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Response to Burners.Me Article

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When working on building something with passion and meaning behind it, there is likely to be no shortage of detractors. The win is when there are cheerleaders out there too. This thing that is QueerBurners.Com, what could be Quire, or become a voice in the Burning Man regional construct, these are all things very foreign to some members.

My name is Scott aka Toaster and I started Queer Burners, once known as Gay Burners, with a desire to create a place for LGBT+ men, women and various transitions to connect. I believe we have a unique spin to this lifestyle under the 10 principles that offers something special to the community as a whole. It was never meant to be political or divisive. It is growing and maturing. I hope Quire will elevate it to the next level.

A couple of times people have posted on Facebook, told me in person, and complained on ePlaya that there could be no reason for a site like Queer Burners dot Com. Hundreds and thousands of people say otherwise based on membership and guests visiting the site.

BMorg has been supportive of this site on some level. Partially by letting it exist. Partially by donating a lot of take-aways for the QBLS. On a couple of occasions with posts in the JRS.

One of my mistakes in the evolution of QueerBurners [dot] Com and the projects I have undertaken since joining the burner community in 2008 is that I have looked to BMorg for approval. Sort of like an unconfident child seeking a parents support. It never came and often that parent was too busy to acknowledge. But there were times when there was something of a relationship there. Before moving to San Francisco.

QueerBurners [dot] Com will do everything it can to be supportive of BMorg and the mission of Burning Man under the gray lines of the 10 Principles. Although not acknowledged officially, not disavowed, we have enjoyed a nice and almost polite coexistence.

Burners.Me

An article posted May 4/2012 on www.burners.me used a lot of quotes from this site extended from the Burning Man Leadership Summit. Turns out another attendee posted very similar comments that were also included in the article. Combined they were highly critical of BMorg in their response to safety concerns expressed at the Summit. Although the issue was rather poorly answered on Saturday (dismissively so) the conversation continued through Sunday at the Summit.

3 queer R.C.’s had very different points of view about QueerBurners [dot] Com but all were supportive in general. I listened carefully to all the feedback. There was a lot of shock and surprise that there were these kinds of concerns; even though women have been issuing these same concerns about aggressive male behavior before we spoke up.

There should be no mistake that the words shared on Burners.Me are those of myself (Toaster aka Scott), but I do not want to make good things happen by being a bully. The words expressed were real and came from those who attended the QBLS. Those words were my mission when attending the BMLS. I wrote them, but tried to convey a message, one that I hoped would make something positive happen.

The fact people are talking about it is a win. The fact that some R.C.’s have made a joke out of those concerns is a concern which makes the Burners.Me article very pointed. But we want BMorg as a partner. Even as BMorg crumbles from a series of mistakes in 2012 damaging it’s relationship with its own community and it turned a blind-ear to the concerns we still stand strong to carry the message of the 10 principles bravely forward because they do really mean something and work.

The path of least resistance

Any sense of drama or discourse seems to send a lot of Burners packing. Many will quickly put their hands over their eyes, ears and whatever protects the rosy image of the perfect Burner world. Many employ a tactic openly discussed called “Shunning” to shut the voice of discourse down rather than take any critical feedback. The path of least resistance is to deflect it or ignore it.

We have a challenge right now to be the best we can. I was forced to acknowledge the dismissive comment by Andie Grace that: Burning Man attendees are responsible for their own safety … Yes we are. Radical Self-Reliance is a major principle we live by. But by some estimations 70% of the people attending Burning Man in 2012 have never participated or understand the 10 principles.

I am not an advocate of more L.E. or BLM! But if Burning Man is not going to acknowledge the danger, we have to create something within our community that makes us more aware and less vulnerable in Black Rock City. In the end we, in our regional and social communities, have to be much more security conscience this year. More so than ever before.

Bottom line… QueerBurners [dot] Com and Quire is not here for politics or to battle BMorg. We are here to be a community center point to help network people. Find Queer camps, Queer resources or more. Some of our members are not interested in politics or to see any official representation with Burning Man… they just want to have fun and look at cool stuff. You still have that… some people will be organizers while some will be the participants/partiers or whatever… enjoy that. If that is your groove then be groovy, baby.

Conclusion

The article by Burners.Me was very unnerving as I read it because it was the sharpest points of a conversation splayed out and they sounded like a lot of frustration. While there is some frustration from someone like me who has put himself into the line of fire. I cannot help but feel like Don Quixote when looking to Burning Man for any real acknowledgement.

