PolyParadise - 2022 - What Worked
- PolyParadise History 2022
- A Year in Wrap-up
- What Went Right - What Went Wrong
- PolyParadise Celebrates 24 Years
- Camper Bios
- Playa Location
- PolyParadise Survival Guide - 2022
Saturday December 31, 2022
Each
year this is my space as Benevolent Dictator to reflect on the year
that was in Black Rock City ala The Village
of
PolyParadise. To take a look at what we did
right and what we did wrong; how the changes we
instituted from the previous year worked out and
what we might do to improve in 2023. This was
the 24th year of PolyParadise;
There is no doubt that it gets better & better
each year.
You all should be very
proud of the Community you created & nurtured
all Year/Week long. I thank you all for being part of the
24th ANNIVERSARY of the Village 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
or to our
Facebook Page -
generate some chatter; let's get
PSYCHED!!! 238 Days!!!
****PolyParadise****
The total population of the PolyParadise
On-Playa was 270 Campers.
We thank the Twisted Swan & The
Temple of Bacchus for being part of our
Village; adding in their 60
Campers we had a total of 330
Campers within the Village - WOW!!!!!
We had
130 veteran
campers return and 140 new campers and of that number
79 were Burning Man
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.
Thank you to the
69 International campers
from (Australia, Belize, Canada, England,
France, Germany, Israel, Latvia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland).
We did end
2022
with a negative balance of $1,280.
The deficit was incurred by the 2nd Truck
Rental & increased cost of fuel.
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 and that everyone had an
amazing time as a Village of PolyParadise Resident.
This was the first year that Placement
allowed us to be put on contact with our
neighbor camps a few weeks prior to BRC
landfall. We had a few
discussions via email & Zoom between our
neighbor camp leaders. I was interested in being able
to share the dimensions of the Service roads
on each side. All camps agreed that
they would be able to share said space - but
when we got on-playa the camps on either
side of our Playa location had containers already delivered and
those containers were already placed right
on the line between our two camps.
Because of that we were required to allocate
all of the space for the service roads from
our own given dimensions.
Our
2022 Playa dimensions was 350'x440'.
We did not get linear straight lines between
the E to F streets; we were given the same
sqft space but a 60'x100'
cutout on the 9:30/F side with the same
60'x100' space on the
9:00/F side.
The Twisted Swan & Temple of Bacchus were
included within that allocated space; they were
given
a 60'x175' space with road frontage. Our space took
shape from Day One (Tuesday Pre-Event) with Pin
Flags being placed to create three (3) distinct
RV Service Roads (On on each end and between
PolyParadise & The Twisted Swan), from there within PolyParadise we did the best we
could to create vertical rows of vehicles between
Enigma to Fugue. This allowed us
to create walkways thru camp
that should have 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.
No one acted like a 3-year old. So Thanks to all of YOU!!!
****Playa Location****
Each year BRC Placement continues to create
unique neighborhoods with all placed Theme Camps
& Villages. In 2022 we were mapped @
9:15 Enigma to Fugue with the
Twisted Swan & Temple of Bacchus as part of that allocated space.
We
were mid-block between 9:00 & 9:30.
We again located the the Human Carcass Wash on
the F-Street within the
60'x100' cutout space on the 9:00/F; we were
able to create the
a Bike parking area next to the Human Carcass Wash to
keep the bikes out of the road.
We had awesome foot traffic in our
Community Space and incredible attendance at all
of our camp events. The Twisted Swan &
Temple of Bacchus had awesome attendance @ their
events - The BAR was well attended every
night.
The Playa Map was altered for 2022 with the
Double-Block (440' Deep) all the way from
10:00 to 2:00; that meant that the F-Street
goes all the way around and did not stop
where in previous years those limited
double-blocks got in the way. I did not see
any real issues in being @ 9:15 this year
instead of our previous 8:15 spot. The 9:15
location
was just as amazing with awesome neighbors.
For 2023 we will be asking for
the same placement area & dimensions; but there are no guarantees -
we get placed and given our Camp Dimensions and
that is that; it is Burning Man we adapt.
What were
your impressions of
9:15 - Enigma to Fugue?
****Kitchen & Stuff****
In
2022 The Village of 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! Thanks so much to Knotch, Shadow &
LauraZ for stepping up as our returning KITCHEN BIATCHES and to all of
their
helpers that maintained the kitchen all week long.
The kitchen & serving areas encompassed a
full 60'x40' – the layout was awesome for
ingress & egress of the kitchen area.
With an additional 20'x20' we were able to
create a larger ingress area into the
serving line and a center table with
condiments that allowed for awesome flow of
people and plates in/out of the kitchen
area. We did have a total of (8) 3-Burner
Cast Iron stoves; although onsite only (6)
were functional. The small regulators on the
stoves On/Off knob were blocked and unable
to be fixed - All stoves will need to be
looked at and ones that have any issues will
need to be replaced.
