Saturday December 27, 2025

****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!!

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.

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****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. ****Camp Ice Runs****

HUGE Thanks & KUDOS to all that were part of the Volunteeratoldism Ice Runs each day. This was to be the 3rd year of our Ice experiment in how purchased Ice is paid for & distributed to camp members. The first day of ice purchase the Camp fronted (Camp Fees) the total amount of purchased Ice. When the ice was dropped off within camp; it would be placed in waiting Coolers. Campers needing Ice would take said ice from coolers and put the $$ for said ice into a slotted top bucket. This way each subsequent day we would have the same amount of $$ for the next day ice purchase.

Well that is how it was supposed to work; what happened was that due to our needing to rebuild the kitchen & Community Space 4x the bucket for the Ice money never materialized to Community Space area; for that I apologize. The Volunteeratoldism board with the assignments for those campers who were to take care of Ice Runs did not get hung up until Thursday as we finally had walls within the Kitchen to actually hang them up; again my apologies.

Some of the Ice we purchase each day has typically been used to continue to Ice the Camp Coolers (Tri-Tip, Chicken, Turkeys, Hot Dogs, Deli Meat). We spend on avg. $60/day for that Ice. One of the options to offset this daily cost both Human & Dollars is to purchase a Commercial Chest Freezer that the (Tri-Tip, Chicken, Turkeys, Hot Dogs, Deli Meat) could be put in. The freezer cost is ~$1,000 and would pay for itself against purchased ice in 2 years. This is not a direct replacement for the coolers but in addition to; meaning those items would still be placed in coolers for transport to the Playa from Phoenix; then would be transferred to the Freezer on-playa once it was down to temperature.

The Ice Transport 'Vehicles' using (2) heavy duty wagons to a plywood base with the ability to ratchet strap to secure the ice load to the plywood base. These worked OK but did have some issues with the bumpy playa surface.

****Leave No Trace****

PolyParadise has always prided itself on its Cleanup & Recycle efforts. Placement/Resto has contacted us on 2025 MOOP. It looks like we MISSED A FEW ALUMINUM TENT SPIKES & A FEW SPOTS OF DIRTY PLAYA (PAINT FLECKS - FUEL LEAK). As of this writing the 2025 MOOP Map has not been released for all of BRC. The hope would have been that we would have been ALL Green!! for our 300'x250' (1.72 acre) allocated space. Thanks to all that were part of the Volunteeratoldism job of LNT & to all that MOOPED all week and to the six campers 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 2026!!! 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. 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. 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 going forward. With the shared rental of the 26' container we used the container as the back plate of a trapezoid shaped orange fenced area for Fuel containment. The edge of the fuel containment area bounded the service road. Our new standard for those bringing 5G gas containers for your RV or personal generator; these gas containers will need to be Labeled with YOUR NAME & STORED within these two fuel containment areas. If you need to FILL your RV or personal generator you will need to go to the fuel containment area - transport that gas can to your RV/Generator & fill said engine and then RETURN the gas can back to the fuel containment area; even EMPTY gas cans must be returned to the fuel containment area. If a gas can is found left next to or near your RV or living space aka NOT RETURNED to the fuel containment area it will be confiscated and be used as camp gas for the camps generator consumption. This new standard was added to our Survival Guide; messaged to all those specifically bringing RV's Per rules from BLM/Earth Guardians we now have Fire Blankets hanging all around the orange fencing. We did have (2) visits from BLM officials - The first one was Thursday of setup. At that time we did not have the fuel area fenced off as well as the Gasoline & Propane Tanks were next to each other. We were told that we needed to get the area fenced (contained) as well as put at least 30' between the gasoline & propane areas. We were again visited on Saturday of setup (In the Morning) that is important cause well you know what happened ~4p!! Anyway on the 2nd visit we had constructed the fenced area and had the Gasoline & Propane separated that satisfied the BLM officials. We did not receive any other visits from Earth Guardians/BLM Officials concerning Fuel Containment. We did lose all (8) of the large kiddy pools to the winds/dust event on Tuesday night of teardown - they will need to be repurchased as they are an essential part of our overall fuel containment system.

