PolyParadise - 2010 - What Worked
Tuesday December 7, 2010
As each Playa year passes I use this space to reflect on our collective
experience as a Theme Camp, as Benevolent Dictator what I see we did right and
what we did wrong; where we can improve for the following year. With each
passing year PolyParadise gets better & better, attracts more people as a camp
and to it's events.
I thank you all for being part of the 12th Anniversary
of PolyParadise.
I offer my own observations and as always welcome Comments, Praises, Bitches &
Roses for areas of your concern as campers that I have not
addressed. Please post to our Yahoo Group, generate
some chatter; let's get PSYCHED!!! 264 Days!!
We did have our fair share of Camper Medical issues that necessitated the
calling of Rangers & EMT services. Most of the incidents were for
dehydration, I cannot stress enough the necessity of drinking enough
water. Other calls were related to persons ingesting 'Baked Goods'.
It is not enough to know your pharmacist, but it is also important for you to
know your own limits. Start out with smaller portions, you can always ask
for more...Enough said...
You all should be very proud of the Community you created & nurtured all week
long.
****PolyParadise****
PolyParadise's population increased by 28 campers in 2010, to an On-Playa
total of 168. Within our borders there was an additional 27 people; who did not
use the camp infrastructure, who wanted to be part of us but separate, I know
they all enjoyed their Playa Address. Total population 195.
We had 71 veteran campers return and 97 new campers and of that number 53
VIRGINS. I thank all of the returning campers for making PolyParadise your Playa
home, I so depend on each & everyone of you in making our camp an amazing loving
space. I hope that all of our Virgin campers have seen what Community really
means, and I hope that you will all camp with us again.
I hope that everyone had an amazing time as a PolyParadise Resident.
Our 2010 Playa footprint gave us the necessary space to give each camper enough
area to erect whatever infrastructure they brought to the Playa, enough space
for our Community Shade/Kitchen, Event Space and Human Carcass Wash. As well as defined
walkways thru camp that made getting from the ends of the camp to the Community
Space easier. The
Community Space, Serving Area & Kitchen was an INCREDIBLE space in both day
light and at night.
PolyParadise continues to be a ‘Camp Drama Free Zone’, I mean everyone seems to
get along, no assaults, no fisticuffs between campers.
I am so very lucky that over the years so many people have stepped up On-Playa
to get things done. I have often said; within camp I have a
Hypnotherapist (Hypno), a real life Rocket Scientist (Twist) and a true to life
MacGyver (Tailfeather) and a Garbage Man (Stagger). If something goes wrong
On-Playa and they cannot fix what is wrong, then we just do not need it, and can
do without it. Thank you's many times over to the four (4) of you!!!
A special Callout to all Rangers & Medical Staff that cared for campers of
PolyParadise and all Playa Citizens. Your dedication and sharing of your heart
and skills is a real gift to our Community and I thank you so much.
Congratulations & Kudos to Sista Turtle Dove & Camber for
becoming Rangers at Thursday's pinning ceremony. We
all appreciate your effort & service to the greater good
of the Playa Citizenry, know we are proud of you both.
****Playa Location****
Our Theme Camp Registration did not specify a Playa location preference as much
as size allocation. I was very pleased with our Playa footprint & location. Our
location @ 4:15 & Edinburg was ideal, a stones throw away
from our 2009 address. We had great neighbors whom we
shared with all week. We had awesome foot
traffic in our Community Space and incredible attendance at all of our camp events.
I would certainly be in favor of being given the same Playa Location
for 2011.
What were your impressions of 4:15 & Edinburg to
Florence?
****Kitchen & Stuff****
In 2010 PolyParadise continued with the Community related ‘Requirement’ that was
to be part of the daily cleanup or cooking & sharing a meal. The Community
Kitchen was an awesome success! Thanks so much to Hypnoburn and all of his
helpers that maintained the kitchen all week long.
The kitchen & serving areas encompassed a full 40'x40' and allowed for a much
larger prep area and better ingress & egress into and out of the kitchen area.
With the addition of four (4) more 3-Burner Cast Iron stoves, we had plenty of cooking
surface area.
We had plenty of snacks for everyone, and all seemed
satisfied with the selections available.
Thanks to everyone that took the time & effort to create some awesome meals all
week long. There were so many great courses served each day. Thanks to everyone
who assisted with Trash Can Pizza & Trash Can Turkey!!! Thanks to everyone who
cleaned up, picked up, MOOPED up.
