First Burning Man and looking for a camp!

[newbies09]

Hey Everyone!
This will be our first Burning Man, we can't wait! We live in Moorpark, CA (Ventura County) and are looking for camps to join. We are really outgoing and ready to have fun! Not sure how to find a camp, so we thought we'd start here. Anyone out there in our area?????
Jill & Rod

[Artemis]

Welcome newbies. I'm not in CA, but I'm guessing you could meet up some folks in your area from regionals.

Read the survival guide, and then read again, and again and again....

Watch out for that Rod. Someone may just want to rub it.

[jkisha]

Hey there, welcome to eplaya.

Got any idea what sort of camp you'd like to become a part of?

JK

[newbies09]

Well, here is my question. I have seen so many cool camps! Lots of great imagination out there!! Do we need to live near the group that is doing the camp? I just thought if we dont live in the area, we wont be able to help much in getting things together. This is our first one and we want to dive right in and help.

[Zulegoona]

It depends on the camp. I’ve been with three different camps made up of people from all over. Those who live closest, ( Reno, Carson, Sacramento ) have done the heaviest lifting as far as preparing and transporting things to the playa. I know my contributions pale in comparison, so on the playa I try to do as much as I can to help set up, keep things running, and take down the camp at the end. Even so I don’t feel like I do enough, but so far my campmates haven't tossed me out so I must be doing ok. I’ve gotten to know most of the people in my camps on-line and already felt I knew them and cared about them. For me anyway the connection with your camp needs to be about the people and what they create together.

[bigbluedoggy]

Hey there newbies! Welcome to eplaya and to your next adventure. Our camp this last year was made up of folks from all over the place, with the core group here in LA. What it really gets down to is being available and willing to jump in the week or two prior to leaving when everything has to get pulled out of storage, repainted if necessary, cleaned off (hahaha), packed up loaded on the truck and or trailer and then caravaned up to BRC. Same can be said for the return trip.... BM isn't over when you leave the playa if you're part of a theme camp. All that stuff has to get unloaded, unpacked, cleaned and stored somehow! Unless your camp is going to create some new and wondrous spectacle requiring much assistance for weeks in advance, willingness to participate in all of those somewhat mundane chores will greatly enamor you to any theme camp! Kind of up to you to figure out what sort of camp you are looking for. There are lots of different camps with widely varying vibes, ethics, persuasions, commitments... etc. Having some sort of idea of what you want is a good place to start.

[Ugly Dougly]

I am working on putting together a barbarian camp. PM if interested.

[Sail Man]

Greetings Newbies, welcome to eplaya. Lots of good advise so far, as well as time. Read up on the various theme camps from 08, many have web pages, check them out. Look for local meet and greets as well. Look for local BM forums, groups etc online.

[theCryptofishist]

I am working on putting together a barbarian camp. PM if interested.

Wouldn't it be more appropriate to kidnap your campmates from the back of a galloping horse? I think Ghengis would be a little dissappointed in your lack of initiative there.

[fciron]

2008 was my first year and I was planning on going solo. I wound up going with one camp and had invitations to join two others.

My advice:

-remember you don't have to go with a camp and your survival and comfort is ultimately your responsibility

-meet burners in your area at regionals or other events (There were two camps going from my area that I could have joined.)

-look for burners in groups that you already belong to (The camp I went with was formed on the steampunk forum Brass Goggles, none of us had met before we hit the playa.) I just searched the discussions for "burning Man".

Hurry up though. It's almost January!!!

[newbies09]

Thank so much for all the advice! It really helps. We're looking at all the camps now knowing that we don't need to live in the same town. So, a lot has opened up. I understand things start to get going by March, so we will have a decision made by then! Thanks again! Don't stop the advice and invitations from coming! They really help get to know what is out there!!!! We cant wait!

[StevenGoodman]

Go to the Theme Camp 2008 section (of this website) (i.e. not here on ePlaya), check through the zillion camps! Contact ones you might be interested in!

Read up on Burning Man so you have some idea what to expect; it will be wrong, but better than nothing!

Martini Steve

[Hawkmeister]

There is a group forming on a website called 43things dot com. Search the site for a goal called "Be there...Burning Man 2009...for a 43Things Convergence!" http://www.43things.com/things/view/214 ... onvergence The interested parties are from all over the country. They haven't yet decided on a theme, join now and provide some input!

~Hawk

[ozwald8804]

Last year was our first Burn, and we hooked up with Hushville. It is a quiet camp, and no real expectations of campers but to take care of themselves, and leave no trace.

We chose this because we really did not know what we would end up doing, and having a place to head for was comforting. Also the no generator, no loud noise policy was attractive. We went off camp to party and play, and came back to sleep and rest up. And we chatted a bit with our fellow Hushvillians, who were a friendly crowd.

I am not sure if we will join them again this year or not. We are pretty independent burners. Check them out, they were a good start for us.

Strange Quark

[AntiM]

Hushville does require pre-registration, which opens sometime in June or July.