****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 hose water we transport from Phoenix.

In 2025 we purchased (4) additional 55G Barrels; bringing a total of 400G of water to be used exclusively for dishwashing and filling the (5) Hand Washing Stations that are 10G each. The donated water requirement/vehicle was used for drinking water filling the large water container | Coffee & Cooking. The amount of total gray water generated as a camp was lower than in previous years due to the kitchen not being functional for every meal due to weather related events; all told we generated approx ~500G of grey water from the sink and ~200G from the shower.

Transporting and maneuvering the full 55G barrels off the rental trucks and into place on-playa is difficult and requires way to much brute strength. For 2026 we will be purchasing (2) of the 275G Water Cubes (The same model rented from United Site Services) for Grey Water reclamation. They will be transported empty from Phoenix and filled on-playa and then stored within the shard container with the Twisted Swan. In the end making the issue of water for Dishwashing easier from transportation and maneuvering on-playa way easier.

Some campers have suggested that we get potable (drinking) 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.

It is not my preference to have a Potable (Drinkable) 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 (Coffee, Cooking & Drinking) it would be appreciated.

****Garbage, Garbage, Garbage****

Many Many thanks to all of the Volunteeratoldism campers for managing all things Garbage. We all very much appreciate your dedication to the ART OF GARBAGE and as well taking care of the distribution of Community Garbage to all camper vehicles 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.

****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 in the air by Saturday afternoon; we were ready to put in all the electrical infrastructure (Cords, Lights, Stereo, UV-Light, Tapestries); The kitchen was getting setup and functional - THEN THE WIND/DUST CAME. After hours of 75mph Wind/Dust - much of our structures had been destroyed. By the light of day on Sunday - there were ~50 of the 10' EMT Conduit poles that were bent beyond use across multiple structures. The kitchen structure needed to be totally dismantled; the Community space and Event space needed to dismantled and rebuilt.

In conjunction with the Twisted Swan/Temple of Bacchus many of the 'Slightly Bent' pieces of conduit were taken to Barbie Death Camp which had a Pole Straightener. Also in our favor was the fact that the Human Carcass Wash structure was connected and ready to go up in the air - We were able to utilize these three structures to re-create the Kitchen/Community Space.

Then Sunday - Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - there was WIND/Rain/Dust AGAIN!!! It wasn't until Thursday that we all felt Burning Man started as the weather dissipated.

With that said...

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, What I need going forward on into the camps future is a commitment from YOU OUR CAMPERS!!

It took a group of ~70 campers to create the camp we erected by Saturday 4p - Despite that 1 hour later all of it was well on the way to being destroyed/damaged - it still took ~70 campers to create. Thanks to all of you that worked for several days in the sun to get all that work done and ready for the rest of the campers arriving as Burning Man officially opened.

ONLY 6 CAMPERS besides (Scotto, Trevor, Cactusman, Skippy, WildChild, Monica) stayed On-Playa to assist with tear down on into Monday night & Tuesday afternoon. THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE!!

Many of you have suggested that we start to tear down the structures on Saturday and or Sunday to better manage it all; Yes we could do that in some manner; but tear down is not just taking the structures down. The process also requires taking those individual items we took down; put them into staged piles and piles of things that are going into the shared container with the Twisted Swan, what is going back to Phoenix - THEN LOADING THOSE PILES OF THINGS INTO TWO TRUCKS AND SAID CONTAINER!

If it took ~70 to get all The Things out of the trucks/container and erected then it will take a lot more than 6 additional campers to pack it all out.

I personally have not left BRC on Monday in 20+ yrs; but it is my presumption that you clock at least 8-10 hours in line of exodus to get from camp until you reach Route 80 towards points East/West.

Instead of sitting in that line - As you look to your 2026 BRC Travel PLEASE!!!! NO I AM BEGGING!!! That we have the COMMITMENT of at least 20 campers that are willing to stay until Tuesday afternoon/Evening to leave BRC and assist in the massive effort it takes to pack it all away. I know our new normal for the Phoenix crew is to leave BRC by Wednesday Noon but the work thru Tuesday afternoon needs YOU OUR CAMPERS!

