PolyParadise - 2024 - Wrap-up

    Saturday December 28, 2024

    It is hard to believe another year in BRC has come & gone...The Village of PolyParadise 2024 was absolutely incredible and our best collective effort yet at creating this amazing On-Playa home we call The Village of PolyParadise, As we venture to the Playa each year there are always challenges and together we find a way to make things right, together we build an amazing space within the gates of BRC, a place to really call home in the desert.

    Each year as Benevolent Dictator, I learn more and more about why I love all things Burning Man, why I love all things Village of PolyParadise.

    Of course there is an amazing personal journey for me, but it is the journey I watch in others, their self-discovery, their triumphs as well as low points, watching people grow and blossom.

    This section of the Year in Review; The Wrap-up is my way of thanking all of the amazing people that assist us in creating PolyParadise, not only On-Playa but all year-round here in Phoenix. I am taken aback by those that give even when they are not PolyParadise campers or give to the community even if the Playa is not in their travel plans.

    Here-in are my THANK YOU's for Burning Man 2024...This list in not an all-inclusive list and if I left someone or something out it is not because I was unaware of your contribution it is just a minor oversight and is in no particular order. EACH ONE OF YOU HAD A PART AND A HAND IN MAKING US THE SUCCESS WE WERE!!

    The first Thank You has always been reserved for my Life Partner, Wife, Friend & companion, WildChild!!! She continues to be an awesome inspiration for all things Burning Man, stands by me in my ever increasing need to volunteer. Thank you my love!!!

    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 ((Armella, Corvus, Sandman, Cactus Man, Neefer, JimyMac, Goddess Ivy, Zeus, Bob, Kim, Dr. Dirt, Daniel, Canyon, Starfish, Dave, Dance Boy, Laura, Ken, Becky, Luna Tickles, Missy, Sam, Scott, Charles , Randy, TC, Caerrean, Loophole,  Sprinkman, Bill, Brandon). Back in the day circa 2006 it was only WildChild & I that represented Arizona in PolyParadise.  It is amazing to have had 28 AZBurners in our camp this year. Thank you all so very much!!!

    Thanks to the Truck Packing & Unpacking Crew! It is so much fun to share the excitement of PolyParadise hitting the road with all of you!!! As well as that feeling as we Unpack with everything and get re-playafied once again. You guys are GREAT!

    Thank you to the 67 International campers from (Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Israel, Mexico, Qatar, Spain, United Kingdom, Vietnam). 

    Special thanks to all the Playa Virgins that decided to make PolyParadise their First Home on the Playa. I hope your experience was awesome and that Burning Man, The Playa, BRC and the rest of us instilled in you a LOVE for the week leading up to Labor Day that your excitement will have you camping again with us next year. Each of you gave & gave & gave of your time & effort and we all Thank You.

    A VERY SPECIAL CALLOUT to Trevor for taking a 28-Day vacation from Edmonton Canada and OHHH SOOO being the ALL AROUND RIGHT HAND of what we created. I LOVE YOU Brother - You have such a community heart and the muscles to back that up.  Thanks for being the BBQ Charcoal CZAR for Trash Can Pizza & Turkey. I very much enjoyed working with you and spending some quality BRO time with you on our Playa walks. I depend on you for a lot on site and you are always there with a smile and of course your community HEART! 

    A HUGE THANK YOU to ALL CAMPERS for making our new model of camp responsibilities Volunteeratoldism a SUCCESS.  I was not sure that doing away with Middle Management (Leads) was the right answer but this new model proved to be very viable and I Thank each camper for stepping up to their One (1) randomly assigned job/task.

    Early Arrival - Many, Many thanks to all of our Early Arrival crew. Kudos go out to all of you for your tireless efforts to get the camp erected and all systems connected. You guys ROCK!!!

    Special Callout to Alex; I consider myself LUCKY to have you as a friend and as a PolyParadise Camper.  Thank you for taking on making the spaghetti of electrical cords from one side of the kitchen towards the generator.  You are AWESOME!!!

    Thanks to Guami of The Twisted Swan for pushing thru the process of renting the 26' container truck; what a great idea for both camps to be able to store the gear that doe snot need to be transported back/forth to our home spaces each year.

    With the ability from Placement to get a limited number of campers in on Thursday & Friday we were able to make up the fact that we arrived On-Playa a full day later than usual.  All of you worked double time in getting the trucks emptied and the start of what would become The Village of PolyParadise. The crew was awesome!!! We rocked the house and had the entire infrastructure up & functional by Sunday Noon. thank you all so much for doing what needed to be done, being out in the Sun & Dust; making PolyParadise happen On-Playa!!!

    Many thanks to Trevor, Cactusman & Skippy being the designated drivers of the RV and 2nd U-Haul Truck and for getting the Pin Flags set for the layout of PolyParadise, Twisted Swan and the RV service Roads in a timely manner.

    Major Kudos to the organizers of all of our Playa Events. 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. Poly High Tea - Human Carcass Wash, 3D UV-Light Experience, Intro to Shabari, Liquid Love, Intro to Fun with your Bum, Conscious Connected Breathe Work, Best Sex - living with STD's, "UN" Birthday Party and of course EVERY DAY & The Temple of Bacchus & EVERY NIGHT @ THE TWISTED SWAN!!!

    Speaking of the Carcass Wash...Many thanks go to Touch and EVERY CAMPER that assisted each day heading up the Human Carcass Wash. A HUGE THANKS to everyone else who helped with Setup & Cleanup and to those that ran the event each day.

