1st timer

[JEM2387]

This will be my first burn, and this may be a silly question.. How do you join the theme camps? Are they regulated to specific people? Are you supposed to join ahead of time or just drive up and park? I've read a few places that the theme groups get together to plan & create, but I'm coming from the east coast & wont be able to do that. Will that change the possibility of joining?
Thanks!

[AntiM]

Pretty much have to join beforehand. That doesn't mean you have to meet in person, you can check the main site for the theme camp listings and email them. Many charge dues, and will expect you to pitch in in some way.

[JezebelinHell]

Your best bet is probably to camp solo your first year, and then just see what theme camps you really connect with. Then you can talk with them and see what it would take for you to get involved next year. There's no rule about packing your shit up and moving it part-way through the week either.

[Marscrumbs]

Theme camps are what prepared people do when they come to Burniing Man. A good theme camp will be interactive so you can visit and see what their trip is. However I've seen alot of burnt out camps over the years and thus a thinning number of the great camps. And more plain partiers and drifters. Of course I'm discounting the independent artist among us.

[Timezone LaFontaine]

Of course I'm discounting the independent artist among us.

I've been waiting for some good discounts on independent artists so I can add a few more to my collection. And your prices are CRAZY!!!

[Marscrumbs]

Of course I'm discounting the independent artist among us.

I've been waiting for some good discounts on independent artists so I can add a few more to my collection. And your prices are CRAZY!!!

I miss the bubble boy. I'll trade you for any two new performance artists you got.

[Zulegoona]

This seems like a good place to remind you and all the lurkers that might be reading this, That you don’t have to belong to a theme camp. Particularly your first year, I think it’s best to not be tied to a camp and it’s duties. Theme camps can be a lot of work and demand a lot of time and commitment. Don’t get me wrong I belong to the Booby Bar and there are a lot of benefits to being part of a theme camp too but in a lot of cases to be a part of it you really have to be a part of it and that can mean you wouldn’t be able to just fallow your bliss or what ever has caught your eye at the moment.

Camping alone doesn’t mean your necessarily alone , My first year I got set up early on a corner, and by Monday afternoon I was surrounded and pretty much absorbed into a group of people from Northern California and their friends that I could hang out with if I wanted to. People are friendly for the most part and there are so many of them you can find people to do things with or do them on your own if you want.

[bigbluedoggy]

People are friendly for the most part and there are so many of them you can find people to do things with or do them on your own if you want.

I particularly enjoy doing the people on my own!

[gyre]

Of course I'm discounting the independent artist among us.

I've been waiting for some good discounts on independent artists so I can add a few more to my collection. And your prices are CRAZY!!!

I miss the bubble boy. I'll trade you for any two new performance artists you got.

Do you have any djs?
I can't find anyone that can hit a record with a needle.
A lost art apparently.
Just watching them try, is so very sad.

[bigbluedoggy]

Are you kidding? Everyone's a DJ now! Just ask them.....

[JezebelinHell]

I'm a DJ! I spin strictly off of my iPod, and it's mostly The Misfits. You know you want me in your camp...

[MozyBonz]

I'm a DJ! I spin strictly off of my iPod, and it's mostly The Misfits. You know you want me in your camp...

Yes I would. Because you see I have been working on this Pheromone that needs to be scientifically tested.
It makes hot sexy lesbians and their sexy girl friends fall in love with 50-year-old men and their sexy wife.
Umm……………………. I mean I would love to hear you DJ….

[MozyBonz]

Hey where you going?


I was kidding!

The Pheromone doesn't work every time....

[zifra]

I am Zifra, this will be my 4th burn and my second major theme camp. Last time I set up carnival games you could play until you won. I gave away 30 bags of huge stuffed animals to delighted winners.

This year I am using Ken Kesey's Hundredth Monkey story (found widely on the web and surrounded by people ho poke holes in the research)
as an impetus for people to share thoughts in multiple types of expression as a way to feed the universal consciousness.

We will have a 20' x 20' pavilion, well lit at night. It will offer folks a chance to come in and share their ideas in the form they work best with. I will have everything from writing materials, to drawing materials, to a soapbox to speak on, to an alter where you send your thoughts out, put them, in the flame of a candle. When the candle blows out in the playa wind, your thought is released.

My camp mate is my lover and best friend Rodney. This is his second year and he burns to truly participate. I have designed this interactive space to facilitate that for both of us.

In addition to the expression area, we will have a Cargo van and a separate 10' x 10' tent that will hold the kitchen and storage. We plan a total camp of up to 6-10. I expect Rodney and I will eat meals together most of the time, and knowing me there will always be food to eat. You would be welcome to contribute to groceries and I can just buy for you as well.

For our needs we are asking for help with set up and tear down, and for all camp mates to spend some time encourging interaction in the pavilion. I do not plan to set a schedule., the way it is set up it does not have to be manned. But I believe manning the pavilion and helping people express themselves will be a lot of fun!

I will not find out until 8/1 where we are placed, but it should be on the map.

My camp plan has room for 2 tents and cars for added camp mates. We will set up grey water and a place to open air shower in the grey water area. Be advised we are both nudists, and therefore do not tend to hide anything by toilet facilities.

By personality we are quite different. I am a gently aging hippie of 50, warm and open, a storyteller at heart I work for Ballet San Jose bringing children into the ballet. My rodney is a professional photographer who works for a photo output house.

Us or another I hope you find a camp that suits you!

See you on the playa!

Zifra

[flipper]

An updated version of what I posted in the 2007 category 18 months ago

Ways to find a theme camp to join, if you wish to:

1. Check the eplaya threads. Several will actively seek participants.

2. Sign up for your regional e-mail list at http://regionals.burningman.com/ Go to events and meet people. In Chicago, that's how Entheon got alot of crew.

3. Surf the list of theme camps for ones that suit your interests and/or are based in your area. Go to their websites for more info or e-mail the contact. http://www.burningman.com/themecamps/

4. Fill out the BM volunteer survey online to see if there is something that suits your talents and experience level. Several volunteer groups also have reserved theme camp sites available for volunteers (I worked at Media Mecca, and was able to camp at Camp Green Zone).

(Too late for this year, but for future reference)

5. Once you've got an understanding of how it works, you could find like- minded friends to start your own theme camp and register by May 31. But this works best if some folks involved have been on the playa, and perhaps helped organize a theme camp before. (See http://www.burningman.com/themecamps/re ... guide.html and http://www.burningman.com/themecamps/th ... teria.html for details)

Keep in mind that theme camping is work - part of your playa time will probably be dedicated to making the camp work and providing its interactive gifts to the community. There are also costs for the common facilities and the interactive components, which will come from some combination of camp fees and/or pre-playa fundraiser events. But as someone so gung ho, I don't think that should discourage you, but doing number three on this list will give you a clearer picture.

0. You don't have to be in a theme camp at all. A majority of the residential area in the city is non-theme camps. Just be radically self-reliant, meet your neighbors, and give back in another way...