I suggested it was time for queer Regional Contacts representing the Queer Community of Black Rock City and beyond, but there was no real support. But, who is out there taking our issues seriously? We have friends in BMorg and there are some amazing people there, but the Regional team who should be listening is not. When our concerns are treated like a joke on their private boards there is something wrong. When I ask about safety I am dismissed – there is something wrong.

The dialog is still going on and all we can do is see where it goes. Burning Man is not Burning Man anymore, they are the Burning Man Project. The ticket disaster is still a shit storm. And now the BLM sanctions against Burning Man for their attendance issues last year are causing havoc. It really is a year of evolution for Burning Man… certainly Fertility 2.0 can have a deeper meaning in the end. Will the Queer community have a voice? Time will tell…

 

Burning Man Leadership Summit

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Today in the JRS they announced that Burning Man was holding their annual Regional Contact meeting and Leadership Summit here in San Francisco. Your own ‘Toaster’ is attending and wants to know if you feel anything is relevant that needs attention from our community?

March 31st – April 2nd

You already have geographical regionals who are your points of contact with the Burning Man organization. But are there issues specific to the Queer Burner Community (LGBT+) that need to be addressed.

This question was asked at the Queer Burner Leadership Summit last week as to why the queer community would need any ‘special’ representation. The overwhelming response by all was safety. See the report on the QBLS for details.

We have the fortune of having a placement department that seems aware of this and is watching out for self-identified queer camps by grouping us in the Gayborhood.With the influx of new people do we need more protection? Who will represent that to BMHQ?

Regional Contacts & Burning Man

What is a Regional Contact? They are whose role is to help local Burners connect with each other, while bringing Burning Man principles and culture into their local communities [source]. 99% of them are based on geography while there is actually 1 inside a role playing game called 2nd Life.

At last week’s meeting many of the people in attendance had no idea about this facet of Burning Man; nor did they know about the Meta-Regionals. While Regional Contacts tie the communities to the Burning Man experience the Meta-Regionals in some way tie the R.C.’s together and to Burning Man.

Confused yet? San Francisco Burners might be confused because technically it is not clear of there is an R.C. for this area; though it seems like Jonsey Jones is the closes because he manages the San Francisco announce list.

Queer Regional(s)?

Each geographical region has on average 3 representatives, with many exceptions for remote groups, and one has 5!  When asked about getting a queer R.C. last year the feedback was cold.

For the Jiffy Lube incident a few years back one might have been helpful.

For the influx of new blood having queer men and women and other on this list should certainly be a plus.

It’s time for your thoughts.

Homo/Hetro Genus of…

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Very often an invitation goes to a person in the Burning Man Culture/Community to be a verified member on GayBurners.Com and post their activities or their schtik because it is of interest to this community in the opinion of the various admins. The reply is always: “…but I am not gay”.

Radical Inclusion

Referring to one of the 10 principles and applying it to Black Rock City for 8 days a year, there really are few exclusions. An individuals sexual orientation is not on the surface most of the time. It can be assumed and ass-u-me-d is a bad word. When a “Gay Camp” or a “Gay Burner” web site or resource is set out for general consumption it really is not literally ‘exclusively gay’ as exclusion is not part of this culture.

“Gay” or “Lesbian” or “Trans” or more are labels. Resources like these help to bring together resources for people who live their lives with these identities. Sexual Orientation becomes passe.

“I had a wonderful time meeting and hanging out with my gay neighbors. They were all really nice guys and we got along really well. It was fun sharing burning man “war stories” with them. Jay and I were a straight guy island surrounded by a sea of homosexuality, and it was awesome. The major downside was that the area didn’t exactly attract many ladies, but then again, I was out playing and enjoying the art more often than not anyway! I think that it helped that there didn’t seem to be any Sparkle Ponies in the Dust Haven camp. Those guys have their act together!”  – Cromatest J. Pantsmaker R.C. Arizona

The Blurry Lines

2006 DemographicOn the playa the “Down Low Club” has been touted as being a place where “straight” or “questioning” men can explore their sexuality. It goes without saying that a lot of self-identified “straight”-ish men explore life that cannot be executed in the default world. They explore cross dressing and making parodies of the women in their lives or fantasies. Sometimes it is purely the sexual exploration.

There are several camps where sexual exploration is all they do. And then there are camps like “Poly Paradise” that provide resources and information for partnerships that have a varied gender makeup.