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. Two personal favorites (Beef
Burgundy and Impossible Meat/Pasta). Thanks to everyone who assisted
with Trash Can Pizza & Trash Can Turkey!!!
Thanks to Debbie & Zemi for taking on the
entire Trash Can Pizza creation process and
bringing all of the things to create said
pizzas and wrangling others to assist in the
Pizza creation process. Special callout to
Trevor for being the
CZAR de CHARCOL for
both Trash Can Food days.
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.
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 sink gray water containment
system (Plastic Bins) with the sump pumps
had some leakage/spills and will need to be
replaced/re-designed with
new Pumps / come up
with a way to better secure and raise the
floats on the pumps so one does not have to
stick their hand in the muck to get the pump
to turn on. We also need to purchase a
few more large kiddie pools a few sheets of
plywood that the containment system will sit
in/on so that if there is a leakage/spill those
that are fixing the system do not need to
step in Wet Playa (Wet Playa SUCKS!!!!).
The kitchen arrangement continues to
work well with the
two corner areas that housed the shelving with
the snacks, pots & pans. We will need to
purchase additional clips for the shelving
units as they have either been broken or
lost.
We had Two (2) commercial type coffee
maker that has one brew station and two warmer
stations worked well in proving Many Many CUPS
of JOE; but Damm we went thru 70lbs of
coffee and ran out on Saturday. Thanks
to those campers who had coffee to add to
our stash to keep the JOE flowing. For
2023 will look to have 100lbs of coffee
available.
In 2022 we were required to
apply for and adhere to the standards of a Nevada
State Health Department Food Permit. This was the
8th 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 had a
visit on Tuesday from the Nevada State Health
Department to see 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: Food needs to be served to guests as
opposed to guests severing themselves. With the
prominent display of signage within the
kitchen we were able to satisfy the inspectors
and received a PASSING GRADE! Our hats OFF to
our Kitchen Biatches Knotch, Shadow &
LauraZ!!!
Thanks to HAJI for signing
up for the BRC Playa Kitchen Tour.
The tour goes around to multiple camps and
looks at various setups with multiple camps
to get ideas of what is possible On-Playa.
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 300+ person
Village 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 2023.
Having the Menu &
Volunteer list printed on a large poster size board
displayed in the Kitchen was awesome, letting everyone
know what was going to be cooked at each meal and who
volunteered for what events.
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 2023 WE HAVE SYRUP,
no need to bring anymore.
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 2022:
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 Village of 300 persons 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.
*************
Thanks so much to
Peter,
Gretchen & Veronica for
taking on the Trash Czar job and 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 transported ~10 bags of
trash off the Playa in the truck back to Phoenix; the
very last stuff that can only go into trash
bags - the remnants of a 300+ person village
that stays a week in BRC. We
did have 7 buckets of general slop, generator oil,
left over food stuff slop, the remnants of many a
thing on the Playa.
Thanks to all the
PolyCampers that stayed till Tuesday and took
any remaining trash bags Off-Playa.
****Community Meals****
In 2022 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!!!!
Special callout to
Debbie & Zemi for taking over the Trash Can
Pizza experience as well to everyone that assisted in the creation of Trash
Can Pizza. Thanks to for everyone that
assisted with Trash Can Turkey
(Thanksgiving Meal @ Burning Man) and
a HUGE Thanks to the crew for jumping right in
and carving up all that turkeys (90bs of BIRD)
while an anxious crowd awaited food - Special callout to
Trevor for being the
CZAR de CHARCOL for
both Trash Can Food days.…Amazing!!
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!
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 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 2022 was to make
sure that all campers knew that there was
plenty of additional food within the kitchen pantry
(Tuna - Pasta - 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.
*************************
SPECIAL NOTICE - SPECIAL CALLOUT -
SPECIAL KUDOS - SPECIAL THANKS to our
Kitchen BIATCHES (Knotch, Shadow, LauraZ)
for years and years of incredible
service to the PolyParadise Community and to
leading the massive effort of keeping the
kitchen running and providing an amazing
space to COOK!!
BRC 2022 was a tough on our Kitchen Biatches.
Tuesday afternoon LauraZ fell ill and needed
assistance; which in turn left Knotch to
attempt to take care of the entire kitchen
and oversee it all by himself.
LauraZ's medical condition continued to
worsen over the next 24hrs. There was a
visit with On-Playa Medical; though they
felt that even with said medical attention
that they could not continue to stay
On-Playa; they had to make the difficult
decision to leave BRC Thursday morning and
get themselves back home in a more
comfortable setting for LauraZ to recover
from whatever ailed her.
