Rainbow Family at Burning Man?

[cephalopod]

Im not sure how many people going to the Washington rainbow gathering this year are also going to burning man. But would any rainbow family out there be interested in starting a rainbow family camp? Has this been done before?

[ygmir]

see, there's an idea...........many of us are so curious about "rainbow gatherings" and, the society that inhabits them.
I'd imagine, as long as they knew not to make "trench latrines", the rest would be wonderful.
And, many of us could check out how they burn......if it's different or not, really.

[illy dilly]

hum,
There was a Rainbow gathering here in CO a couple years back. I tried my damnedest get there, but couldn't.

I heard a lot of negative things from people that went, and a some positive too.

I'd be really interesting in seeing what the Rainbow family is all about. It would be pretty cool if there was Rainbow Family theme camp.

[Sail Man]

We had a rainbow family camp across from us in Kidsville last 2-3 years. They seemed pretty cool and laid back. He played some pretty cool drums and painted a mural at center camp. I gifted them some sugar and they gifted me a request to turn my genny (as opposed to a giny) off.

[illy dilly]

they gifted me a request to turn my genny (as opposed to a giny) off.

You couldn't turn you Giny off if you tried!

[cephalopod]

I think the main thing stopping a large rainbow presence at burning man is money. A significant portion of the family is dirt poor road kids. The tickets alone would be out of reach for most of us, let alone the supplies to survive in the desert.

Theres also the fact that we love to set up communal kitchens, but you need to have a permit to do so at BM. This doesnt work out cause one of the commonly held values is to never sign permits.
Another commonly held value is to leave most technology at home. Beyond flashlights and rarely a walkie talkie, you wont see much if any electronics at all at a gathering. There is significantly more technology at a burn.

Im sure that at least a few rainbows are also burners, but I wonder if they set up rainbow style camps or go by the same names as they do at gatherings. Im not even sure what that would look like in the desert.

Nonetheless, I would love to camp with some of my family at the burn. If you are out there, let me know!

[robbidobbs]

Howdy Brother Cephalopod. I am former C.A.L.M. You are welcome.

I was one of the first BM>Rainbow Family crossovers. There are many cultural differences (permit signing, trenches, etc). These are not insurmountable. I would love to see more of the brethren join BM. Alcohol is prevalent, and LEO must be appreciated. Beyond that, it's the ticket price and self-supporting resources. No pets too. Please read the Survival Guide.

The love and compassion of the Rainbow Family could be a joyous infusion to our pirate-like festival.

I hope to meet you.

Loving you,
RobbiDobbs

[gyre]

There are a number of people at the burn, but they don't stand out there.

There was a burner in my camp at the gathering.
He was the one with the multi-color leopard print fluorescent curtains that glowed in the dark.

There was a circus bus there too, that I also saw at the burn.

One couple had a crappy looking camper on a flatbed trailer, very lowkey.
Inside all stainless steel with computer and hidef tv, etc.
His business card is a dvd.

Lots of in depth discussions around the campfire.

A different event.

[TomServo]

Don't stop by Carp Camp.

[gyre]

What's carpcamp?

[TomServo]

What's carpcamp?

It's a special camp...just bring whiskey if you go.

,,,if it's still a camp

[gyre]

I think they were calling it section 13 or something like that.

Really hard drinking there.
A lot of casual drinkers bugged out.

[Simon of the Playa]

[Sail Man]

they gifted me a request to turn my genny (as opposed to a giny) off.

You couldn't turn you Giny off if you tried!

Ohhhh, my kinda Giny

[lucky.bastard]

i went to the 1991 rainbow gathering in kentucky.....word got out that we had "smoke" and our van was surrounded by what looked like jones-ing hippie zombie-z ..., so much that we left after just a few hours..,

that is my one story,, i am sure you have a million good stories about love and friendship and all that, so i am not trying to take a dig at you doing your thing.

[cephalopod]

[quote="lucky.bastard"]i went to the 1991 rainbow gathering in kentucky.....word got out that we had "smoke" and our van was surrounded by what looked like jones-ing hippie zombie-z ..., so much that we left after just a few hours..,

that is my one story, i am sure you have a million good stories about love and friendship and all that, so i am not trying to take a dig at you doing your thing.[/quote]

We call this phenomena "Bliss Ninnies" or "Drainbows". They tend to flock towards anyone who they think will get them high. The best course of action is to ask them what theyve done for their family today and point them in the direction of the nearest full shitter that needs to be covered and dug.