As free and open those 8 days are, there are still men and women who are outwardly defensive with their sexual identities. ‘Homo-Phobia’ in whatever degree is still present.

Playing Nice Together

There are camps that define themselves as gay or lesbian or gender blending. Most attendees know ‘Comfort & Joy’ as one of the largest gay camps on playa. The same thing with ‘Camp Beaverton’ and ‘Gender Blender’ for lesbians and trans. It seems to also be widely known there is open sexual behavior at 2011 Black Rock Citythese camps on some degree, but they are also entertaining and educating and offering support for people looking for it.

The “Gayborhood” and the “Gay Ghetto” is where queer camps tend to collect. These are definitely non-exclusive and very welcoming.

Burning Man has some traditional events that really tend to blend people with no exclusions and on some level allows people to be vulnerable in their sexuality on some level. “Critical Tits”, “Critical Dicks” and “The Naked Pub Crawl” strip away the exterior with nudity but turn people into this tossed salad of self defined sexual orientation where that orientation becomes unimportant to enjoyment of the event itself.

Demographics

Census results  for 2006 on BurningMan[dot]Com are the most current available. Since then attendance of the event has shifted in popularity and in 2011 (for example) the event sold out for the first time. In a recent article by Burgin attendee Oscar Remundo in the Huffington Post he stated that queers accounted for 1/3 of the attendance. Not sure how accurate that was but it feels like queer attendance is growing.

Afterburn Reports for 2007 are not available and 2008 only asks no specific gender and only if the person completing the survey are attracted to men or women. 2009 is not compiled according to the site.

How does Burning Man see Queer Camps?

It is hard to say without direct knowledge of how Burning Man sees the strong queer presence at the event. We are actively contributing to the culture and the event. We actively live the 10 principles. We have put blood, sweat and tears every year. ‘We’ is all encompassing.

At the Regional Leadership Conference in April 2011 the question was posed: “Do Queer Burners need their own regional representation?” For those who do not know, communities all over the world have a person(s) that represent Burning Man to them as a contact and they also watch out that the Brand is not being abused; they are called RC’s or Regional Contacts.  Some communities have 3 to 5 people representing them.

Regions are represented by geography like Southern Nevada is a region and Northern Nevada is a region.

The answer that was given was an example: [paraphrased] “…a similar request came from the BDSM community and it just was not practical…” Lifestyle cultures versus a community of people living in a shadow of prejudice in the default world cannot compare. Do you think queers should have regional representation?

Do you think the Queer people of Burning Man need Regional Contact representation?

  • No (57%, 4 Votes)
  • I do not know (43%, 3 Votes)
  • Yes (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Yes, but all queers should have someone: gay man, lesbian woman, transgender (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 7

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In a way we sorta have people looking out for Queers and the relationship with Burning Man. There are some great unofficial relationships that exist and active leadership working hard to represent. There are Queers working for Burning Man, but are they speaking for Queers?

If the Queer part of the Burner culture was given representation what would stop the Poly or BDSM or Swingers or those wild rabbits that show up every year. Although us Queers are not just simply a chosen ‘lifestyle’ or organization – Burning Man represents people by geography.

Conclusion

Homo/Hetero life for 8 days a year generally blends nicely with Radical Inclusion. No gay camp is exclusively gay; there are bisexual, pansexuals, asexuals and more. In the default world we occasionally revive Burning Man in our Regions through Precompression and Decompression. For the most part the blend carries over.

When it comes to the Regional Contact list where is the representation there matching the demographic of Burning Man? It is a Hetero heavy list, while many have nothing against Queers, who is the voice of a community as large as ours.

Sexual orientation/proclivity is a big subject in Burning Man census data as there is a sexual part of this event.

There are strong relationships exist between Burners generally Hetero & Homo. There is a natural ebb and flow that draws similar people into similar groups. We have proven that individually we (all inclusive again) are mighty. Together we are unstoppable. Together we make Burning Man the community that is the envy of the world.

Civic Results

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In the world that we have all opted into called Burning Man, we the pee-ple have a varying commitment to the 10 principles. The 10 principles of Burning Man are not biblical scripture. Everyone sees them with different shades of gray. In this case we are talking about “Civic Responsibility”.

Payasos L.A.

Several members on this site and some of their friends, many of who are Burners, have created an organization committed to making their community stronger.