Because of their need to leave BRC aka the
management of the Kitchen; many many many
several several several of you STEPPED UP to
oversee the kitchen and be able to provide
the next set of Cooks with what they needed
to prepare their meals - THANK YOU - THANK
YOU - THANK YOU!!!
In speaking with our Kitchen Biatches post
BRC 2022 due to many factors most
importantly Family - Knotch, Shadow & LauraZ
will not be making a Playa return for 2023;
which of course means that we will need new
Kitchen Biatches or a system to make sure
that the burden to keep the kitchen in a
state of cleanliness / readiness for the
next set of cooks and the next huddle of
hungry campers.
*************************
So is there a Group of campers that are
willing to step up and be Kitchen Biatches?
We already have a place
where campers can sign up to assist within
the
Kitchen; this has been voluntary and thus
sporadically in coverage. I have not
figured out the best way to approach
continual
kitchen coverage.
Do we go with a Figure it out as we go meal
to meal model? Are there campers willing to
step up and manage said kitchen? Do we
continue with the a volunteer option -
having sporadic kitchen management? Do
we have a camp requirement that you must
choose to assist with kitchen management on
a day that is not when you are cooking?
I just do not know yet. I am open to ideas.
****Ice Czar****
HUGE Thanks & KUDOS to Atira aka Desert Rose
for several years of service as Ice CZAR.
She has been responsible for
managing/wrangling and be the go to person
for all things for the Camps Daily Ice-Run.
We of course had hoped that we would have
had On-Playa our very own Polly Wally Art
Car to be able to use for that daily Ice Run
- but that did not happen in 2022 and as I
discuss further down in this space about
Polly Wally we
will not see its BRC premiere until at least
2024 (Sad Face). With that said we
have been very very grateful over the years
for Max Flynn & his crew with the Ice Taxi
coming by each day to take Desert Rose &
crew to Artica for the Ice Run. I have put
out a note to Max to see if the Ice Taxi
will make BRC 2023 landfall and be able to
assist us again with a daily ice run. Once
we hear back from him we will know if we
need to come up with another strategy.
With that said; Desert Rose NEEDS ASSISTANCE
on a daily basis with the large job of
getting said Ice and the distribution of
said ice to our campers. She should
not be the only person who sits and waits
for campers to retrieve the ice they paid
for. We did have a voluntary option for
assistance with the daily ice run - but that
was meant with minimal success. I am
not sure how we solve this issue and make
sure that she gets the assistance she needs.
****Community Space****
The Community Space was an amaizng space for
campers to hang out - eat - converse and
otherwise stay out of the Day Star
influence.
The front area between the Events shade
structure and the long-arm of the Community
space (40'x50') allows for
a larger area for the Walkway - Village of PolyParadise
UV-Light sign - Camp Signs - Bike Racks and
Fire Pit.
The Fire Pit did not get used as much as
anticipated; we transported back to Phoenix
~75% of the Firewood we brought.
Unless there is large community request to
have the Fire Pit; I am considering not
bringing back the Fire Pit/Firewood for
2023.
The Popcorn Machine & Cotton Candy {Some
call it 'Floss' - though we have a prior
year PolyCamper names Floss}. My
apologies that I could not find the VGA
Cable to hook up the projector for late
night movies; the reason the VGA cable could
not be found was because it was in the ONE
MILK CRATE that was in the PolyParadise
Storage Area aka Scotto/WildChild's garage.
The space really kicked ass at night. The move
a few years ago to using all Rope Light to light the Kitchen and
Community space was amazing!! It gave off
the just enough ambient light. There were
a few stands of Rope Light that will need to
be replaced.
Setting up (12) 20'x40's; all of our shade
structures is quite the feat and requires not
only a large commitment of time but also people
power. In 2022 we purchased 250 18" Lag
Screws as well as (6) Battery Operated
Impact Drivers. Without a doubt this
made the Erection/Teardown process so much
EASIER & so much FASTER and way SAFER than
using/pounding Rebar.
Thanks to Guami for providing a Camp WiFi that was password secured and to a fellow camper for providing an open WiFi option. The availability of the open WiFi option was known to Playa Info; with that we had hundreds of Playa Citizens coming by to use the WiFi. Sometime early in the week the password for the secured WiFi was also posted in the PolyParadise community space and with that this network was overloaded and was offline. Later in the week the password was reset and was no longer given out or posted.
Prior to Playa landfall I did not know that a Public WiFi was going to be available and that would have been posted to Playa Info. Having so many folks coming by to use the WiFi and hanging around the open WiFi RV did make many of our campers uncomfortable.
