****Kitchen & Stuff****
In 2025 PolyParadise continued with the Community Kitchen related - Requirement - upon registration; to be part of the daily cooking/feeding ritual - make one meal for 25 people and be able to enjoy a smorgasbord of food the rest of the week. The Community Kitchen was an awesome success!
Thank you to every camper that assisted in the multiple iterations of the kitchen structure as we needed to build/rebuild them all over 4 separate weather days.
The kitchen & serving areas encompassed a full 60'x40' - the layout was awesome for ingress & egress of the kitchen area. The Grey Water Tanks, Dish Washing & Trash were placed along Placement created Service Road between PolyParadise/Twisted Swan.
The kitchen arrangement worked awesome with the coffee and snack area separated from the shelving with the pots & pans, spices, extra food and other kitchen implements.
The BBQ Grill & Flattop were placed in the middle of the back-end of the kitchen (along the '8:30 Radial) separate from the garbage area and kitchen sink grey water area that was next to the Trash area. This new layout worked amazing. On the 3rd rebuild of the kitchen we were able to create a 5 foot 'Door' on the 8:30 Radial as an emergency exit out of the kitchen.
We had plenty of snacks for everyone, and all seemed satisfied with the selections available. We did not come back home with very much - the purchase on Burning Man shopping day of types of snacks are at the mercy of what is available on that day @ Costco or what can be found via the amazing Amazon.
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. With so many international campers we are delighted to have such an out of country meal experience; thanks for sharing your unique cuisine with us. Thanks to all that assisted with Trash Can Turkey and creating a Thanksgiving Diner in BRC!. THANKS to Trevor for assisting me in all things CZAR's de CHARCOL.
Dishwashing and keeping the Pots/Pans washed and available for the next person continues to improve year to year as we as a community become better dish/pot washers and more aware that if we want clean pots & pans that the only way that is accomplished is by each of us doing some dishes during the week. If you DIRTY a Pot/Pan it is also YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to CLEAN said Pot/Pan; PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE IT FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO TAKE CARE OF.
The three standup kitchen sinks were raised up from their standard height by being placed on top of milk crates worked well so that no one had to bend over to wash dishes. The new sink gray water containment system with the sump pumps worked well and having sheets of plywood underneath did great to not have any service of said system to have to step in Wet Playa.
The 3-sinks we have are now 7-yrs old and upon setup it was noticed that at least one of them had a leak and needed to be patched in order to hold water. It is time to look at replacing the 3-sink structure with a more commercial 3-sink in one structure.
We did purchase new sump pumps they worked OK. They had the same 'Float' type mechanism so as the water level rises the float goes up as well and when at a max height the pump would turn on. This pump model float did not trip on as we expected; we are looking into a different type of submersible pump float system that will work better for our needs. We do need to look into some type of 'Fresh Smelling' liquid/powder whatever to be occasionally added to our Grey Water Troughs - when servicing and or takedown/emptying as we pack up it gets QUITE RANK!!
I realize that using the paper plates and plastic silverware creates additional trash, using personal tableware for camps mush smaller than ours is possible. For a large Theme Camp that serves 3 meals a day I am convinced that using disposable tableware is a better option; having to clean all that silverware for each meal. The cycle of continual washing your own dishes and silverware for each meal requires water - then disposal of additional waste water. We will continue to use paper plates and plastic silverware in 2026.
Having the Menu, Volunteer List & instructions for each of the Volunteeratoldism jobs responsibilities printed on a large poster board is paramount to letting all campers know what they are responsible for; of course having a fully erect kitchen structure in which the large poster boards would be displayed is also necessary. It was unfortunate that as the Kitchen continued to need to be rebuilt the 'walls' were not in place for these poster boards to be displayed. Once they were up on on display they worked great, letting everyone know what was going to be cooked at each meal and who volunteered for what events.
Thanks so much to all those that were assigned to Garbage Detail within the Volunteeratoldism model for effectively managing 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 have on avg. transport ~10-15 bags of trash off the Playa in past years; this year we had 12 bags to transport off-playa, we also had 10 buckets of general slop, generator oil, left over food stuff slop, the remnants of many a thing on the Playa.
Special thanks to our 2025 benefactor for donated funds that allowed us to purchase an additional Double-Sided (4) hand washing station.
****Food/Health Permit****
In 2025 we were required to apply for and adhere to the standards of a Nevada State Health Department Food Permit. This was the 10th year of this mandate for camps with a population over 125 serving community meals. The cost of the Food Permit was $50.