Through self-respect and self expression, Payasos-L.A. is a brotherhood of gay/bi Latino men whom are committed to keeping and enhancing the quality of life for the future generations and our communities. Through fund raising, public appearances and volunteering that support youth programs, promoting Latino presence in the Arts, and generating awareness on issues that affect the Latino community in Los Angeles; Payasos-L.A. is dedicated to a better tomorrow.

This is just one example of efforts made by members of our community and how their reach goes beyond the playa. Many of the guys were camped in Dickstracted Camp this year. The founder of this great organization is Leo Iriarte (a.k.a. Stinky Foo) wins 2011 Mr. L.A. Leather contest and scored 5th Place on International Mr. Leather 2011.

Find out more at their web site www.payasos-la.org or their Facebook.

The history of payasiando/clowning is a history of creativity, evolution, and change. Payasos-L.A. honors and maintains this tradition for the benefit of it members, friends and the community.

at Large…

There are others in our community that have been paying it forward on their own missions.

Anyone paying attention to the many postings before Burning Man this year would have seen the many efforts by Comfort & Joy in their support of the Native Americans (Indians) who live in the land where once a year we call Home. They had a successful canned food drive and are often promoting books that talk about the tribes.

Certainly they these fine examples of burners giving back. Note I did not say Gay Burners, because this is not a principle related to any one person’s sexual identity.

[much of the contextual information is taken from Payasos web site or their Facebook]

Days gone by…

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Another year has come and gone. It went by so quickly and with that some of the biggest events to date, not to mention Burning Man’s own Rite of Passage with ticket sales and other grand schemes.

22 effigies under the CORE project burned on Thursday night and the single largest burn ever attempted. Some went up with mind blowing beauty while others quietly passed along, all of which celebrating the hard work of their communities.

There were something close to 800 art pieces out there according to the Artery and they crossed from the simple to the divine themselves! Who can see ALL of them… and how many try? What about the interactive ones and the ones one just watches to marvel at the creative genius behind them.

What is Burning Man about? The focus seems to be largely about the art as it takes center stage and is featured in the hearth (Center Camp) of the event. How many great projects were clamoring for money while some were funded easily? There is no cosmic balance on how that works, but the finish line is getting it out there the best you can.

It went by so fast.

Bikes on Playa

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Burning Man is huge. No matter how dedicated you are, accept the fact that you won’t get to see everything. However, you will be able to see and do a lot more with a bike. And as with anything else, a little bit of planning and preparation can make the difference between a comfortable reliable mode of transportation, and a wasted effort hauling a 40lb piece of junk to the playa.

Here are some suggestions:

Don’ts

  • Don’t bring a kiddie (BMX) bike – they may pack easily but are horrible to ride on the playa – very tiring…
  • Don’t bring a bike with skinny tires as they tend to corkscrew when turning in the soft playa buildup.
  • Don’t bring expensive bikes – leave your “good” bikes at home.  PLaya CruiserOr plan on locking them up well.

Do’s

  • Fat tire (Cruiser, Mountain bikes) bikes do better on the soft playa sand
  • Consider purchasing a thrift-store/garage sale bike and dress it up. Make it your “playa bike”. Optionally, go all out and build a frankensteinesque bike like this Chopper
  • Make sure you have a comfy seat – otherwise your rump will suffer.  You can build a comfy seat with padding and duct tape and/or cloth/fur etc.  Or buy them, but the comfy gel ones can be expensive
  • Get a cheap combination lock because bike theft/borrowing is quite a problem at BM.  Write the combo on your wrist in permanent marker and on the inside of your tent (or something you won’t easily lose).  (I have 4 combo locks and don’t know the combination to any of them!)
  • Decorate you bike and make it more than just a means of transportation. However, when you are dressing up your bike out please make sure that stuff won’t fall off and litter the playa as you ride.  Faux fur works really well – just make sure it is well secured to your bike. Decorating also helps because a unique looking bike is easier to find at popular SlimeChain Waxgathering places like Center Camp, Arctica, Temple, Man, etc.
  • At least one working brake is essential.
  • Oil the chain and make sure it doesn’t have any seized up links (one that won’t bend). I find the wax based lubes work best as the dust sticks to oil based lubes and tends to gum up the chain. And bring the bottle so that you can re-up as needed, and share with those who forgot to lube up.
  • Make sure you have good tubes (consider investing in a $8 bottle of “slime” – the goop that self-seals the tubes in case of puncture.
  • If you plan on riding at night, you will need lights (front and back). Please point your headlamps downwards so as not to blind other playa citizens. Glow sticks woven through your tubes are pretty cool to watch and make you more visible.
  • A basket or a luggage rack to carry stuff (including ice) is most helpful (Suggested by Zong). The little kid trailers also work well for hauling back ice and usually run around $20 used at garage sales, thrift stores, and Craigslist
[source the burningtribe.com]

