PolyParadise - 2023 - Wrap-up

    Tuesday January 23, 2024

    It is hard to believe another year in BRC has come & gone...The Village of PolyParadise 2023 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 2023...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, Big Rig, Sunny, Canyon, Justin, Diane, Dance Boy, Laura, Craig, Donna, 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!!!

    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 76 International campers from (Australia, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden).

    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. 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!!!

    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 morning (Except for the Functional Kitchen according to the Nevada Health Dept; as they surprised us with a Sunday Afternoon visit). I thank you all so much for doing what needed to be done, being out in the Sun & Dust; making PolyParadise happen On-Playa!!!

    Many Many Many thanks to Trevor, Skippy, Charlie, Kickstand, Kim, Dr. Dirt, Mark, Alex for staying thru the end.  The task before us was EMMENCE - we certainly all worked for lots of hours Tuesday & Wednesday loading the trucks, dealing with MUD MOOP, the canvas tarps, the carpet that were water and MUD encased.  After the final MOOP Sweeps we left the Playa on Thursday 4p.  Thanks to Trevor, Stephanie & Skippy for doing the driving to & from BRC back to Phoenix.

    Thank you to all that headed up 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, 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 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 2023.  We were very unsure how she would do On-Playa with it being 8 weeks post Hip-Replacement Surgery.  I very much appreciate all that took care of her during the week and made sure she was OK at every turn.

    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. 

    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 to Trevor & Stephanie for being the designated drivers of the RV and 2nd U-Haul Truck and for getting the Pin Flags set for the three RV Service roads on Thursday.

    Thanks to ALL CAMPERS that came by in April for the annual Work-Party. Look forward to seeing you all again in 2024.

    Major KUDOS to Monica for taking on well EVERYTHING; you did not act like a VIRGIN BURNER.  You were there to all that needed to be done and then some.  Thanks for taking care of cooler organization and daily water draining; Thanks for making sure that the Work-Area between the trucks was clean & organized; Thanks for managing the daily ice distribution/storage.  Thanks for making sure that WildChild & I always had food.

    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.

    Thanks to Canyon for your Community Heart and for taking on distributing the RV Service Placards & Vouchers.

    Thank you to Ken & Becky, Nir & Brightman for allowing us to celebrate their WEDDINGS with all of us and a huge personal thanks for allowing me to be the officiate.

    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 Charlie On The Spot for providing his extended cammo shaded area that was able to accommodate and allow several tent campers a space for their tents under said cammo shade.

    Thanks to all the Takedown Crew of the Human Carcass Wash and for transporting all the STUFF back 400' near the truck 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 2024 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, Canyon Man Starfish, Don, Kickstand, Joe, Craig) Spending $2,800 of your money then unpacking it all - Thanks so much!!!

    MAJOR KUDOS to Max Flynn & Simon for making available each day THE ICE TAXI which was an AMAZING way for us to be able to transport 60+ bags of ice at a time.  Thank YOU SO MUCH for coming by each day and helping our Village; we are so very grateful.

    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!!!

    Special callout to Debbie for taking on all things creating Trash Can Pizza and everyone that that assisted in putting together 30 Pizzas.

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

    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.

    Thanks & Kudos to everyone that did what needed to be done in the Kitchen when we had to cut the power due to the Rain.  Appreciated that the kitchen was still functional and food was being made and served.

    Thanks to Buttons for arranging the Playa Orchestra to practice in the Event Space; what a beautiful way to wake up Monday morning.

    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 25YRS in BRC & 300+ participants daily!

    Thanks to Bonk for donating UV-Art to adorn the Camp's Event Space.

    SPECIAL THANKS to Boy Scout for taking on a re-design of the shower structure & crank to lower/raise the shower bag.  You were always there to assist.  No matter what crazy thing broke or needed repair, you were a person I knew I could ask to make things right.

    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 214 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