Burn in the Forest

There are no spectators, only participants!

If you can dream it, You can make it happen!

BitF offers a unique environment – a blank canvas in the woods surrounded by mountains. There are open spaces and easy access that make it possible to do whatever you can dream up in that space.  This year we want to promote self reliance in creating together. As an organization our job is to facilitate whatever you want to offer to the community, whether that is an art project, a theme camp, workshop or performance. The stage is yours.  Last year we had 6 theme camps at BitF and we want to exceed that number this year.  If you need help to make your project happen you can apply for an art grant, theme camps are part of our mandate for art just as much as an art piece. Theme camps are the core of our creativity and participation!  Your theme camp should create an ambiance, a visual presence, in some way provide a communal space or activity.

We can do way more together than on our own! Consider working with your friends now to bring a theme camp to BitF. Theme camps can be as simple as providing a service such as coffee camp, or as elaborate as creating an interactive art installation, or chill space. Perhaps you can build on your theme cabin ideas from Recompression!  Your theme camp should create an ambiance, a visual presence, in some way provide a communal space or activity. Stay simple, fun and expressive! We have lots of room to create a happening ‘esplanade’ along the beach.

Ways to participate

Take a lead position. If you have some organizational experience, whether in this community or elsewhere and you want to take on a bit more responsibility then this may be for you. Fill out the Team lead application form in the side menu and the leads will be appointed at the first planning meeting.

Create a theme camp. Get together with a group of people and organize a theme camp. This can be a great way to give to the community and fun to work with others. Once you have your plans worked out fill out the Theme Camp Questionaire  in the side menu. The theme camp coordinator will then be in touch for placement. If you are a camp that is using amplified sound in any way – please fill out the Sound Camp Questionaire.

Performers/musicians/theatre/dj’s. There are many talented performers in our community. The chance to inspire, amuse, or delight us with your talents. Theme camps may offer the opportunity or perhaps you may help create the stage. Any performers are encouraged to contact theme camps to offer your talents. The volunteer coordinator can help connect you. DJ’s are asked to contact sound camps who will be organizing their own DJ line ups. There will be lots of opportunity to play and perform.

Create an art installation. We have an initial 4 art grants available up to the amount $500. Fill out the application under art grants to apply. The deadline for applications is April 30th. Also contact the art placement coordinator for placement at BitF. As we sell more tickets there may be smaller art grants to be announced at the begining of June.

Workshops. Do you have a skill or knowledge that you would like to teach? Workshops are a fun and interactive way of giving back.

Volunteer. There are many opportunities to volunteer under the various teams. Such as Rangers, Gate/greeters, DPW, transportation, performances, building the effigy. Look through the information provided by the team leads under contacts in the side menu. Or contact the Volunteer coordinator under production team, who will help you to find the best place to use your skills.

As a group we follow the 10 guiding principle, as proposed by Burning Man.

• Radical Inclusion Anyone may be a part of The event. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.
• Gifting The event is devoted to acts of gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.
• Decommodification In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.
• Radical Self-reliance The event encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources.
• Radical Self-expression Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.
• Communal Effort Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.
• Civic Responsibility We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state and federal laws.
• Leaving No Trace Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.
• Participation Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart.
• Immediacy Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience.