

So Barbed wire is out of the question? DAMN! I had huge plans for next year!

Only if the barbed wire is not friendly and inviting.

[TomServo]

So Barbed wire is out of the question? DAMN! I had huge plans for next year!

Only if the barbed wire is not friendly and inviting.

hand sharpened razor wire.

[maladroit]

[media]

[theCryptofishist]

So Barbed wire is out of the question? DAMN! I had huge plans for next year!

Only if the barbed wire is not friendly and inviting.

hand sharpened razor wire.

Very interactive...

[ygmir]

So Barbed wire is out of the question? DAMN! I had huge plans for next year!

Only if the barbed wire is not friendly and inviting.

hand sharpened razor wire.

Very interactive...

imagine the new dance moves and twerking!!

[gaminwench]

Story time...

2 years back, our neighbors, a cowboy whiskey bar, encountered a poo pile behind their facade.
They promptly installed a barbed wire fence to demarcate public from private space.
That night, a couple of ladies from our camp, after a rowdy night in the whiskey bar, encountered the fence in a not-so-pleasant way.
The next morning we politely asked if we could light the fence with red party lights. The cowboys reluctantly agreed.
Pretty fence, no more 'backstage' poo, problem solved.

They don't bring barbed wire anymore.

[ygmir]

I have rolls of tactical razor wire, easy deploy model.

[ehcsztein]

I've thought about setting up a camp called "Surveillance Camp" somewhere out in the sub-burbs.

Fully functioning infrastructure (shade, tents, stage, art , lighting etc) with no-one actually camping there.

Trick being the whole place would be under full audio/video Surveillance the whole time (with appropriate warnings posted throughout.) All the sights and sounds being projected/captured at a nearby camp/installation for the general public to observe.

The voyeurism of trespassing and unintentional theatrics. Conceptually it has all the markings of an amusing experiment. Practically? I try no to think about the actual outcome but, my hypothesis is that a few randoms would take ownership of the place early in the week and by the end of the event it would be, more or less, functioning like a "normal" theme camp.

[171/348]

I would volunteer my 4 tents, various camp/lounge equipment and time to such a project were you to go through with the idea. Let me know!

[BBadger]

2 years back, our neighbors, a cowboy whiskey bar, encountered a poo pile behind their facade.
They promptly installed a barbed wire fence to demarcate public from private space.
That night, a couple of ladies from our camp, after a rowdy night in the whiskey bar, encountered the fence in a not-so-pleasant way.
The next morning we politely asked if we could light the fence with red party lights. The cowboys reluctantly agreed.
Pretty fence, no more 'backstage' poo, problem solved.

They don't bring barbed wire anymore.

Bounding mines are a much better solution. Maybe disguised as solar lamps.

No, that would be terrible...

But on a more serious note, it's good that you helped light up their fence. It changed that hazard to one that deters people -- like a labeled minefield -- rather than punishes them for entering -- like an unlabeled minefield. Better than a wall too... people like to cross walls.

Still, I can't help thinking that they chose to deploy barbed wire precisely to punish whomever took a dump behind friendly lines. But that asshole was probably long gone and would never return. Instead, their angry reaction ends up harming innocent neighbors. The whole incident is like a little microcosm. At least in this case they relented.

[Risky]

Please. Take. Deep. Breath.

Not every comment on this board is aimed directly at your forehead.

Just sayin

I love you.

[CapSmashy]

Excuse me? What is wrong with car ports being used in a theme camp? They get the basics taken care of.. Shade. They are quick to put up, provide a lot of shade for little money. I'm sorry you think camps that use ese are some hpw inferior to yours. But bottom line, that's pretty asshole-ish for you to say that. We are a highly interactive camp. We run a bar that served thousands all week and we both work for DMV pre event and during the event.

context - the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.

[BoyScoutGirl]

I've thought about setting up a camp called "Surveillance Camp" somewhere out in the sub-burbs.

Fully functioning infrastructure (shade, tents, stage, art , lighting etc) with no-one actually camping there.

Trick being the whole place would be under full audio/video Surveillance the whole time (with appropriate warnings posted throughout.) All the sights and sounds being projected/captured at a nearby camp/installation for the general public to observe.