With our Official Food Permit prominently displayed within the kitchen; we were surprised that The Nevada State Health Department showed up on Monday morning. Their visit coincided with our 2nd rebuild of the kitchen from Sundays Wind/Rain event. The Health Dept. officials were very nice in allowing me to scramble to put together a Hand Washing Station; Get the sink setup with Wash, Rinse, Sterilize sections; Get the Bleach Spray Bottles ready for each prep area; Inspect all Community Coolers (Turkey, Tri-Tip, Hot Dogs, Chicken).
As the inspection was ongoing we made sure that we were complying with the stated rules, which included: Food Handler Gloves, Hand Washing Station (Hand Soap, Towels, Continual Flow Water) Bleach cleaning supplies, clearly visible menu, separate food preparation/serving areas, food thermometers, and clearly marked Community/Personal Coolers.
We always need to strive to have those preparing meals to wear the Food Handler Gloves (Will make sure to get some XL Size gloves for 2026: Food needs to be served to guests as opposed to guests severing themselves.
Going forward the Kitchen will be fully functional by Sunday Noon before a meal will be served. Our first community meal is Sunday Lunch; we will have the Hand Washing Stations and sinks setup as well as bleach spray bottles are ready at all food prep areas.
Our callout about Personal Coolers and the NEED to come to the Playa with ICE was met with great success - Thanks to you all for heeding that call out.
Here is the text from the Survival Guide 2025:
When you pack for your trip to BRC - your cooler should be ICED - When you are at the last stop on Rt. 80 (From the West (Sparks) - From the East (Fernley) before making the turn on HYW 447 heading towards Gerlach - YOUR COOLER SHOULD BE ICED!! When you arrive @ Burning Man your cooler should have ICE maybe somewhat melted but it should HAVE ICE!!
As a large Theme Camp we are required to have a Health Permit by the Nevada Health Dept. The Health Dept will visit our camp and make sure that we are adhering to all prescribed food preparation - serving - cleanup requirements. WE DID GREAT WITH THE PREPARATION - SERVING - CLEANUP aspects of the inspection in part to the efforts of our BUT WHERE WE STILL HAVE ISSUES IS WITH PERSONAL COOLERS THAT WERE PLACED IN THE KITCHEN THAT HAD NO ICE. The Health Dept will inspect all coolers and make sure that the contents of said cooler are at proper temperature. Obviously, coolers that have NO ICE or LIMITED ICE cannot possibly be at proper temperature. The contents of any cooler not cooled to proper temperature were DISCARDED!
WE HIGHLY ENCOURAGE - NO WE REQUIRE that you ICE DOWN YOUR COOLERS as you start your trip to the Playa and KEEP ICE LEVEL IN COOLERS AS REQUIRED during your trip.
This will ensure that when you cook your meal that NO ONE EATING YOUR FOOD WILL GET SICK! We will also be more proactive and do an ICE RUN on Sunday (Day 1) that any camper can use to make sure that when you arrive On-Playa that your cooler can be RE-ICED and your food can be kept to temperature and KEPT SAFE FOR EATING!!
ULTIMATELY KEEPING YOUR COOLER ICED - YOUR FOOD SAFE ON THE WAY TO BRC IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.
For those that choose to be Nude (Male & Female) - Your Bottom MUST BE COVERED while cooking or when in the food serving line.
****Community Meals****
In 2025 PolyParadise had a Community related - Requirement - upon registration, cooking & sharing a meal for 25. The meals and the variety of all things cooked were amazing!!!!
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. With so many international campers we are delighted to have such an out of country meal experience; thanks for sharing your unique cuisine with us.
Due to the Wind/Dust/Rain events - the kitchen was the structure that we concentrated on rebuilding each day as a functional cooking space is the calm during the storm.
Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to the planning, cooking, serving & cleanup of each and every meal. For when we share a meal and break bread together we grow from just being friends to being FAMILY!
Unfortunately due to weather related issues we did not get to do Trash Can Pizza on Tuesday; Sad Face!!!! Thanks to all that assisted with Trash Can Turkey and creating a Thanksgiving Diner in BRC!. Special callout to Trevor for joining me in being the CZAR's de CHARCOL.
Over the years campers have mentioned to me that they arrived for a meal and there was not enough food for them or that they saw some campers going back for seconds and when they had not gotten any food. I understand your complaints - meal times are set at two hour intervals 8:00a-10:00a 12:00p-2:00p 6:00p-8:00p - Policing who gets in line and how many times is not where we are headed.