I have had a few conversations with the camper that provided the open WiFi, after several options considered, my advice was to not offer an Open WiFi.
****Covid - Yeah Remember the Pandemic****
After a 2-Year hiatus in BRC due to the Covid Pandemic - After 2-Years of fierce debates & discussions with at times words/ideas that deeply divided us as PolyCampers as Burners and as Humans - we returned to BRC in 2022 with Covid still being a thing that required plans & contingencies.
On August 14, 2022 I posted the following Village of PolyParadise Covid Policy.
As far as what was brought to my attention while in BRC 2022 we had (4) campers that tested + for Covid. Two persons left BRC and two campers isolated away from others within camp. I am sure that there were additional campers within our borders that were Covid + that either did not know it or knew it but was not reported to me.
Post Playa there were several postings across multiple Social Media outlets of our own campers as well as the greater Playa Citizenry about testing Covid +. My presumption is that there was a 10%-15% positivity rate post Burning Man 2022; which was the same reported Covid + rate from Regional Events that were restarted in 2022 after being dormant in 2020-2021.
No one knows what the future holds for the spread of Covid or its variants or other air-borne viruses that might come to the forefront across the globe and how that might affect the future of the Gerlach Regional and or Global Local Regional events we all want to attend.
****Playa Events****
This was an amazing year for PolyParadise Playa Events. We had lots of amazing events that drew large crowds each day.
Our Playa Events - Poly High Tea - Human Carcass Wash - Poly Friendly Social Mixer, 3D UV-Light Experience, Therapeutic Photo Session, Fire Flow Yoga, Tantric Speed Dating, Ethical Slut Meet/Greet and of course EVERY DAY & The Temple of Bacchus & EVERY NIGHT @ THE TWISTED SWAN!!!
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.
The Human Carcass Wash encompassed a full 60’x40’ structure. Long gone are the days from circa 2001 when the HCW was a 5'x7' piece of Astroturf. We also have a more defined area available for bikes to get them off the road - With this additional space the HCW now serves well over 500 participants daily!!! Freakin INCREDIBLE!!!
Post Playa there was a discussion on our FB Group about Poly High Tea and the lack of the volunteers being present to get the discussion started when we have Playa Citizens expecting an event to happen. There was comment that there was no tea aka Poly High Tea or the cookies.
The camp runs on volunteers and volunteerism. The volunteer schedule is displayed for all to see. There is NO WAY you you did not see it. I & the camp expect you to show up and or add your name to the volunteer opportunities available. In the future we will have the Iced Tea mix & container and cookies in a more prominent location within the kitchen
There are other places within this prose that discuss volunteering & volunteerism; the camp will fall apart without it.
As a Village we submitted 20 events to be included in the printed WWWW. I know we got them submitted & approved within the designated timeframe; I know this because I am on the team that approves said Playa Events. In previous years the 1st 1,500 submitted Playa events were included in the printed WWWW. With the return to BRC after a two-year Covid hiatus; the total # of submitted events quadrupled.
To make sure that a true random sample of events were listed in the WWWW my presumption is that just that a random # of events on a per camp submitted basis were included in the printed WWWW. With that out of our 20 submitted events; only 3 of our events were in the printed WWWW. I presume that this process will continue in future years. Even with the Human Carcass Wash not being listed in the printed WWWW - we still had ~300 participants each day.
****Poly
Shower****
Major kudos for another year goes to
Twist for the original shower base & frame that we have
been using since 2008. The coat of Epoxy
Paint | installation of 1" footpads we installed the
in 2018 continued to work great - with the height of the
enclosure @ 10'. Major Kudos to Cactusman
for coming up with an ingenious pulley system to
be able to raise & lower the shower bags.
Having the entire shower structure and
waiting area on top of the canvas tarps
certainly made less MOOP and provided a non-
playa mud area for those waiting to shower.
The new metal stairs with handrails worked
awesome and should last for several years in the
future.
Several of our MacGyver campers have talked
about re-designing the pulley system to
allow for a much easier & safer way to raise
& lower the shower bags.
****Leave No
Trace****
PolyParadise
has always prided itself on its Cleanup &
Recycle efforts. As of this writing the
2022 MOOP MAP has not been
released; so we do not know how well we did.
The hope is all GREEN!!! for
our
350'x440' (3.53 acre)
allocated space.
Thanks to all that MOOPED all week and to
anyone and everyone that stayed on into
Tuesday afternoon and being the last off the
Playa and for making sure that our LNT
efforts would in fact be as GREEN
as possible!!
We WILL
to strive for
ALL GREEN in 2023!!!
