A Potential Return to BRC 2021

February 18, 2021

Burning Man has posted this Journal Entry in which they are starting the process of a potential return to Black Rock City 2021. Lots of unknowns - Lots of more details to be announced.

At this point with to many unknowns to count and at this moment international borders closed let alone unknowns about vaccine distribution & variants of Covid; I believe that as far as PolyParadise I am not comfortable in taking the camp to BRC 2021.

You have already read in previous posts that Thunderdome - Orgy Dome and I am sure other large & small Theme Camps have already made the decision to not attend a BRC 2021 - Now with this decision by BMHQ all 1400+ Theme Camp Organizers are going to be faced with these same questions & quandaries.

There are MANY UNKNOWNS:

They indicate that the population will be reduced but no indication as to by how much. Whatever the reduction in the total # of tickets to BRC as a whole there will be a reduction in the allocation to each camp in a potential DGS Sale. How do I decide who gets a reduced # of tickets? In 2020 there were campers that paid camps fees that I could not provide refunds to - Do they get them first? Do they go to those that are part of the setup crew?

If we as a Village OPT OUT of 2021 what does that do to our DGS allocation for a return in 2022?

In conversations last summer with Guami (Lead of Twisted Swan & Bacchus) @ that time his mindset was a GO for 2021 if it was to be planned - As a Village all DGS Ticket Sales are under one umbrella - would need to communicate with Placement to see how we could get them their own DGS Tickets in a BRC 2021 if they do decide to attend - then the question is would they return to our fold in 2022 or stay out on your own; which would affect our future Village DGS allocation. Another conversation will Guami will certainly need to happen to find out what direction they would be headed this year or in the future.

There is no indication at this point as to cost of tickets & Vehicle Passes; would they stay the same as 2019 prices? Go higher? You can guarantee they would not go down in price.

There is no indication if they would be NO REFUND Tickets if as they indicate that the event could still be in need of cancellation. Personally I donated my entire ticket order to BM in 2020 - Not really into doing that again if tickets were purchased - the event is cancelled and they end out being NO REFUND Tickets.

If the total population of BRC is reduced then the # of tickets in any particular sale will be reduced | Less # of tickets in DGS | Main Sale | Scholarship | potential OMG Sale.

ALL TICKET INFORMATION to be released in the coming months. I would hope that there are NO Ticket sales until the Go/No Go has been established.

They indicate - Proof of vaccination, rapid onsite testing, antibody verification, and negative test verification are being considered. Nothing has been decided yet, but some combination of the above is likely all but guaranteed if we return to BRC in 2021.

What happens if you have purchased a ticket and have not received said vaccination - are a person who will not get the vaccine for whatever reason - Test positive for Covid on attempted entry to BRC?

They indicate - Everyone will be encouraged to scale back this year where possible. We’ve all been affected by the pandemic, and many of us have suffered real hardship. We may have fewer resources, or smaller crews. It will be more difficult for all of us to gather, plan, and build. Let’s de-emphasize the big lift this year, and lighten up on the pressure to bring large-scale, high-cost infrastructure to BRC.

What does that mean for us? Bringing less infrastructure does not reduce our costs to produce the camp - The cost of Truck Rental | Generator Rental | Grey Water Issues are pretty much fixed costs. Our Camp Fees would at least stay the same @ $250/camper. A smaller PolyParadise population does mean that with a smaller # of campers it becomes more difficult to provide our meal plan in which 3-meals/day are provided by campers.

As we have had previous conversations about these issues on this FB Group and I am sure you have had on other FB Groups or other social media outlets - THIS IS A VERY CHARGED ISSUE - Everything that can be said Pro or Con about the vaccines or other testing methods/issues have already been aired. What is known is that those that have a particular viewpoint are not going to be convinced otherwise; so please do not berate me or each other here about someone's personal views on this issue - we are all entitled to those personal views even if they are very different then your own or group think.

I realize there will be some within our Village that will applaud my decisions and others that will be highly disappointed with a decision to forego BRC 2021. Know I very much want to return to BRC - Village Life - Playa Life - Trash Can Pizza/Turkey - The new UV-Light 40'x40' 3D Glasses experience - ALL OF YOU - COMMUNITY. I am just not sure that the risks to individuals is worth the group experience. I do not believe that the situation for all US & International attendees will change much in a few months (I could be wrong - Shots in Arms could dramatically increase - Covid Variants could be mitigated - International Border restrictions could be lifted).

With all that said as of February 18, 2021 I am VERY MUCH LEANING that PolyParadise will OPT OUT of BRC 2021. Final decisions will be made as more details are released about a potential BRC 2021 and where the GLOBAL Pandemic situation is as the days/months/variants rear their individual issues to us all.

Stay SAFE - Wear Masks - Keep local gatherings small - Love each other from afar.

Scotto
- Benevolent Dictator Village of PolyParadise