Camping 101

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I am not the authority on camping at Burning Man. There is a whole survival guide available for the ‘how to’ and ‘how not’. This week I was talking to some people about their camping choices and it got me thinking about if any of our members were asking themselves the same questions.

Burning Man still has not released the official camp list, but they have changed the criteria for becoming a “theme camp”. The number of people as a minimum was greatly reduced so as many as 3 people can have a theme camp. The idea is to open the door to creativity and interactivity as much as possible.

Really some of the Queer Camps have done really well in this area and some of the new ones are looking pretty impressive. Everyone knows ‘Comfort and Joy‘; or at least you heard of them (see the Queer Camp page to get more details on these camps mentioned). They have things going on through most of the not the least of which are fully produced shows and the pink gym for those heavenly workouts.

The Camp Beaverton Home for Wayward Girls and their sister/brother camp Gender Blender have some great workshops you will find listed in the what where when.

These are just the big names while there is a whole bunch of camps with varying events to entertain and delight. BUT, what would make you camp with an established camp? Why? And why pay camp fees?

Well, you get the chance to be part of the machine that makes the camp work and your donated time along with your camp fee support the infrastructure of the camp. It’s like working for Disneyland and buying your own lunch at the cafeteria. Maybe you hate Disneyland and want to play alone on the Teacups???

One friend of mine on his first year had every opportunity dangled in front of him to become a part of any of a number of theme camps from the mega to the small and intimate. Yet, he chose to camp alone on something like J and 8:30… on the outer rim. He set up his camp and came home only when he was done playing. He went out to the quiet and sometimes neighborly outskirts.

I suppose that has been the complaint of some people camping much closer to the Esplanade, the lack of quiet. Rather the thump-thump-thump of roving art cars and sound camps. But I personally have spent my last two years just off the Esplanade and never had those problems. In 2009 I camped with Sin City Village on 7:30 and Esplanade. In 2010 I camped with Journeys at 5:30 and A.

That might be another alternative to Queer Camps is spending time with your region like I did.

Whatever choices you make for your burn do what you want to do. Here is some advice from other members for new and veteran burners that you too can participate in!

The City: “Rites of Passage”

Have you seen the new map of the city? 16 new streets this year! Sold out ticket sales!?!?! WTF? Check out these street names:

  • Esplanade
  • Anniversary
  • Birthday
  • Coming Out
  • Divorce
  • Engagement
  • Funeral
  • Graduation
  • Hajj
  • Initiation
  • Journey
  • Kindergarten
  • Liminal
I may not know what a couple of them are, but I love them all!

Principles and Blurry Lines

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Chuck-WeirdAmericaHelcoAtBurningMan1996905

With a recent discussion of monetization on the site and this author possible getting a gift from someone who wanted to post an ad on the site I thought it important to expand on at least one of 10 points in the ideology we opted in to when we joined the Burning Man community and decided to participate.

Let me start by saying that I will be receiving nothing from the person who wanted to advertise here. The policy will remain the same unless the community (you guys) say differently. That is: Create a New Post from the Dashboard menu at the top of the screen after you login. Only verified members can do this. Email me if there is a question on what that is.

10 Principles

Of the 10 Principles the one that came under fire here is about monetary gain under the entity that is Burning Man or by using any logos or representations of the organization. Gay Burners is not in any way an officially sanctioned or official part of the organization. This amounts to being a fan-site supporting a sub-culture of Burning Man itself. And yes, I can say they appreciate what this site is and who we are catering to.

Decommodification: In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience. [source]

On a recent trip to gather with Burners one of the topics of discussion was about money. Certainly we all see that Burning Man could not exist unless they raised money and paid salaries. I hear people jabbing their fingers at coffee and ice at Burning Man, but that money goes to some important causes. Have you seen the financial reports Burning Man posts publicly on how much it costs to put the whole thing on?

Things cost money. People make money and that money goes into their tickets, camping equipment, gas to get to Burning Man so reality is that money is more often turning around and going right back into the machine anyway.