We can
ALWAYS be more MOOP vigilant; not just in our
own camp space but Playa-Wide. Remember it is
MOOP if it is not Playa -that is the definition
of Leave No Trace. Even without seeing/knowing
the official MOOP MAP for 2022; overall we did an amazing job
- thanks to all that assisted in Never Letting
It Hit the Ground!!! Thank you to everybody that
stayed for teardown and beyond...You guys ROCK
for making those last sweeps through our space
and making sure we would be MOOP FREE!
OK - a bit disappointing to see the only
image we have been provided for our Red
Spots on the 2022 MOOP Map.
I am thinking this must have come from our
Garbage area. But this appears to be
shattered pieces of glass and not shattered
glass.
GLASS - Can't be avoided all together though
we can try our best to limit the amount of
glass we each bring to BRC and of course we
can do better in attempting to coral that
glass menace. Will be looking into other
options as a container for all the glass in
the garbage area to limit this issue as a
MOOP issue for 2023.
We did have several visits from the Earth Guardians
& BLM concerning Fuel containment and the
overall # of gallons of fuel within camp. In
2022 we purchased (4) 30G fuel containment
containers. These worked great in
dispensing fuel; but also made transport to
BRC a much easier. Dispensing fuel to
5G containers as needed worked great.
The 30G fuel containment units were placed
inside large kiddy pools as well as fenced
in with plastic orange fencing.
MAJOR KUDOS to Trevor for creating an
awesome work space between the two rental
trucks as a work area and and organized
space that housed the generators and
community tool area.
We did purchase additional kiddy
pools for RV Gas containment and distributed
them to all RV's with 5G gas containers.
You never know what the weather/temperatures
will be year-to-year and 2022 was by far the
HOTTEST temperatures we have ever
experienced; that meant an issue with said
5G fuel containers swelling in the searing
temperatures. We will need to provide
cammo/fabric swatches for covering the 5G fuel
containers to reduce said swelling in the
heat.
The Earth Guardians/BLM visited our camp
several times and continued to harp on
the total # of Gallons of
fuel for the entire camp. There is a
'Rule' that the total # of Gallons of fuel
cannot exceed 110G. The fuel brought to
power the camp was just about 110G - what I
did not know until they continued to harp on
it is that 110G INCLUDES ALL FUEL; that
includes the fuel brought for personal
generators and or RV's. They also
stated that fuel must be stored at least 10'
away from any living space. The camps
fuel depot was enclosed and separated from
any tent or RV to comply with that 10'
standard. Since we had
37 RV's with most of them bringing fuel;
adhering to this 110G limit for a Village
that is 350'x440' (3.53 acres) is just not
possible. It is also not possible to have
individual RV fuel stored 10' away from said
RV to comply with the BML/Earth Guardian
standard. I am not sure there is any good
solution to this transgression - the
solution is NOT to house fuel @ HELCO (BRC's
Fuel Depot) and retrieve fuel as needed; the
only solution given to us by said Earth
Guardians/BLM. The thing we can do is
continue to be safe with fuel containment
for the camp as well as personal camper fuel
storage.
I very much understand the issues that the
BLM & Earth Guardians are attempting to
mitigate; but this is of course a Playa-Wide
issue they need to deal with. Every
camp needs to have at least a minimum of
fuel containment standards; that is just not
the case. A neighbor camp on the way
towards the Porto bank @ 9:00 C-D, the fuel
(6) 5G containers we stored directly next to
a group of (4) Shiftpods and even more
troubling the Generator which was located
directly next to the fuel containers was
enclosed/covered with CARDBOARD!!! If
you know anything about generators the
exhaust mechanism gets HOT and could set
said CARDBOARD ON FIRE!! BTW...I personally
made the residents of that camp aware of
that and made sure that at least the
CARDBOARD covering on the generator was
removed and made them aware of the issues
that the BLM/Earth Guardians were harping us
about.
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| PolyParadise 2022 MOOP Map | 2022 MOOP Map - RED SPOT |
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| PolyParadise 2019 MOOP Map | PolyParadise 2018 MOOP Map |
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| PolyParadise 2017 MOOP Map | PolyParadise 2016 MOOP Map |
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| PolyParadise 2015 MOOP Map | PolyParadise 2014 MOOP Map |
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| PolyParadise 2013 MOOP Map | PolyParadise 2012 MOOP Map |
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| Playa Restoration | BRC DPW |
****Gray Water Reclamation****
Our Gray Water disposal for the sink and the shower were provided by United Site Services. This system provides us as a camp a no-worry way to deal with the Gray Water issue.
We rented (4) 250G tanks (The largest USS rents) - three were for PolyParadise & one was for the Twisted Swan. Our contract was for Servicing the tanks Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday. Over course of the week I estimate we generated just about 2,500 Gallons of Gray Water. We are not the only camp that deals with issues in making sure we get the tanks emptied when we need them but of course USS is the only game in town so we are at their mercy.
