B u r n l o g

Firebird Festival
As the sunlight wanes and we approach the shortest day of the year, this festive evening in Phoenixville, PA will spark light as it brings the community together for stories, music, artistic expression, and celebration.

On Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008 The Phoenix will burst into flame once again at the 5th Annual Firebird Festival. Starting at 4 PM Phoenixville’s Downtown District will be transformed into a performance art venue with storytellers, choruses, dancers and musicians; all performing and relating stories of Winter and of the Phoenix – the mythical bird and namesake of Phoenixville.

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to receive an in-depth comment from an organizer named Paul Jorgensen of the Afrika Burns regional in South Africa.

After reading the comment and returning to browse the site, I’m impressed by the scale and enthusiastic participation of these dedicated fellow burners near Cape Town.

This got me to thinking about how fun it would be to make a world tour of the various burns there are now. We’ve seen the documentaries on Burning Man in Nevada, how about a comprehensive look at the variations of the event in other venues and countries!?

Just a few places of note besides South Africa are: New Zealand’s Kiwi Burn, Nowhere in Zargoza, Spain, many in Canada and Europe, as well as burner friendly places in Asia too. I recently posted a regionals long list I swiped from a Tribe user and of course there’s the master list at Burning Man Regionals site.

Then this sprawling worldwide regionals idea collided with the notion of bringing the Hennepin Crawler to these far-flung events. How amazing to bring something born and bred for the Playa to another burn far removed.

Or, better yet, RIDE the Crawler across the globe in one of those crazy projects to circumnavigate the earth in some jalopy of one’s own devising! Then, innocent peoples along the route are subjected to this ridiculous human-powered kinetic contraption on its slow and merry way to distant Burning Man festivals on other continents, all the while filming the process as a documentary (in matching oddball costumes of course).

It would surely bludgeon an unsuspecting world public with the ideas of strange ingenuity, rampant creative silliness running amuck for the sake of art, and the notion of community and giving beyond the commercial marketplace, spreading a certain dusty goodness of heady Playa fun throughout our fellow earthly denizens.

Alright then, who wants to fund Krank-Boom-Clank on our world Crawler tour of regional burns…?

Sunday, September 28, 2008 — Santa Rosa, CA

Erasmus P. Kitty Presents: The Great West End and Railroad Square Handcar Regatta and Exposition of Mechanical Wonders!

A SPLENDID CELEBRATION OF ART, SCIENCE AND INGENUITY, FOR THE DELIGHT AND EDIFICATION OF ALL WHO ATTEND.

A SPECTACLE FOR BOTH YOUNG AND OLD!

The Handcar Regatta invites Builders, Tinkerers and Artists to create and then race a Human Powered Rail Bound Vehicle for the adoring public.

The Handcar Regatta brings Art and Science out of the galleries, studios, and smokey laboratories, out among the People, where everyone can enjoy it and participate!

The Handcar Regatta will delight the senses with Melodious Music, Daring Diversions, Rollicking Games, Delectable Comestibles, and all manner of Adventurous Entertainments!

THE HANDCAR REGATTA IS NOT TO BE MISSED!

Michael Mccarthy of the Vancouver Courier has an in-depth article on the notion of “celebration arts”, or community participation arts in a party or entertainment scene, ala Burning Man style:

Burning Passion

“Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic,” says the festival’s official statement on its website. “We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve through doing. We make the world real through actions that open the heart.”

I’m overjoyed to note that our own progressive town of Santa Rosa, and the Northbay Burner community of Sonoma County in general, has been leading the charge of dragging “art” from the conventional hallowed halls of museums and galleries and out into the streets for all to play with. I’m coining the new term du jour: “Play-ticipation“.

One such upcoming event is “The Great West End & Railroad Square Handcar Regatta & Exposition of Mechanical & Artistic Wonders” or, for short:

“The Handcar Regatta”

As the lengthy title suggests, on Sunday September 28, 2008, we’re bringing a DIY arts and mechanical invention street party to Rail Road Square as an old-timey railcar race with music and refreshment for all. Attendees are encouraged to participate in costume and other forms of creative revelry.

The Arts District of Downtown Santa Rosa, along with other forward-thinking local organizations, are supporting this cause to bring a large dose of “celebratory arts” to a new wave of joining and doing with creativity and fun amongst like-minded folks.

Huzzah!

ITEM! See our railcar crew, Krank-Boom-Clank, hard at work on our 4-man, big wheels, hand-built, recycled, kinetic sculpture thingy-mobile, YEAH! More crews and their picts sure to come!