There are some seriously blurry lines in this space because the cost of local events beside our individual journeys is getting more and more expensive.

Gay Burners Site

It costs me almost nothing to have this site and manage it. I paid for hosting and I paid for the domain name and annually that is about 20$. Yes, you see AdSence on the bottom of the pages, but there has been no revenue from that in all the time I had the account. And this is actually on a few of the sites I manage. I want people to have resources and options but not some namby-pamby corporate hoo-hah wanting to come on here to take advantage our audience.

We have about 150 members right now on this site plus 162 on the Facebook as of this posting.

The same person who criticized me in email made a dismissing remark about the population of this site and whatever anger or frustration that came from it was hurtful. What you guys don’t see are the analytics of the site. We actually are getting more than a thousand people a month looking at this site! Wanna see some of that? Look at the link in the left column in the section that says “Who’s On Line”.

[source of cover image featuring Hellco]

Comfort & Joy Announce Repost

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I hesitate to put this in the Events Calendar. This is actually pretty huge and something I was hoping I could participate in this year. Comfort & Joy posted this today.
_______________________________________
From Facebook:

Kd Calfee April 4 at 9:55pm Reply • Report
Dear Comfort & Joy friends –

Making a pilgrimage to the faerie sanctuary of your choice for Beltane is a popular tradition for many Comfort & Joy folks.
Travel plans are brewing!

What is this thing, Beltane? It’s a traditional May Day celebration of fertility, renewal, awakening & new beginnings that heralds the arrival of summer. Way older than Easter. (More fun, too) Learn more here: http://playajoy.org/?p=1449

This year, many San Francisco faeries are celebrating Beltane at Short Mountain. Lucky bitches.

In New Mexico, the Zuni Mountain Faerie Sanctuary works to create an earth-oriented rural permaculture which supports both our individual & collective spiritual creative growth. Word on the street is that their Beltane Celebration just keeps getting better:
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=210849355595393

There will also be a special San Francisco celebration (stay tuned for an exciting announcement soon). And of course, up in Oregon the Wolf Creek Faerie Sanctuary is going to turn Beltane out like a “subterranean rumble.” Can you feel it?

There’s a certain vibration, coming up through the bare soles of your feet on damp and warm soil. The subtly felt roar of a warming world, the roots extending, the seeds bursting up, and the eggshells breaking open. That’s the magic of spring life growing. Very worth celebrating!

And that’s what happening at Wolf Creek from April 27th – May 3rd. The caretaker team just send out a Beltane call & registration info, which excerpted below. Is this the year you dance the Maypole at Wolf Creek? If so, here’s what to do.

First of all, read the Good Gathering Guide, or get slapped by Miss Manners! (see link below). Also, it’s fabulous faerie etiquette to Register Early, which is an excellent way to show your love. (the kitchen crew is always thankful)

Bring your bright drag, your bright intentions, and your bright-fucking-attitude! After a winter like this, there’s no reason at all to hold back. It’s time to be magical. It’s time to love & give.

The energy we raise is what will be given back to us and the world. We want you to be aware that this is an awakening like no other, and there’s no room to let others wake up for you.
Bring it! Do it! Live it!

Put on the pageant drama, strike up a band in the field, plan that unbelievable dinner (with chocolate mousse, please), work up your spells for the spring ceremony – and every moment is a ceremony, if you make it so. So what are you serving this spring? Volunteerism is always in season honey. See a list of opportunities in the Good Gathering Guide

If you want to help the caretakers at Wolf Creek turn it out, contact the Sanctuary via nomenus@nomenus.org or Phone: (541) 866-2678. The Caretakers are having a focus meeting for organizers and other contributors on Thursday, April 7th, 7:30 pm. Contact them to find out how to be a part of that meeting; conference call realness is available.

Naturally, a Maypole decorated with long brightly colored ribbons and flowers is an important element of most Beltane festivities. As dancers revolve around the base of the pole, interweaving the ribbons, a colorful pattern emerges that symbolizes union in community. We are those colors, woven in a interlocking web of amazing diversity, more fabulous together than apart.

It’s our confluence – the people, the spirits, the land – that creates our shared awareness of the holy, so please, plan on serving the community in your own special way. This isn’t a disposable party. It’s time to come together to fertilize your dreams with action, and make a fresh start.

Beltane is a time to create new connections and renew familiar ones. It’s about community: civics is chic, honey!

