GLBT themed Camps

[poppasmurf63]

I am a returning Burner but might as well be a virgin again since it was 2007 when I was last home. In 2007 there was a GLBT Village called Avalon I think. I was wanting to shout out and see if there is going to be any such Village again in 2012? Also if not a village what about theme camps? I am bringing about a dozen virgin GLBT friends this year and would like to possibly join a like minded group, or at least a GLBT friendly one (yes i know BurningMan and all that attend are a rare and radically inclusive bunch of people)

[JDCookMS]

Hey. What's going on? Here's a link to the Gay Burners website: http://gayburners.com/2010-queer-camp-list. It has several LGBT camps listed. I don't see anything called Avalon listed, but it should give you a good idea as to where to start looking. But, they're not the only ones... right now I'm planning on bringing about 10 (maybe more?) other birgins from here in Mississippi and our camp is going to be mainly queer, with a couple of straight guys coming...ours isn't a theme camp, it's just a campsite. Regardless, there'll be plenty of camps around that you should be able to look up.

[jkisha]

Avalon is no more. The person that started the Village needed to take a break from the organizing. However almost all of the theme camps there were Avalon Village still go and we are all usually placed adjacent to each other, so it's almost like the village but without all the organizational nightmares. We're all usually around 7:30 and c and d.

[poppasmurf63]

To JDCookMS - Thanx for the feed back. Im pretty sure we are not going to go as theme camp so that leaves us "FreeBalling" if you will. Thats my next question for the message board. Whats the best way to free camp? Since there will be at least 4 maybe 5 RV's and staggered arrivals I don't know how is the best way to ensure that we can group together with out registering as a theme camp. Any suggestions?
To jkisha - Thanx to you as well. Sorry to here there will not be an Official Avalon but it sounds as though most of the components will be there. Thats cool, and thanx for the approximate location. I couldn't remember where it was except on the opposite side of where I had stayed. I stayed with a totally AWSOME group of people in the "Destinys Lounge" theme camp in 2007.

[theCryptofishist]

Have a good idea where you want to camp and have a good idea of how much room you need. First person or team to get there, grab some land, secure the perimeter (talking to the neighbors works, and you should do that anyway), and dash around with tape and cardboard writing the "name" (and if you don't have a name for your camp, just have a pre-approved code word) and address and taping it to street signs. (In a non-obnoxious way. If it's obnoxious, then they will get torn down, leaving all your hard work for nothing.) A giant stuff bunny left in front of the camp makes a good signal, if the first crew wants to walk around instead of waiting for teams 2 through 7 to show up.

[Eric]

Also plan to camp further back if your bringing that many RV's & aren't registered- there won't be space on the streets closer in (you might be able to do D or E if you get there on Monday, otherwise plan further back). Plan your camp configuration before you all get there, and roughly the order people will arrive. That way you can make it so you can set up camp for the early arrivers while leaving room for the later ones. Have an area in mind so that everyone knows where to look ("we'll be around 6:30-8 on J") and, like Fishy says, an identifiable landmark- flag, figure, giant stuffed bunny...

A good suggestion for a friendly RV camp is to make a "U" shape with the open end towards the street, or set up your shade structure on the street side with the RV's behind it. I always camp in an RV, but even I hate the wall of RV's facing some streets (even though I was in one of those RV's last year- we didn't choose the set-up *sigh*)

[timschapker]

Definitely have all your friends create a profile on http://gayburners.com/. As Burning Man approaches the site will get much more active, and you'll get lots of info regarding camps that are out there and LGBT-friendly activities they are planning, including workshops, gatherings, parades, meat-n-greets, dances, bike rides, etc. There will also be a number of events listed on the burning man website andin the the guide you get at the gate, so take a hour and look through it.

Once you're settled into your home, visit some of the LGBT camps, socialize and participate. In conversations you'll learn of even more camps and activities. I've always had a nice time at Celestial Bodies, great place to sit, have a cosmo (alcoholic or not), chat and meet people.

See you on the other side!

[toaster]

Yeah for sure! www.gayburners.com (aka www.queerburners.com) has a ton of activity and visitors beyond the membership on the site and on the Facebook page. Within the month before Burning Man the site was getting wholloped. Even in the last month we get a lot of visits and always more than 50% of the people hitting the site are new according to the analytics. So, please let the admin know if you have a queer camp that needs to be on the site or even featured in the cover story.

You will see some of the Civic things that groups like Comfort and Joy as well as Dickstracted Camp are doing in their communities. Check out their stories and more on a series on the 10 principles still being published in ... yes 10 volumes on the site.

This is a resource for you and is totally radically inclusive for ALL THE LGBT+ and all the blurry lines in between!!!