Im not sure how it worked in 1991. But the way the gatherings are laid out these days, if you went to the bus village then left, then you never actually got to the gathering really. Bus village is more like the parking lot.

[C187]

Theres also the fact that we love to set up communal kitchens, but you need to have a permit to do so at BM. This doesnt work out cause one of the commonly held values is to never sign permits.

As long as the kitchen is for the camp, and the camp isn't serving to the public then you don't need a permit. Problem solved.

[cephalopod]

[quote="C187"]As long as the kitchen is for the camp, and the camp isn't serving to the public then you don't need a permit. Problem solved.[/quote]

For it to be a rainbow kitchen it would be serving to the public. At gatherings most kitchens are for and by everybody and all the food that the kitchens cook is donated by family that brings it in either from home or from town runs. In several of them if you have an idea of what to cook for the main circle meal you can just walk in and take over the kitchen for several hours.

This is why Im not sure what a rainbow family theme camp would look like on the playa. A lot of what we do is either not allowed on the playa, or just not practical/possible. I'm sure wed have lots of awesome stuff going on, but it may or may not be an accurate representation of what we are all about to non-rainbow burners.

[C187]

For it to be a rainbow kitchen it would be serving to the public. At gatherings most kitchens are for and by everybody and all the food that the kitchens cook is donated by family that brings it in either from home or from town runs. In several of them if you have an idea of what to cook for the main circle meal you can just walk in and take over the kitchen for several hours.

So what I'm reading here, is it's a pot-luck / on-site make-luck / iron chef cook off. If your rainbow family is all together in the camp, you can do group meals like that no problem. After all you're sharing / keeping the food in the family.

This is why Im not sure what a rainbow family theme camp would look like on the playa. A lot of what we do is either not allowed on the playa, or just not practical/possible. I'm sure wed have lots of awesome stuff going on, but it may or may not be an accurate representation of what we are all about to non-rainbow burners.

You know you don't have to register as a theme camp with the org, right? You can have a theme camp, with out being a placed theme camp. - Since your not a placed camp, you don't have to file the paperwork, or have activities open to the public 24/7.

Just wondering, but what would be something you would normally do that wouldn't be allowed on the playa?

[cephalopod]

"So what I'm reading here, is it's a pot-luck / on-site make-luck / iron chef cook off. If your rainbow family is all together in the camp, you can do group meals like that no problem. After all you're sharing / keeping the food in the family."

A rainbow camp that cooked food for itself would be allowed by BM rules, but it wouldn't have the same community vibe as a real rainbow kitchen.
The main issue with doing what we call a kitchen at gatherings is that we would both insist on serving the general public and insist on not signing a permit.

[Simon of the Playa]

"A rainbow camp that cooked food for itself would be allowed by BM rules, but it wouldn't have the same community vibe as a real rainbow kitchen.
The main issue with doing what we call a kitchen at gatherings is that we would both insist on serving the general public and insist on not signing a permit."


then stay home, hippy, if you can't follow our simple rules....




GIFT SALMONELLA!

[cephalopod]

"then stay home, hippy, if you can't follow our simple rules....




GIFT SALMONELLA!"

I never said I would be breaking the rules. If anything I was pretty clear why I personally wouldn't try to do a rainbow kitchen at the burn.
Please dont make the assumption that because someone wouldn't sign a permit on principle that they would not prepare food safely.
There is actually a great deal of effort put into preventing the spread of disease at gatherings. To an almost excessive point at times.

Remember when reading anything that I or any other rainbow posts that no one represents the rainbow family. Every single one of us will give you a slightly different (if not entirely different) take on how it works and what its all about. The best way to know would be to experience it for yourself.
The national gathering is in Washington state this year. Come join us in the woods!

[Bob]

Try taking a poll on alt.gathering.rainbow re: picnicking at Burning Man and get back to us.

[Simon of the Playa]

Come join us in the woods!

i did...once....national in Allegheny.

i know from whence i speak...