Along with this concept of creative celebration among peers, play and fun are inherent. I attended the explosion of DIY art at Maker Faire 2008 this weekend. If tens of thousands of ravenous participants are any sign, the wave of doer-hacker-artist movement is well into its lofty crest.

We Make Money Not Art folks, in tandem, recently posted an interesting article highlighting these ideas of play in contemporary society:

The human being used to be regarded as a Homo faber (man the smith or man the maker in latin) for the control they could exert on the environment through tools.

In 1938, however, Dutch historian Johan Huizinga introduced the idea that man is also an Homo Ludens (a “playing man”), a man for whom amusements, humour and leisure played an important role in both culture and society. Philosopher Vilém Flusser went further. For him, we are living in a society which, instead of working, generates information by playing with a technical apparatus, implying a transition from the myth of the creator towards a player. Playing can therefore be regarded as an act of emancipation.

Poosie at Tribe.net was kind enough to post a large chronological list of Regional Burn events around the globe:

2008 Events:

Kiwiburn5 - Feb. 1-4, 2008 - Whakamaru Domain, Mangakino, New Zealand
www.kiwiburn.com
newzealand@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/nz.html

FrostBurn - Feb.15-18, 2008 - Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania
www.frostburnpgh.com
pittsburgh@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_pa_pts.html

Wisconsin Pre-Compression - March 22, 2008 - Milwaukee, WI
clevian.com
wisconsin@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_wi.html

BC Recompression - April 4-6, 2008 - Vancouver, BC
www.recompression.com
vancouver@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/ca_bc_van.html
PreHeat - Florida - April 18 - 20, 2008 - Florida
www.flburners.com/
www.floridapreheat.com/
info@floridapreheat.com
florida@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_fl_sw.html

InterFuse - May 1-4, 2008 - Boonville, Missouri
midwestburners.com
stlouis@burningman.com
kansas@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_mo.html
regionals.burningman.com/us_ks.html

Toast! - May 8-11, 2008 - Witch Well, Arizona
www.toast-town.org
arizona@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_az.html

Rebirth - May 15-18, 2008 - Big Island, Hawaii
www.kapilina.org
hawaii@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_hi.html

Playa del Fuego - May 22-26, 2008 - Odessa, Delaware
playadelfuego.org
washingtondc@burningman.com
baltimore@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_mddc.html

Burning Flipside - May 22-26, 2008 - Austin, Texas
www.burningflipside.com/
www.burnaustin.org
denton@burningman.com
austin@burningman.com
houston@burningman.com
dallas@burningman.com
elpaso@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_tx.html

Element 11 - May 30 - June 1, 2008 - Grantsville, Utah
element11.org
utah@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_ut.html

Critical Massive - June 2-8, 2008 - Methow Valley, Washington
www.ignitionnw.org/criticalmassive
seattle@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_wa_sea.html

Apogaea - June 5-8, 2008 - Front Range, Colorado
www.apogaea.com
denver@burningman.com
boulder@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_co.html

Scorched Nuts - June 19-22, 2008 - College Corner, Ohio
www.scorchednuts.com/
columbus@burningman.com
southernohio@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_oh.html

Dark Skies - June 19-22, 2008 - Location TBA
darkskies.vegasartists.com/
lasvegas@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_nv_lv.html

Wisconsin Compression - June 21, 2008 - Milwaukee, WI
clevian.com
wisconsin@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_wi.html

SOAK - June 27-29, 2008 - Portland, Oregon
www.burningmanportland.com
portland@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_or.html

FireFly - TBA - Vermont
fireflyartscollective.org
bostonburners.com
info@fireflyartscollectve.org
boston@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_ma_bos.html

Nowhere - July 9-13, 2008 - Zaragoza, Spain
en.goingnowhere.org/HomePage
euroburners.com
europe@burningman.com
uk@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/eu.html
regionals.burningman.com/eu_uk.html

Transformus - July 16-21, 2008 - Deerfields, in Horse Shoe, North Carolina
www.transformus.com
www.dirtysouthernburners.com
northcarolina@burningman.com
wilmington@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_nc.html

Wisconsin Decompression - Sept. 20, 2008 - Milwaukee, WI
clevian.com
wisconsin@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_wi.html

St. Louis Decomp - Sept. 26-29, 2008 - St. Louis, Missouri
www.gatewayburners.com
stlouis@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_mo_stl.html