Dishwashing and keeping the Pots/Pans washed and available for the next person
was much better this year as some campers used this option as their contribution to
the camp. Thank you everyone who washed dishes!!!
Was disappointed that the
2010 MOOP MAP
showed our camp area with two RED areas. Not sure what is what with that
as we had several people stay until Tuesday to clean our camp site. An
overlay of the
Playa gives a better view; it would appear that the areas
correspond to the Event Space and an area adjacent to the Poly Dome. I do hope that the
'Powers
That Be' provide feedback as to what made those areas RED so that we can do
better in 2011. Regardless of what the MOOP Map says; Thank you to everybody that
helped all week long and to those that stayed for teardown and beyond...You guys
ROCK for making those last sweeps through our space.
We do need to better enclose the
kitchen area to make it a bit more windproof so the
burners on the stoves stay lit. I have considered
purchasing an Army Tent (16'x30') it weighs in @ 450lbs
and a shipped cost of $1600, and of course is one more
structure we need to put up & take down. I think
worth trying is rotating the two structures
(Kitchen/Serving Area & Community Space) so that the
straight edge meets instead of the peak. Using tarps
to 'Wall Off' 20' (10' on either side), having a 20'
opening (in the middle) between the two structures to
better manage wind thru the kitchen.
We need to purchase several sets of oven mitts for
moving hot pots & pans on and off the stoves.
During the annual Work-Party in March as we clean the
kitchen stuff we need to get rid of unneeded items as we
seem to have accumulated multitudes of several items,
redundancy is not always a good thing.
It is
incredible how many disposable plates we went thru , by
Saturday morning we were close to running out; regardless
I am convinced that going the disposable route is better
than having regular tableware - having to constantly
clean dishes & silverware.
Note: For Burning
Man Shopping Day - Buy LOTS More Plates & Bowls.
The Dish Washing area either needs to be covered and or
shaded or located in the main kitchen area so people are
not out in the sun getting a Tan/Burn while doing dishes.
The structures for the kitchen consist of four (4)
20'x20's - These structures need to be transformed into two (2)
20'x40's to reduce the number of poles in the middle of
that space. Additional fittings, poles & tarps will
need to be purchased.
With regards to Syrup - We had many campers volunteer to make pancakes/waffles
or things that needed syrup. The food items were delicious & tasty but each
person brought their own supply of syrup, which means we have lots & lots of
syrup. We now have enough syrup for pancakes/waffles to feed several armies. So
if you plan to cook Pancakes/Waffles for 2011 WE HAVE SYRUP, no need to bring
anymore.
Having the Menu & Volunteer list printed in a 3'x5' poster size board displayed in the
Kitchen was awesome, it let everyone know what was going to be cooked at
each meal and who volunteered for what events. Of course did not plan for the
rain, it was interesting to see how the poster board
curled and distorted after getting wet.
Thanks so much to Stagger for heading up the Trash area and to everyone that
assisted in bagging, tagging & tapping up trash. More importantly, thanks to all of you
for taking some trash home. We generate this trash as a camp, we need to deal with
its removal from the Playa as a Community. Because of your efforts and
commitment and Love of Community Trash…We transported ZERO bags of trash off the
Playa in the truck. We did have 5 buckets of general slop, generator oil, left
over food stuff slop, the remnants of many a thing on the Playa.
Thanks again go to Twist for the Dishwashing Station. A marvelous portable
double sink with drain…A great design; easy setup and durable enough to last
another Playa Year.
****Community Meals****
In 2010 PolyParadise had a Community related ‘Requirement’ that was to be
part of the daily cleanup or cooking & sharing a meal. The meals and the variety
of all things cooked was amazing!!!! There was never a want for food, there was
always choices.
Special callout to everyone that assisted in the creation of Trash Can Pizza
on Tuesday, Of course to UncleBob for coming up with this crazy idea. Thanks to for everyone that
assisted with Trash Can Turkey and a HUGE Thanks to Trevor, Hypno & Mr. Bird for jumping right in
and carving up all 4 turkeys while an anxious crowd awaited food…Amazing!!!
Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to the planning, cooking,
serving & cleanup of each and every meal. Thanks to all who contributed to the
AZBurner Pot Luck. For when we share a meal and break bread together we grow
from just being friends to being FAMILY!
