Execution 101 for Burning Man Theme Camps: Reality Does Not Conspire to Help

We are late to the game and have had to push boundaries and tax long standing relationships etc to make our camp happen. But pretty smooth so far. Some quote from Sir Edmund Hillary about “how once one is committed to the task the planets align and rainbows shoot out all sorts of places” which is sort of true until you factor in vendors.

So, I will provide the “rainbows” I got out of the world and the “turds” which is the other thing that comes out of rainbow shooting places.

• Rainbow: Three weeks before the start of a sold out Burning Man we ask for and get esplanade placement with Nyrvanna. That is followed a week later with early entry passes, tickets and insanely good deals on plane, car rental (really $260 for two weeks Alamo?), Grand Sierra hotel.
• Turd: NYCcontainer was sold out and I was really causing trouble trying to make something happen. Rainbow to turd conversion about to happen until magical space frees up and bribes are well administered and all around goodness established.

• Rainbow: We conjure a really good camp design, with the help of Philip Riley–aka Slime Hag–that rocks airplane goodness.
• Turd: Wha? $200 for tarps and tape, $300 for lighting it just goes on with a generator at the end of the materials list. Not cheap

• Rainbow: This is personal, but my wife, Karen, is the reason we went for it. Splinter sent me email wondering if Brooklyn Aerodrome might want the 50 feet of Esplanade that just opened up. I, with full dismissive sarcastic voice suggested that we re-experience the collective worst two weeks of our relationship pre-marriage over two Burning Mans in another attempt at some fun and she said, without a moments hesitation–yes. Next morning the same. Let it be said you don’t know who you married until you have.
• Turd: Planning a last minute Esplanade facing camp is a ton of work and it enveloped our lives. The last minute nature meant that we could only wreck out August. It had its seriously non-fun moments.

• Turd: (Yes some times the turd leads the rainbow) We are geared up, most prepared ever to execute THE PLAN, but a thunder storm that preceded the major hurricane threatened our timely arrival in Reno.
• Rainbow: I check the delays around noon for a Newark 5pm flight because it is raining and see disaster in our Salt Lake City connection. A call has us hustling to JFK for a 3:30 screwing all last minute arrangements but we get the flight due to a very good cabby who was tipped very well for knowing “back way” to JFK. Yeah, we missed the real fun with the hurricane Saturday/Sunday.
• Turd (unresolved when written–but read the rainbow): Our lighting for the runway was sent late from the vendor but arrived on time to our hotel. But it was sent attention “Wedding Chapel” which meant that when I attempted to verify that I could get the lights the chapel was closed until the next day. GROAN. We will see if 9:30 am Saturday morning a rainbow flies out of our project plan and we can head to playa equipped.
• Follow on turdlet: Wedding Chapel folks are nice but no lighting. Off we go to the playa without crucial bit of infrastructure.
• Rainbow #1: Whiskey & Whores (thanks Nichole and Dan) gift us 72 ft of rope light as we are heading in on Saturday early arrival. Saves camp design.
• Rainbow #2: Raneq (apologies for spelling) and Christina (apologies for perhaps getting that totally wrong) show up with our wedding chapel lights when I send a last minute missive to the NYC list for anyone to bring the lights to us.
• Rainbow #3: Whiskey & Whores really needed some lighting and so we gifted the 150 ft back to them that we just got delivered on Playa. That felt gooood to return the huge favor with 100% interest. Plus those “Wedding Chapel” lights totally belong at W&W, yee haw.

And on it went. I think this was my 11th Burn and I have never experienced such support and such push back. Now I just have to figure out how to get my stuff off of the container while I am at Maker Faire in Queens.

Thanks to all that pitched in.

Breck