WOLF CREEK REGISTRATION INFO:

A sliding scale donation of $5-$35 / day per person is requested. It’s extremely stylish to Register & Donate Early. It’s what the beautiful people do, and you’re awful pretty honey. Plus the kitchen team loves having an attendance count.

To Register:

(1) Read the Good Gathering Guide (!) & pick a volunteer proj& download the registration form here:
http://www.nomenus.org/downloads.html

(2) Fill out your form & email it to nomenus@nomenus.org. If you can’t edit/type on the PDF, just write the same info in a regular email. You can also leave a message at 541-866-2678.

(3) Make your Registration Donation here:
http://www.nomenus.org/donate.html

Analog faeries can mail the form + a check to:

Wolf Creek Sanctuary
P.O. Box 312
Wolf Creek, OR 97497

For more info about the Wolf Creek Sanctuary, visit:
http://www.nomenus.org/wcsanc.html

See you in the garden!

Burning Man Leadership Summit

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This is a trip report: March 31st-April 3rd saw the 5th Annual Regional Conference and Leadership Summit held in San Francisco at a couple locations. It started with the Bentley Reserve in downtown near the Financial District. Then over to the Kabuki Hotel for the rest of the time in Japan Town. Turns out the owner of the Kabuki is a Burner!!!!

[nggallery id=9]

Although I did not get a lot of pictures, hopefully what I am sharing tells a good story.

Terry at the Kabuki LoungeThursday we were hosted at the Kabuki in their Lounge with a lovely cocktail party. Right away I started connecting with amazing people from all over the world. Early on I connected with Dave Umlas and Marrrilee Ratcliffe from Austin, Texas who have this amazing dynamic and it seems they are building the Temple this year with their team.

I also met Terry who was visiting from the Western Colorado Region who I have now adoption as my Burner Mom. If only my Burner Dad knew!!!

Early the next morning we convened at the Bentley Reserve where PODS began in the form of classes. There were a lot of options and the schedule was so well orchestrated that it seemed like no matter what your Mes in Regionals 101role in the community was there was something for you. This turned out to be a long day and a lot happened:

  • Morning Classes like Regional 101
  • Lunch Mixer and then participation with $tephen Ra$pa in the St. Stoopid Day Parade
  • Afternoon meet and greet with offices at Burning Man; like technology, H.R., Burning Man Earth, and camps like Comfort&Joy; Flux Foundation and so much more…
  • Then evening welcoming ceremony that featured a speech by Larry who talked extensively about the new future of Burning Man and becoming a Non-Profit

On Saturday we were back to the Kabuki Hotel for more PODS and team building that was what a lot of us needed. One of which was Conflict Resolution. Real situations that were submitted to Burning Man from a variety of communities including my own region. Should I mention I was the only being complained about in the letter?

The result was interesting feedback for one and all in the 12 situations that were presented. It forced a lot of people to share and add a input of strangers with no prior knowledge not to effect the position of the argument and to explore potential solutions effectively. It shows the groups can mediate, but it also showed that something in the mix was still missing which I will blog about later on.

Burning Man hosted a great mixer late that night that involved Dj’s, Scrabble Letters, and karaoke. I neglected to mention the open bar. The beat, the vibe, the energy was immense and a lot of us got to bond even further.

Then Sunday was going to be the last day of events. They did something called World Cafe that brought all of us together in small groups exploring more situation effecting the health and structure of the community as a whole. In bits and pieces, shifting around to new ideas, we each were able to add input into these circumstances and saw potentially new resolutions for future experiences.

More PODS concluded the day including Events Planning with $tephen Ras$pa (this is how his name appeared everywhere) and Social Networking with WillPants. All were so highly informative and teaching/mentoring that it was all just this amazing blessing to be a part of.

There is talk of opening this up in the future for any interested party. I was able to go because I was nominated after a request because of the things I have been doing in Vegas and with Gay Burners [dot] com for the last couple years.

Gay Burners

I had a chance to pose the question: Should we as members of the LBGT+ (and all the blurry lines) have our own Regional representation? I can only give you my opinion, but turned out someone else posed the question before me from another ‘sub-culture’ of the Burner world. We all do have such strong geographical Regional representation that one based on an interest, lifestyle, orientation or other might be redundant.

A web site like gay burners is a network and linked into the BMHQ (especially now after introducing it presently) and networking with a force like WillPants. This site is growing and exploding. We are a gateway.