***Community Space****
The space itself was
awesome, area for chairs, pillows, crash space and the massage table. Thanks
again to Dr. J for that wonderful gift to the community.
I thought the space worked out well with the Community
Space, Serving Area, Kitchen all just one big connected
space, though with the Community Space portion having
cammo net, there is a
significant breeze
that comes thru
the kitchen and messes with the stove flames.
As
our population grows so must our infrastructure, the
Community Space needs to be increased to 40'x40' adding an
additional 10'x40' area. The structures for the
Community Space consist of two (2) 20'x30's - These
structures need to be transformed into two (2) 20'x40's Additional fittings, poles &
tarps will need to be purchased.
The space really kicked ass at night. With all the lights, the Glow Stick
Arches, Lighted Signs, Rope Light…It was really an awesome sight!! Thanks to
everyone that helped create such an amazing space.
The EL-Wire
PolyParadise sign sustained damage on the return from the
Playa and is non-functional. Time for a new
design...WildChild get your creative hat on...
****Playa Events****
This was an amazing year for PolyParadise Playa Events. We had lots of amazing
events that drew large crowds each day. Being able to have a separate space away
from our main Community Space has had a huge impact.
Poly High Tea - Human Carcass Wash - Greater Intimacy thru Hypnosis - The Heart
of Now - Mind Melt - The Four Agreements - Thoughts on Healing - Past Life
Regression - AZBurner Pot Luck
Major Judos to the organizers _Greg & Crew (HCW), Facilitators &
participants of Poly High Tea,
BrotherLuv (Mind Melt) , Keith & Lenel (Heart of Now) , WildChild
(The Four Agreements) & Hypno (Greater Intimacy thru Hypnosis, Thoughts on
Healing - Past Life Regression). You
all are aces in my book!!! Thanks to everyone who assisted in each and every
event. The events are as much for us as a camp as well as sharing with the Playa
Citizenry.
The Event Space dimensions at 20'x40' was not big enough
to accommodate the multitudes of attendees at our events.
This space needs to be increased to 40'x30'. We can use
the 20'x30' tarps from the Community Space; additional
fittings & poles will need to be purchased.
The Human Carcass Wash space was increased to 40'x30' and worked out well in
accommodating the crowds that participate in this event
each day. During Monday's wind/rain storm some of
the poles were bent and will need to be replaced.
****Perfect Place for Poly Play****
We all must collectively thank Tailfeather for his amazing efforts on the Poly
Playa Space. Each year the space has evolved and creates an awesome addition to
our Community. A space to let loose, a space to explore sexually. Thank you
Tailfeather. Thanks to everyone that assisted in the assembling & teardown of
the dome.
Again, I thank Tailfeather and everyone involved in this project for all their
efforts in making a Playful Space for Poly Play.
I do think we would benefit from having some type of air freshener,
Febreeze or something; the smell of sexuality was a bit
overwhelming to me when I was in the space. I
realize that some might find that smell intoxicating, but I
am going to go on the side of freshness.
****Poly Shower****
Major kudos again go to Tailfeather & Twist for the shower base & frame the
worked very well again this year. We did try and make the shower surface a bit less slippery
with non-skid strips, they only seem to last one Playa visit as they spend a
fair amount of time underwater, but are an
essential part of making our shower safe.
After
arriving On-Playa we realized we did not have the canvas
covering for the shower; Thanks to Twist for engineering a
cover with a tarp and clamps. Upon our return
Post-Playa we did find the covering, right there in the
garage, not sure why it did not make it on the truck when
we were packing.
Thanks to Twist, the shower drain had an identical pump system to the kitchen
sink. When the water level filled the container, the pump would turn on and
shoot the water to the storage tank. Well Done TWIST!
There were several
instances where the drain backed up, that is because as
humans we shed hair, will need to come up with a way to
make the drain trap a bit bigger to let that stuff fall
through and not back up the drain.
****Survival Guide****
2010 marked the third year of the PolyParadise Survival Guide. The
survival guide was emailed to all campers upon registration and was available via
the web site for review. I hope that each of you found it useful.
****Gray Water Reclamation****
Our Gray Water disposal was again assisted by Twist with the drain system for
the sink and the shower that emptied into the holding tank provided by Sani-Hut, this system provides us as a camp a
no-worry way to deal with the Gray Water issue.