When USS comes to service the tanks (whatever time that day they get there - cause it's Playa Time) - They will not empty the tank if we do not have the pre-paid vouchers available. We are of course at the mercy of United Site Services actually making a visit on the days we have purchased service for. We did have a day during the week we did not get our scheduled service for the Grey Water Tanks and needed to close the shower until the tanks were emptied.
As part of our contract with USS we pre-pay for (21) RV Service Slots - These are pre-paid via RV campers for either Thursday - Friday - Saturday service. We distribute a placard per RV Service Day & the USS Voucher. Being Radically Self-Reliant as a RV Camper you will need to ensure that the Placard is visible and that the voucher is available when USS arrives (whatever time that day they get there - cause it's Playa Time). Let's take that a step further - If the Placard is visible and the Voucher is available - if you happen to not be there - ANY LOCKING MECHANISM to the Black Water tank must be UNLOCKED.
The best option is for you as an RV Camper to be in camp the day your RV is to be serviced or until USS arrives so that there are no issues. The camp is not responsible if your RV misses servicing because you were not there - the voucher is not available or your RV Black Water Tank cover is locked.
What we can do is refine our process to assist you - The Pre-Paid RV Service Voucher(s) and Placard will be available for your pick-up from fellow camper Canyon Man (He has an RV with a RESIST Flag).
For those RV Campers that do not have a pre-paid servicing slot - you can always flag down USS for RV-Servicing. It is my understanding that the Service Trucks that come for the Pre-Paid may not be available for those that do not have an already pre-paid RV Servicing Voucher. I believe these trucks are on specific routes for a specific number of pump outs.
For 2023 we will again pre-purchase RV Pump out vouchers; though we will purchase vouchers for Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - instead of Thursday - Friday - Saturday.
****Water – Water - Water****
In the desert water is a commodity – as a camp; it is used to fill our water cooler | cook | clean posts/pans & dishes | coffee | starter water for the Human Carcass Wash. As a camp we require each vehicle in camp to donate 5 gallons of water to assist with our water supply as a camp. We obviously use a lot of water to do these tasks; even if we had 75 vehicles all bringing 5 Gallons of water that is only 375 gallons to add to the 100 that we bring in the U-Haul.
In 2022 we brought a total of 200G of water to be used exclusively for dishwashing; that worked well. The donated water requirement /vehicle was used for drinking water filling the large water container | Coffee & Cooking.
Some campers have suggested that we get potable water delivered so that the amount of water is not an issue and do away with the requirement of the water donation and eliminate a lot of plastic waste. My opinion is that we need to remember that Burning Man is a desert camping trip and part of its ethos is we bring what we need to consume and take away what we use. Each camper manages their own water and as a Theme Camp we need to do the same.
I really do not want to have a water delivery and take us away from knowing we need to be self-sufficient - In that vein I highly encourage - if you have the means & space to bring additional water for camp use it would be appreciated.
****Garbage, Garbage, Garbage****
Many Many thanks to Peter, Gretchen & Veronica for heading up all things Garbage Czar responsibilities; taking on the role of TRASH! We very much appreciate your dedication to the ART OF GARBAGE and as well taking care of the distribution of Community Garbage to all camper vehicle for transport off-playa.
Since the Trash is generated by the community - our camp requirement is for each vehicle to take two bags of Trash Off-Playa. Major kudos to anyone and everyone that transported more than two bags, the hope is of course that you are all depositing this garbage in the proper receptacles off-playa.
Each year more and more campers are using the Burner Express Bus to enter Black Rock City. Express Bus participants are given a Clear Plastic MOOP BAG that you can bring back on your way out of BRC via said Burner Express Bus. We highly encourage all campers that use the Burner Express Bus Service to bring their MOOP BAG to the Garbage Czar so they can properly fill them for you to transport off-playa.
****Survival Guide****
2022 marked 12 years 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 the contents useful. If there are any suggestions of additional material that you feel would be helpful please let me know.
****2022 Art Project - Anniversary Year #24 ****
The Event space which is 40'x40' is bustling with activity from 11:00a-6:00p Monday-Saturday with our Playa-Events. The vision was to transform space into a place to be and hang-out in at night awashed in UV-Light. All of the poles and structure joints were wrapped with UV-Gaffers tape and protected with a shrink wrap sleeve and In conjunction with UV-reactive tapestries - the effect was INCREDIBLE!! Adding 3D-stereoscopic glasses - the visual effect was mindblowing.
****2023 Art Project - Anniversary Year #25? ****
Any ideas for an Art Project for our 25th Anniversary within BRC? I do not have any immediate inspirations; but am open to ideas.