NEVER AGAIN.


i could on and on about the hare krishna recruiting, the intolerance towards alcohol and "straights" (i was wearing a pressed linen suit and white bucks and carrying a bottle of tequila, duh...) and the sheer lack or oversight as far as young children were concerned, not to mention the fouled water supply because some idiots dug slit trenches UP the hill from the stream and the god-awful night mare of no illumination thru a soggy slippery terrain during the evening combined with a holier than thou attitude of most of the "participants"= go fuck yourselves and your band of mud-encrusted thieves and forest urchins begging their way across the country...


but i wont talk about what i REALLY disliked about rainbow, because it would hurt some feelings, i'm afraid...

[Bob]

...but i wont talk about what i REALLY disliked about rainbow, because it would hurt some feelings, i'm afraid...

Do tell. Were hippie chicks easier than you thought, or not so much?

[Simon of the Playa]

true story....630 am....wandering down the trail we encounter a Nappy Head and her Baby....she is WHACKED on some good acid....(im not going to reveal how i know this) and she asks "Have you seen my boyfriend, he's like 25, and has long dreadies and he's like, wearing a tye-dye and some shorts"


seriously.


"and his name is 'smoke'...."


i shit you not.

[Badger]

This is why Im not sure what a rainbow family theme camp would look like on the playa.

That'll be the camp where everyone else has tossed their beer cans.

[Savannah]

The main issue with doing what we call a kitchen at gatherings is that we would both insist on serving the general public and insist on not signing a permit.

It'd be only polite to post a large sign reading "Not Inspected by the Health Dept since 2011!" I personally would want to know.

No one expects a small camp serving individuals or few guests to have a permit, and people willingly risk that all the time, but the key is: willingly. Serving the public on a large scale at this particular event implies strongly that you have permission and have met standards, so to do so without a health permit--without announcing otherwise--could be considered deceptive.

Whereas to serve the same food at a Rainbow Gathering the woods, would--by context--not be deceptive.

[cephalopod]

Come join us in the woods!

i did...once....national in Allegheny.

i know from whence i speak...


NEVER AGAIN.


i could on and on about the hare krishna recruiting, the intolerance towards alcohol and "straights" (i was wearing a pressed linen suit and white bucks and carrying a bottle of tequila, duh...) and the sheer lack or oversight as far as young children were concerned, not to mention the fouled water supply because some idiots dug slit trenches UP the hill from the stream and the god-awful night mare of no illumination thru a soggy slippery terrain during the evening combined with a holier than thou attitude of most of the "participants"= go fuck yourselves and your band of mud-encrusted thieves and forest urchins begging their way across the country...


but i wont talk about what i REALLY disliked about rainbow, because it would hurt some feelings, i'm afraid...

As I said before, no individual or group of individuals represents the rainbow family. The krishnas are as welcome at the gathering as jesus camp or anyone else. I walked and talked for a while with one of the krishna camp facilitators last year. He didnt try to recruit or brainwash me. Theyre simply a group of people trying to do what they personally believe will create a positive change in the world. Just like everyone else...
Intolerance towards alcohol? Alcohol has proven to not make for a safe gathering, especially for children. We however respect a persons right to drink, and there is a designated camp where people can drink as much as they please. It tends to be pretty far away from kid village...
You said earlier that I should stay home if I cant follow your simple rules. Couldnt you have followed a simple rule and done your drinking in the designated camp?
I have never seen intolerance towards "straights" at a gathering. You see people dressed like their going to their job at the office in line for food next to dirty road kids. Forest service and police riding in on horseback armed with guns is a common site. We wave, say good morning, and tell them we love them just like we do with everyone else.
I dont know how or why you mistook the stream for the drinking water supply, or thought it might not be soggy and dark in the woods at night.
If you felt that people were being intolerant of you, dont you think that it could have been because of your own behavior and the judgments you were passing on them?

I apologize if this was too "holier than thou". If I had been downright hateful would it have made you feel better?

Loving you,
Cephalopod

[Simon of the Playa]

i didn't drink from the stream....I didn't carry my bottle anywhere it was illegal.


i DID see unattended pre-schoolers running around naked in the muck in CLOSE proximity to numerous illegal drugs and activities, i did see Krishnas actively recruiting into their CULT, and please, be hateful if that is what you feel towards me pointing out the flaws in your gathering, at least thats truthful and not some hippy bullshit.


and get a hair-cut, goddamit.