The voyeurism of trespassing and unintentional theatrics. Conceptually it has all the markings of an amusing experiment. Practically? I try no to think about the actual outcome but, my hypothesis is that a few randoms would take ownership of the place early in the week and by the end of the event it would be, more or less, functioning like a "normal" theme camp.

One of my campmates wanted to do something similar - "abandoned camp." She was big on urban exploring.

[britzbitz]

I'm not going to name any names here, but for the first time in 3 Burns, I had a really lame experience being with a theme camp.

While the camp met the visual / interactive requirements for the public (it's public space was beautiful), what was going on inside the camp was far from "radical inclusion", and "you always welcome anybody and everybody," seemed to be true for visitors but not the people actually camping / volunteering / participating there.

It seemed to be a symptom of getting too big too fast / biting off more than they could chew. And it's unfortunate, because I've heard positive feedback about this camp in the past. The whole thing was entirely disorganized, the management were downright rude to people who weren't in their inner circle, and many of the things that were promised in exchange for the (very hefty) camp dues simply never (or barely) materialized.

We brought down a beautiful lounge space from Canada - it's the beach stage at the festival I work for year-round - with the intent to have it on / near Esplanade. Our build team got partway through building it before someone from this camp tore a strip off them, had them take down the entire thing, and move it to the middle of the camp, where it was completely inaccessible to the public. So, what we had intended to be a contribution for the public ended up private, which was kinda disappointing, having hauled this giant wooden structure all the way from Canada.

We probably wouldn't have ended up with this camp either, had they not specifically invited our team to camp with them, and provide very specific services, which they then decided that they didn't really need / changed our scope of work dramatically, mid-week. We were shuffled, downgraded, and generally unappreciated. Lame. I've never experienced anything remotely like it being involved with other camps.

So, this well-established camp was really pretty on the outside, but I feel like they fell short of what a theme camp is supposed to embody on the inside. There's more to being a theme camp than what you present to the public, because really, the only way they function is with a crew of people who are passionate about contributing to it. When that passion gets sucked out, what you're left with is hollow.

All that aside, I actually had a really amazing Burn. It's the first time I've had what I would call a life-changing experience at Burning Man, and I learned a hell of a lot of lessons, some of them due to the clusterfuck described above. One of those lessons - learning when to walk away. I actually ended up being adopted into a completely different camp on the 10:00 side of the Playa toward the end of the week, participated over there, was appreciated, and had an incredible time. Yay, Burning Man magic.

Hopefully the camp I started out in was just having a bad year. I really do wish them the best and hope they have their shit dialed better next year.

[maladroit]

In return for conferring responsibility on someone, people will often parrot that person's beliefs and attitude. If you can identify the ringleader, it can be possible to convince the inner circle of wrongdoing and lead a mutiny. It requires that everyone take back their responsibilities, though, as they can be used as a weapon of guilt.

For your specific situation, one slight (your structure can't be on Esplanade) can color your perception of everything else. If you were genuinely able to swallow that pill and attempt to participate grudge-free, and they still marginalized you...then yeah. Finding another camp is the best course of action.

[britzbitz]

In return for conferring responsibility on someone, people will often parrot that person's beliefs and attitude. If you can identify the ringleader, it can be possible to convince the inner circle of wrongdoing and lead a mutiny. It requires that everyone take back their responsibilities, though, as they can be used as a weapon of guilt.

For your specific situation, one slight (your structure can't be on Esplanade) can color your perception of everything else. If you were genuinely able to swallow that pill and attempt to participate grudge-free, and they still marginalized you...then yeah. Finding another camp is the best course of action.

I'm not sure what you mean by leading a mutiny. I really don't think it's my place to do so, walking into a large, well-established camp I've never participated in before.

The structure not being able to be public wasn't the biggest issue for me. It was definitely more disappointing to the build crew, and we all work another festival together, we're family, so what affects one of us affects us all, even if it's to varying degrees.