Instead of raising the minimum amount that each person(S) cooks from 25 to 35 portions; which could potentially create waste and leftovers that we cannot store, and would put an additional financial burden on all campers as the meals are in addition to the camp fees.
The implemented solution for 2025 was to make sure that all campers knew that there was plenty of additional food within the kitchen pantry (Tuna - Pasta/Sauce - Beans - Macaroni & Cheese) of course that would need to be prepared in order to feed those that are still in line. I hope that that this in-part assisted with the issue on any one particular day/meal that the total amount of food created may be less than the total # of campers attempting to fill a plate.
OK so we provide extra food stuff (Tuna - Pasta/Sauce - Beans - Macaroni & Cheese) obviously that food stuff is in boxes/CANS/containers and needs to BE COOKED. I get that you arrive for some food and there is nothing left; please do not just complain or be mad - take 10 minutes - take something off the shelf and create some food for you and if you make enough I am sure there will be additional campers to consume such food.
Another issue aka a Clarification - For groups of one/two/three campers we require a meal to be cooked for 25 people. To be fair and to make sure that all meals are covered and have an adequate number of meals being cooked; If you are a group of three or more I will require at least two meals for 25. What I do not really want is for your group to all cook the same meal for 50 or 75; yes the food will be eaten but the real issue is making sure that each meal is covered and that all meals have an adequate amount of food available.
****Community Space/Event Space****
Due to the weather events (Saturday thru Wednesday) the Community Space/Event Space did not end out to be anything spectacular; and for that I take a lot of the blame. As we needed to rebuild our structures each day; the priority was the Kitchen structures and making sure that said kitchen continued to be functional.
As Thursday morning came and at least I felt that Burning Man had just started we successfully erected a Community Space (40'x80') and an Event Space (20'x40') with the remaining good Tarps and available non-bent 10' poles. We also erected a true frontage to the camp on the 8:30 radial with Camp Signs, Metal Man/Infinity Heart art piece (Which was purposely erected Upside Down) as an emblematic way to represent the Burn we had been dealt.
Special Callout to Alex/Morpho for adding an amazing Laser Drum Machine on top of the PolyParadise UV Sign - what an incredible art project that was different for every person who interacted with it. THANK YOU Alex/Morpho!
With that said; Thursday afternoon as we had moved the pile of Lights, Stereo/Speakers, Electrical Cords/ UV-Tapestries for the umpteenth time, I know I felt overwhelmed and just did not have motivation to put up lights and such as we would have had to take it all down in just a few days, so the pile of stuff just sat there staring at me and all of you. For that I apologize that my own motivation was lacking and that pile of stuff just stayed there and our Community/Event Space never materialized into the incredible space it could have been.
We have been using the same structure types for the past 27yrs; as good as they are they are labor intensive and take quite a bit of camper hours to erect as we erect (12) of the same structures each 20'x40'. We are actively researching a different type of Marquee Tent/Structure that would be easier to erect and with less camper hours. This does come with an increased cost over replacing the parts to the existing structures. These new Marquee type structures come with a cost of ~$6-10,000 per 20'x40'; so if purchased we would get (1) and see how it actually performs on-playa as well as erection/maintenance time.
One of of our other pain points is the flooring for the structures; we have been using the 20'x20' canvas tarps, they work great EXCEPT when they get wet; once wet the dried out canvas tarps are hard and unusable thus need replacement. With the rain from 2023 and 2025 we are the replacement cost is ~$180 each. A post-playa camper suggestion was to purchase used
vinyl billboards as an alternative to the canvas tarps. These may lend us to be able to 'Re-Use' them year to year as they should be able to get wet then when dry retain the ability for subsequent use without issue. We will purchase a few of these vinyl Billboards and see what happens; see if this will be a long term alternative to the canvas tarps we have been using.
Major thanks & kudos to Cactusman & Skippy for taking a 26' U-haul out of BRC on Saturday by 10:00p heading towards Reno/Sparks to attempt to find any available 10' EMT conduit pieces. Kudos because they did not return until Monday with a few spare pieces they were able to find.
I recently listened to the December 2025 Placement Campfire Talks on YouTube - some of the camps stated that they were looking to an alternative to the 'Silver Tarps' which of themselves become a sail with the Wind/Force and are what is the strength that bends the 10' EMT Conduit. The substitute they were looking at are Mesh type Tarps; a 20'x40' Mesh Tarp costs ~$1,500 in comparison to the Silver Tarp of the same dimension costs $250; kind of cost prohibitive to replace (12) for all of our structures. May look to replace (1) and see how it goes and performs in the Black Rock Desert.