    Thanks to every camper that assisted WildChild in all things Burning Man 2024.  We thought that 2023 was a big deal being 8 weeks post Hip-Replacement Surgery; well this year she was on a lounge type chair that collapsed and ripped a large portion of the skin off the back of her leg near the ankle to mid-calf.  I very much appreciate all that took care of her during the week and made sure she was OK at every turn. SPECIAL CALLOUT to TC, Caerrean and Canyon for transport to Medical several times as well as caring for the wound.

    MAJOR KUDOS to Trevor - our electrical GURU.  The (2) Honda EU 7000W we rented in conjunction with the Battery Brick and the two Yellow Distro boxes we were able to provide a way for us to have continual power to the Shower & Sink pumps and critical lights within the Kitchen & Community space when the Generator was off or had run out of gas. 

    Special thanks to Skippy; I depended on you quite a bit for many many many things and you were always willing to do the work - even the dirty work.  I appreciate you LOTS!

    Thanks to all those that provided meals for the Early Arrival Crew Meal Plan. It was awesome to have food available to us after a hard days work ERECTING PolyParadise. Thanks so much to Monica for making food for the teardown crew.

    Thanks to ALL CAMPERS that came by in April for the annual Work-Party. Look forward to seeing you all again in 2025.

    Thanks to everyone who provided & prepared food for Community Meals, Washing Dishes, all who helped out when it was needed, for taking garbage home with you, for knowing what building community & sharing community is all about.

    Thanks to Dr. Dirt for all you do for our community and especially for taking WildChild & I out for a night of Playa Art in your Golf Cart.

    Kudos to Canyon for distributing the RV Service Placards and for making sure that when USS arrived for service that they knew which RV's were to be serviced on that specific day.

    MAJOR Thanks to all our veteran & NEW BRC Rangers in our camp - we appreciate your service to the Playa Citizens!!!!

    Thanks to Guami and the ENTIRE Twisted Swan & Temple of Bacchus camps for joining our village - what an awesome thing to have a BAR as part of our camp space.

    Thanks to all the Takedown Crew of the Human Carcass Wash and for transporting all the STUFF back 200' near the rented container for packing.

    Thanks to everyone that went out with us as a camp to watch the Man BURN!  There are many people you can spend the BURN with - I was so happy that over 60 people made the trek out with us and saw those HUGE FIREBALLS THAT ROCKED THE MAN'S BALLS together.

    Thanks to all of our campers that create ART outside of camp - in 2025 I want to make sure we have something within the Community Space that highlights who you are and where your Art piece is located so all of our campers can get a chance to see them.

    Special thanks to the Burning Man Shopping Day Crew (Corvus, Kimcycle, Jellybean, Canyon, Starfish, Don, Kickstand, Craig) Spending $2,800 of your money then unpacking it all - Thanks so much!!!

    Thanks to all campers that brought clothes and accessories for the clothing exchange - what an awesome space to find new digs to wear and look amazing!!!

    Many thanks to Kristen aka Bolt Cutter for using her placarded vehicle for a few days of our Camp Ice Runs!!

    MAJOR KUDOS to Monica for ALL THE THINGS!! Creating instructional signs everywhere, creating a shaded workspace between the two rental trucks, monitoring the coolers of food & ice, for dealing with ME and all the things that need to be done everyday of being in BRC!

    Special callout to all the campers that took on the task of creating and doing all the things Trash Can Pizza and everyone that that assisted in eating said 30 Pizzas.

    Special thanks to Sarah for taking on the task of making PolyParadise B.E.D (Bureau of Erotic Discourse) compliant; for all campers male/female to feel that PolyParadise is safe space for whatever your pursuit might be; for us to have a formal compliant system for campers as well as Trevor & I as leads.

    Callout to Loophole for assisting several of our campers with RV issues, Generator issues or just being the handyman with the tools and skills to know that this is the thing that needs fixing; appreciate YOU and your knowledge and willingness to help.

    Special Thanks to Kickstand, Craig, for coming over to our house a weekend in December to get The Man erected again in our backyard.

    KUDOS & SPECIAL THANKS to Touch!!! First for being YOU, your laugh and amazing community Heart & Body are INFECTIOUS!!!  Thanks for all things Human Carcass Wash which celebrated 26YRS in BRC & 300+ participants daily!

    SPECIAL THANKS to our 2024 Benefactor for donating the funds for us to purchase a New Shower, Hand Washing Stations and new silver tarps for all the shade structures.

    The most SPECIAL of SPECIAL THANKS is reserved for my Partner & Wife WildChild!! Your love of everything Burning Man, Community, Hard Work, artistic talent and love of people is inspiring. Never let that light dim.

    To those that camped elsewhere or who were unable to make BM this year, your spirit was always part of PolyParadise, and know that you were deeply missed & loved in this group.

    As each year passes; the journey of BRC & PolyParadise just gets better & better; this only happens because there is so much love and effort from all of you; a love of PolyParadise; a Love of Burning Man and of Community. There are so many people that give of themselves, give without thinking about how long it will take or how heavy something is, so many people that give of themselves!!

    Burning Man is a year-round event at our house; we take the contents of our garage out to the desert and create together an amazing, loving space on the hallowed ground of the Black Rock Desert. Thank you ALL for assisting me in creating PolyParadise.

    I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!!

    Only 238 days until we Burn again. Each of those days will have thoughts of all you and how good I feel having each of you as my friends and part of my family - Playa Love.

    Scotto
    - Camp Daddy
    - Benevolent Dictator Village of PolyParadise
    - Burning Man Lifer/Geek/Zealot