The battery backup
system we purchased to have the pumps able to run if the
generator was off did not work out as we anticipated, we
will need
to test this system before Playa 2011.
The Tank delivery, service and pickup were without incident and thanks have been
given to Sani-Hut. Over the course of the week we generated just over 1750
Gallons of Gray Water. We will again be using the services of Sani-Hut in 2011 for our Gray Water collection & disposal, it is well worth the
cost.
During the week Sani-hut serviced the tank on Thursday, but by
Monday breakdown the tank was just about full. While
we were breaking down the camp, there were campers dumping
excess Non-Gray Water into the tank, this lead to an
overflow of the tank, totally full at 1000 gallons. Sani-hut
came by on Monday to take the tank, but had to return on
Tuesday as they did not have enough room in in their
tanker truck to accommodate 1000 gallons.
To avoid this
issue we can do two things;
Please do not dump
non-gray water in the tank, if you had room
to bring it to the playa you have enough room to take it
off-playa.
We can also contract with Sani-Hut for an
additional service of the tank before the end of the
event, will need to inquire with them as to the additional
costs.
***Garbage, Garbage, Garbage****
Report from our Garbage Czar - Stagger - As Garbage Czar I
feel it incumbent on me to comment on the handling of our
trash at PolyParadise....Everyone did a GREAT job !!!
Folks separated their trash wonderfully. Even during
the AZ Burner's night (which usually requires much extra
vigilance) trash separation worked well.
To the
Poly camper who came to Scotto and complained that, though
he had paid his camp fee, he did not get his promised bag
of trash, I sincerely apologize. I attempted to leave
everyone a bag of trash and if you were overlooked the
fault is mine.
To those campers who took extra
bags... BIG TIME KUDO's and my heartfelt thanks. I know
Knotch and Shadow took out several bags of plastic
containers that were left when everything was distributed
and the truck packed. As near as I can tell, nothing was
left behind.
Thank you, everyone for your help and
cooperation. You all made my job much easier this year !!!
**************
Please all thank Stagger with me for taking on this
daily chore; thank you all for taking Community Generated
Trash Off-Playa; major kudos to anyone and everyone that
transported more than one bag, you are aces in my book.
****Generator Power****
When it comes to the camp’s Generator, there is someone who needs special
THANKS!!! TWIST!!! Hats off to you my Right Hand Rocket Scientist!!!!
The generator worked flawlessly for another Playa year.
It
is now in the capable hands of Twist who will be
'Decarburizing' the unit and doing other necessary maintenance.
Thank you again TWIST!!!
****Carpets, Carpets, Carpets****
Over the past 10 yrs we have been accumulating carpets for
the flooring of our Community Space & Event Space.
Over the past 10 yrs these carpets have in turn been
accumulating Playa Dust. Now of course I am the
first one to say that 'I LOVE PLAYA DUST' and 'I
LOVE HAVING CARPET TO SIT ON' - but the carpets
themselves have become to heavy with the embedded Playa
Dust, take up way to much room in our garage and the truck; and became
even more embedded with Playa Mud as we had rain on the
Playa for the first time in 10 yrs.
The carpets
have already been disposed of and will not be returning to
BRC. We will be purchasing a few pieces of carpet
for our walkway into the camp, but the Community & Event
Spaces will no longer be carpeted. We will be using
the canvas tarps as we have used for years in the kitchen.
These can be purchased as big as 20'x20'. In
addition, I think we would benefit from
replacing many of the smaller 9'x12' pieces from the
kitchen to reduce the number of seams between tarps.
****AZBurners Pot Luck****
The AZBurner Pot Luck Party on Wednesday was a SMASHING SUCCESS!!!
We did not have as large an AZBurner crowd this year as we have in past years,
not sure why. There were several other parties that
day On-Playa including the Santa parade that many
AZBurners participated in. But those that did attend a
great time hanging out, eating, drinking and having a
GREAT
TIME for well over 2 hours. I thank all of you that contributed some
Food-Stuff to the Pot Luck and helped clean up afterwards. I hope you all
had an AMAZING time hanging out with all of our
Arizona Friends.