With our move to Lag Screws instead of rebar with eye rings we have you guessed it 200+ pieces of rebar with said eye rings. Do we have any campers with the ability to bend and or shape or weld these pieces of rebar into some Art Piece? Painting that with UV-Piant? Have you figured out yet I LOVE UV-LIGHT!! ALL LIGHT MATTERS!!!!
****Early Arrival & Exodus****
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 system connected. You guys ROCK!!!
The crew was awesome!!! We rocked the house and had the entire infrastructure up & functional by Sunday morning. I thank you all so much for doing what needed to be done, being out in the Sun & Dust; making PolyParadise happen On-Playa!!!
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 is so very much appreciated. This year’s crew was incredible. Thank you all so much for doing the dirty work and being there to pack away our community for another year.
We again stayed until Tuesday morning; this allowed for a more cohesive teardown & truck packing and my own sanity. We had a great time with the folks that stayed and many thanks to everyone that did the last of the MOOP WALK. throughout our camp space.
****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, Rich, Armella, Corvus, Sandman, Cactus Man, Atira, Knotch, Shadow, Neefer, JimyMac, Goddess Ivy, Zeus, Bob, Dr. Dirt, Daniel, Bruno, Big Rig, Rich, Sunny, Cynthia, Canyon, Justin, Diane, Dance Boy, Laura, Cole, The Jason, LauraZ, Craig, Ken, Becky, Luna Tickles, Cheyenne) Back in the day circa 2006 it was only WildChild & I that represented Arizona in PolyParadise. It is amazing to have had 36 AZBurners in our camp this year. Thank you all so very much!!!
****Annual Work-Party****
Another Playa year is upon us; The Village of PolyParadise will be celebrating 25 years within the gates of Black Rock City in 2023.
Running a large Theme Camp is a year-round process and requires participation by many people, especially at our annual Spring Work-Party. This is where we take the contents of our garage, all the PolyParadise Playa Gear, and clean, sort and other wise inventory what we have and what we need...making an assessment of what we have, what broke & what needs replacing.
PolyParadise will be having its annual Work Party (Clean Scotto & WildChild's Garage & thus the PolyParadise Playa Gear).
SAVE THE DATE...
THE 2023 POLYPARADISE WORK-PARTY IS SCHEDULED FOR:
WEDNESDAY 4/5- MONDAY 4/10
@ Casa De Scotto/WildChild in Phx. AZ
The Actual Work-Party part will be Saturday APRIL 8
(Garage Door Goes UP @ 10:00a)
You are welcome to come for the day or the weekend...We have enough room to accommodate a few overnighters and can set up tents in the backyard.
Once we have cleaned the PolyParadise Playa Gear and are sufficiently covered in Playa Dust, if it is warm enough, or anybody is adventurous enough, we now have a pool; we can PARTY!!!
WildChild & I would like to thank the PolyParadise Work-Party 2022 Crew:
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Thanks as well to our dogs: Wesley & Sam for keeping us all entertained., we certainly hope we can entice all of you back again this year.
Of course you are all welcome to come to Phoenix and join us, just drop me a line.
We promise to take lots of pics to post to our FaceBook Group as we sort & clean the Playa Gear and get our garage in some semblance of Playa order.
****Generator Power****
When it comes to the camp’s Generation and use of highly charged electrons - Special THANKS!!! MASTER TWIST!!! The 2500W Battery Backup system continues to provide us a way to keep those electrons flowing now matter the status of the generator. Hats off to you my Right Hand Man & Rocket Scientist!!!!
We rented (2) Honda EU 7000W generator used in conjunction with our 2500W Battery Backup system. This in conjunction with (2) Yellow Distribution box/cords/cables 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.
We looked into renting a 15K generator and having it delivered to BRC. This option is cost prohibitive. Having (1) generator running 24/7 providing power to the camp and shared electrons to The Twisted Swan; and (1) generator running Dusk to Dawn to power all night lights.
Thanks so much to Big Rig for taking on the electrical grid - You are a credit to your skills and am always in awe of your making sense of the spaghetti of cords. All Hail Master-Twist & & Big Rig!!!!!
****Poly Wally - Village of PolyParadise Art Car****
We were all VERY DISSAPOINTED that our very own Art Car Polly Wally was DENIED Access to BRC 2022. The reason the DMV gave for the denial was that the vehicle looked to much like the original vehicle aka a People Mover. I totally get that it does have the outline of the original People Mover but every surface was modified & covered; the rear seat was removed and the vehicle now has a back Bar. There are LIGHTS & lots of LIGHTS.
I was even more disappointed as we all viewed several approved Art Cars roving BRC 2022 that put against Polly Wally you would say WHAT THE FUCK!! I personally saw a vehicle that was a Wooden Square of plywood and had a string of Red Lights around the square border. Sure the square box hid the base vehicle base but FUCK it was a square box with a string of Red Lights.