Honestly, I made a huge effort to participate, "grudge-free", in your words. I work in event production year-round, our 2013 event had wrapped not 2 weeks before the Burn. I know things are a bit rocky at the beginning, and so I was very patient with things at the beginning of the week. I even identified an area they were struggling in that have a ton of expertise in (it's one of the things I work on at our festival) and offered my help to get it running smoothly. I kept getting deferred for the better part of a day, was finally given a time, and then no one showed up.

Beyond my team's personal experiences, the thing that bothered me most was the way they were talking to / treating volunteers in general. Passive aggressive, rude, and what seemed to be a general disdain for people who were there to help them. Maybe I'm really opinionated about it, because I work with volunteers all summer for the build of our event, but I find that kind of behavior from management to be entirely inappropriate. Unfortunately, from time to time, I've seen Team Leaders at our event treat vollys like that, and I know how much it sucks out of morale. But when it does occur at our event, it's usually isolated to just one team, maybe even just one shift that was particularly tough (no excuse, but it happens). When your entire production is your camp, and the behavior is consistent across most of the people "in charge", and it lasts longer than the crazy, hectic, "omg everyone is here" days, I would say it's a problem. And I do think it leaves a hollowness in the camp when so many of the volunteers are feeling dissatisfied with how they're being treated.

[The CO]

I have the same gripe I've had for years. I'm sick of the wall of RVs style of decoration that seems to be 75% of the esplanade side of A street.

We had a clear veiw of Disorients ass this year. It really makes me sad that us, Swish Embassy, JetBlueBalls and many of the other amazing camps get 'cruise america' and shitty unbaffled generator s as our across the street neighbors.

I'm not bashing rvs. I just don't think that A street should be full of esplanade camp ass. Stick a smaller theme camp behind them that will actually do something with the frontage.

[britzbitz]

I just don't think that A street should be full of esplanade camp ass.

...gave me a mental image of a bunch of RV's with various asses printed on fabric draped on the sides facing the street.

[CaffeineGirl]

We were camped on A street, sort of facing the backside of PlayaSurfers, which ran from Esplanade back to A. While their main emphasis was Tiki Island, moored on esplanade, the camp did have an active A street bar. Way to go!

[The CO]

I just don't think that A street should be full of esplanade camp ass.

...gave me a mental image of a bunch of RV's with various asses printed on fabric draped on the sides facing the street.

And that would be preferable to the wall of rvs.

Caffeine girl, that's good to hear.

[maladroit]

When a camp rolls in with an itty bitty trace and no RV in your face you get SPRUNG

[Savannah]

[OregonRed]

When a camp rolls in with an itty bitty trace and no RV in your face you get SPRUNG

TEEheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee

Thank you for that giggle!

[The CO]

When a camp rolls in with an itty bitty trace and no RV in your face you get SPRUNG

You win the internet for today.

"Rap hits of the playa, from ktel records"
Also featuring:
-MOOP! There it is!
-Damn it feels good to be a burner
-No sleep til (we're past) Gerlach!
-Fuck the police (seriously, the one in the cop outfit is cute and checking you out)

AND MORE!

[britzbitz]

I just don't think that A street should be full of esplanade camp ass.

...gave me a mental image of a bunch of RV's with various asses printed on fabric draped on the sides facing the street.

And that would be preferable to the wall of rvs.

k, i officially offer a pic of my bum to any RV dweller that would like to print it and drape it on the street side of their RV.

[britzbitz]

You win the internet for today.

"Rap hits of the playa, from ktel records"
Also featuring:
-MOOP! There it is!
-Damn it feels good to be a burner
-No sleep til (we're past) Gerlach!
-Fuck the police (seriously, the one in the cop outfit is cute and checking you out)

AND MORE!

I want this compilation.

[Savannah]

k, i officially offer a pic of my bum to any RV dweller that would like to print it and drape it on the street side of their RV.

[maladroit]

When a camp rolls in with an itty bitty trace and no RV in your face you get SPRUNG

You win the internet for today.

-MOOP! There it is!

Actually, I think you just did!

[britzbitz]

My bum actually has it's own meme, courtesy of one of the users from the Shambhala forums.

[FIGJAM]

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