****Camping Fee - 2011****
Our main source of income to cover the costs of bringing
PolyParadise to Black Rock City each year is thru the Camp Fee. The trend
over the past few years has been that nearly 60% of our campers
are either Playa VIRGINS or first time campers with PolyParadise. We have
been averaging only 40% return veterans. I do not think we can
assume that we will continually hit that magic number of campers, to cover the
costs of running PolyParadise.
With the additional infrastructure purchases that need to be made for 2011, the
PolyParadise Camping Fee will be raised to $170/camper, that is
an increase of $35. We ended 2010 with a positive balance of
$1,356; but year-to-year budgeted costs always seem to be
outspent by the actual costs, for things like fuel. I realize that an
additional $35 may put a financial strain on some of our
potential campers, but in the end it is about having enough money to cover our budget. So start planning & saving now.
Next up on the agenda for me, is setting the basics of the budget for 2011 with
the best guesstamte of costs we will incur; should be finished by February 2011.
Registration for PolyParadise will begin on March 1, 2011...
****Camp Additions****
Many, Many thanks to Peter for providing the Hynie Hygene
Station, it was a great success, I am sure you had fun as
well as those you pampered.
Thanks to Mr. Bird &
Jenybe for the Jailbait Bar, what a great concept; guess
the candy flavored vodka. Each night you opened the
bar there was a crowd of eager drinkers and guessers.
Kudos to Smokeybear & Much2naughty for the two bike
racks. Once they were up there were bikes parked in
them.
****Early Arrival & Exodus****
Early Arrival
-
Many, Many thanks to all of our Early Arrival crew. Kudos go out to
Hypno, Dio, Aurelia, Jayme & Danni, Sista, Brotherluv,
Tailfeather, Merlin, Lightworker, Twist, Shadow, Knotch,
FlyingFish, Stagger, Touch, StealthAngel, Poje, Unity, Mark,
Stephanie, Kathryn, Mary, Miss Scarlett, Cristal Light, Camber,
Mr Bird & JenyBe. for their tireless efforts to get the
camp erected and all system connected. You guys ROCK!!!
We set the camp up over several days, but we take it down
in just a few hours, it is a massive undertaking that
requires lots & lots of hands. You cannot be
'Required' to stay and assist with breakdown, but know
that each and every one of you that did help are so very
much appreciated. This years crew was incredible. Thank
you all so much for doing the dirty work and being there
to pack away our community for another year.
****Those Amazing AZBurners****
BIG BIG Kudos
- To our fellow AZBurners who are always available to assist during the
year; for Truck Loading & Unpacking; carrying, cleaning, sorting and building
PolyParadise year-round here in Phoenix. Special Thanks to (UncleBob, Jayme &
Danni, Sista, Poje, Big Phreekie, Twist, Passout, Redeye, Alien, Cactusman,
Corvus, Sandman) You are all ACES in my book!!! Thank you all so
very much!!!
2010 was my 11th Burn and the 9th serving as Camp Daddy, Benevolent Dictator of
PolyParadise. We gather together from all corners of the globe to share,
learn & grow - a passion & commitment to Community and lifelong
friendships created on the hallowed grounds of BRC and within the borders of
PolyParadise. I cannot imagine my life without Burning Man or PolyParadise. I
thank you all for being part of it all with me.
The Burning Man/PolyParadise experience is different for each person. It is my
hope that each of you felt you had a home & a family within the borders of
PolyParadise and that each one of you had the MOST AWESOME TIME EVER!!! I hope
that if you return to Burning Man again, you will camp with us and again help
create the Community we love, PolyParadise in BRC!
There is an extra special Callout; reserved to my Life Partner, Wife, Friend & companion,
WildChild. You teach me each day the value of a Big Heart and are constantly
there all year long with a smile, encouragement and new ideas to make the
Burning Man/PolyParadise experience better & better each year. You are
there to meet each challenge, you are there for our campers and most importantly
you are there for me, I am forever yours.
Again, it has been my pleasure and honor serve as your Camp Daddy (Benevolent
Dictator). Each year brings a different set of challenges, a different set of
lessons to be had & learned or stumbled upon; you just never know what the Playa
will bring....
We will learn from our mistakes, we will again come alive with PolyParadise,
Version 13, it will be better than ever!!!
August 29 - September 5, 2011 - 264 days left till Burning Man!
Scotto
-
Camp Daddy
- Benevolent Dictator
- Burning Man Lifer/Geek/Zealot