Chicago Decomp - Sept 27, 2008 - Chicago, Illinois
www.burningmanchicago.org
chicago@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_il.html

AZ’s 7th Annual Decompression - Oct. 3-5, 2008 - Gateway Ranch, Flagstaff, Arizona
arizona@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_az.html

LA Decomp - Oct. 4, 2008 - Los Angeles, California
la@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_ca_la.html

Playa del Fuego - Oct. 9-13, 2008 - Odessa, Delaware
playadelfuego.org/
washingtondc@burningman.com
baltimore@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_mddc.html

Myschevia (TBA) - Oct. 9-13, 2008 - North Texas
ntxb.org
denton@burningman.com
austin@burningman.com
houston@burningman.com
dallas@burningman.com
elpaso@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_tx.html

SF Decompression Heat The Street Faire - Oct. 12, 2008 - San Francisco, California
www.burningman.com

Afrika Burns 2008 - Oct. 16-19 - South Africa
afrikaburns.com
southafrica@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/za.html

Fuego De Los Muertos - Oct. 17 - 19 - San Diego, California
www.fuegodiego.com
sandiego@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_ca_sd.html

Denver Decompression - October 18, 2008 - Denver, Colorado
denverburningman.com/
denver@burningman.com
regionals.burningman.com/us_co.html

Oh look, another regional burn: Kiwiburn. I wonder what a burn with sheep would be like…?

Kiwiburn is New Zealand’s annual regional Burning Man event. Kiwiburn will be held at Whakamaru Domain, Mangakino from 10AM Friday, February 1st to 10AM Monday February 4th, 2008. The theme will be CombustInUnity.

Wednesday 30 Jan: Set up and registered theme camp, art, and volunteer arrival
Thursday 31 Jan: Set up and registered theme camp, art, and volunteer arrival
Friday 1 Feb: Kiwiburn opens 10 AM
Saturday 2 Feb: Kiwiburn
Sunday 3 Feb: Burn Night
Monday 4 Feb: Kiwiburn ends 10 AM
Tuesday 5 Feb: Final clean up day
Wednesday 6 Feb: Waitangi Day
Thursday 7 Feb: School Term Begins

Kiwiburn is a collective experience. Everybody contributes, everybody pays. As there are no paid performers at the event, there are no spectators and what is shared are the passions and dreams of those who gift them. You cannot “attend” Kiwiburn, but you can be a part of it.

It’s been going since 2003. Here’s some more history on Mark “Yonderman” Stirling and his quest for a burn in New Zealand.

Afrika Burns

I’d love to hear about this regional burn!

Ignition Northwest hosts “Seacompression” in Seattle.

Get Tickets
November 10, 7PM - 2AM
Hangar 30 @ Sand Point Magnuson Park
7400 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA
See Map

Presale tickets are $15.
Presale ends at 11:59PM on 11/06.
Tickets at the door are $20.
This event is 21 and older.

Event layout:
Lo-res JPEG (108k)
Hi-res PDF (460k)

Second Life, the virtual 3-D world, is about to launch their 5th annual Burning Life event.

There’s apparently a virtually giant virtual man effigy and virtual temple for your virtual self to strut about, staring blankly into the digital void of a virtual desert. There are some 63 plots of land set aside for users to build upon, only for the whole event to disappear after a brief period just like the “real thing.”

I wonder if participants are unable to get early passes to build their labors of love despite having huge cool art cars to give to the virtual community on the digital Playa, while at the same time getting a somewhat draconian edict that no art cars will be accepted without a written invitation though the organization cannot seem to overcome technical problems in sending said invitations… Just kiddin’! I know the DMV is up to their goggles in work and complications as the Playa grows ever larger each year.

What’s interesting though is that Burning Life event kind of qualifies as a regional burn. It’s yet another spinoff of the spirit of the Burn into new and different places.

[Author’s Note: I have to eat my words now. Upon visiting the DMV for our license inspection, apparently our “ø” character in our “Ice-Flø” title mangled the system and the their invitation kept failing to send. It’s all our fault for having a funky character! Sorry DMV folks. We loved you all along!]

Apparently, the organizers of the Secret Garden Party 2007 in the U.K. went to Burning Man in 2006 and have taken much of the burner spirit across the pond including theme camps, participation and community art, and a brand-free environment to play in. One advantage is a deeper focus on performance stages and live music acts.

Looks mighty fun! Is there a tube across the Atlantic yet?