In communications with DMV & our own Brotherluv (Who works with the DMV) the vehicle needs to be transformed into something else aka so it does not look like a People Mover regardless of how many different color lights the vehicle may have.
My first thoughts to conform to the perceived DMV issue to hide the base vehicle is to create a drape of light strings on either side as well create a movable curtain rounded around the back bar; with a hanging Man/PolyParadise symbol off the front. I am not even sure that would satisfy the DMV. I had also thought about hanging off the sides a huge Village of PolyParadise School bus vinyl sign; that does not hide the huge front windshield. With that idea have not figured out how that could be secured on the bottom as the huge vinyl sign would sway in the moving air. In any design SAFETY FIRST not THIRD in any design for getting persons on/off the vehicle.
The other option is to 'Cover' the vehicle with fabric aka transform it into looking like something. The issue is not what it gets transformed into - we need to make structural decisions where there can be points of contact to secure struts to in which some type of fabric or something would hang on. We also need to purchase a trailer to haul Polly Wally.
No matter what we do to make Polly Wally DMV compliant - that will take $$$$$. Guestamates ~10K. The DMV registration runs March to April so we would never be ready to make a submission in 2023 - so whatever happens to Polly Wally we are looking to 2024 for a BRC debut. We will have some discussions during the work-party in April and figure out what is what and what we can do to not make Polly Wally look like a square plywood box but something we can be proud of and the DMV will anoint.
****Burning Man Tickets 2023****
The distribution of tickets for Burning Man 2023 has yet to be announced:
http://tickets.burningman.org/ for details.
Registration for tickets will be thru your Burner Profile:
https://profiles.burningman.com/wp-login.php
As a Theme Camp we do get to participate in the Stewards Group Sale - The available slots in this sale are reserved for our key crew as well as new additions each year within the total we are allotted. As of this writing I do not know the exact number of Stewards Sale tickets we will be allotted - If we receive the same number of ticket opportunities - a preliminary list so far would have ~ 20 slots going to new campers to that list. The Twisted Swan & Temple of Bacchus are allotted tickets from within the total number we are given as a Village.
I am currently making contact with campers that were on the 2022 Stewards sale and inquiring about their interest in 2023. There have been several folks that will not be returning - once I know how many slots might be available I will make some further inquiries via our FB group. These decisions are based on our receiving the same number of Stewards Sale tickets.
Of course there are only so many total tickets for sale total to Burning Man that are allocated within multiple sale opportunities. With current discussions being had by The Cultural Direction Setting Council it is unknown that as a Village if we will continue to receive the same number of allotted tickets in the Stewards sale from year to year. Even though I was personally part of the Cultural Council I do not have any influence on any ticketing issues or to make sure we continue to get the same number of Stewards opportunities. We are not informed of this number until a few weeks before the Stewards sale which annually takes place ~ first week of March.
***Camping Fee - 2023****
Our only source of income to cover the costs of bringing PolyParadise to Black Rock City each year is thru the Camp Fee. In 2022 we established a camping fee of $250/person.
We did end 2022 with a negative balance of $1,280. The deficit was incurred by the 2nd Truck Rental & increased fuel costs.
The camp fee for PolyParadise 2023 will remain $250/camper.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BELIEVING IN COMMUNITY!!!
Registration for PolyParadise will begin on March 1, 2023...
Because of the income reporting issues concerning PayPal I am no longer be able to accept payment for camp fees via said PayPal. Camp Fees in 2020 must be paid via check or money order. Bottom line if your check BOUNCES please plan on camping elsewhere.
Attention International Campers - I know how difficult it can be to get a US Check - Upon registration I will let you know of an alternative option for camp fee payment.
****Scotto Speak****
2022 was my 23rd Burn and my 22nd 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!
My overall assessment of our camp is that after 24yrs we have this Playa thing down pretty good. Rinse - Repeat - Revise. We provide a great home within the Gates of BRC, a drama free space with an amazing Community Space/Kitchen, Events area, The HUMAN CARCASS WASH, Shower and of course the power of family & friends.
Thanks so much to Trevor for 3+ weeks of time together. You and I have been doing this thing side-by-side for several years. I very much enjoy our Bromance; we just work well together; you know what needs to be done and you are never afraid to get your hands dirty. I look forward to doing this all again in 2023.
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 The Village of PolyParadise, Version 25, it will be better than ever!!!
August 27 - September 4 - 2023 - 237 Days left till Burning Man!
Scotto
- Camp Daddy
- Benevolent Dictator Village of PolyParadise
- Burning Man Lifer/Geek/Zealot