If we do not get at least 20 campers to stay until Tuesday afternoon/Evening for BRC 2026 then I will really need to rethink our future for 2027.

Thank you to all the AZBurners that came by to assist with Truck Unpacking; quite a lighter load back into the garage as all the EMT Conduit, shade structure parts (Connectors, Tarps, Canvas Tarps, Cammo, Chairs, Metal Racks) were loaded into the shared 26' container On-Playa that we rented/partnered with The Twisted Swan.

Teardown Deposit - I recently listened to the December 2025 Placement Campfire Talks on YouTube - some of the camps stated that they are requiring a 'Teardown Deposit' as part of camping with them. The idea is that if you the camper stay thru the camps teardown process you receive the Deposit Funds back; if you depart prior to teardown being complete the Funds are kept by the camp and not returned to the individual camper.

What I did not hear in that conversation is if the 'Teardown Deposit' was effective in campers staying thru the full teardown; I did not hear what dollar amount was being charged per camper; I did not hear when funds were returned; On-Playa or within a specified period of time Post-Playa.

How much MONEY as a 'Teardown Deposit' is an incentive to actually stay thru PolyParadise Teardown - $100 - $200 - $300 - More - From my end I DO NOT WANT to collect additional funds for this purpose, have to keep those funds separated; have all that money in Cash to return On-Playa; have to keep track of who stayed thru teardown; time it would take to return funds Post-Playa; or be the reason any camper would stay to assist in the massive effort it takes in teardown.

My idea of Community and PolyParadise as a global group of campers is that there should be as much excitement to getting into BRC early as there is to stay for an additional day at the end to assist with all that encompasses teardown and the last MOOP Sweeps. This incentive should be about being part of what it takes to create/teardown that does not involve the incentive of receiving dollars back.

****Camp WiFi****

Thanks to Guami & The Twisted Swan for again providing a Camp WiFi that was password secured and available to all campers.

****Items that Need to be Replaced and or Fixed****

The Wind/Rain/Dust for 4-consecutive days - we had many items that will need to be replaced or fixed from BRC 2025.

- Shade Structures to quite a beating this year - will need to replace (8) 20'x40' tarps | Structure Parts | (40) 10' EMT Conduit pieces.

- During the annual Work-Party we setup a 20'x20' UV-Light structure - It was decided as we packed the container on teardown that instead of continuing to transport the (21) EMT Poles. Tarps & Connectors back & forth - we would purchase & create a 20'x20' structure for the Work Party that stays in Phoenix year-round. During a December Trevor visit to Phoenix the poles were purchased and UV-Tape wrapped. We do still need to purchase the (9) connector pieces, 20'x20' tarp as well as an additional reel of the Heat Shrink tubing to wrap those poles. - Canvas Flooring - 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.

- 6' BBQ Grill suffered some structural damage on transport back to Phoenix. During a December visit to Phoenix by Trevor - he was able to come up with a true fix for the BBQ's Legs; with that fix the BBQ is again functional - THANK YOU TREVOR!

- 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.

- Purchase (2) of the 275G Water Cubes (The same model rented from United Site Services) for Grey Water reclamation. They will be transported empty from Phoenix and filled on-playa and then stored within the shard container with the Twisted Swan. In the end making the issue of water for Dishwashing easier from transportation and maneuvering on-playa way easier.

- Purchase of a Deep Freezer to work in conjunction with the (14) Packed Coolers from Phoenix (Turkey, Tri-Tip, Hot Dogs, Chicken).

- Replacement of (8) large kiddy pools that are used for our Fuel Containment.

****Poly Wally - Village of PolyParadise Art Car****

****2025 Update****

In 2025 I actually thought we might be making some progress on transforming the base vehicle to something that could be licensed by BRC DMV.

In April at Saguaro Man (Arizona Regional Event) 2025 we met a fellow AZBurner and we had a conversation; he said I know a guy; in-fact I know several friends who would be into assisting. A month later he came by Case De Scotto/WildChild with a few folks, a CAD Guy and a Fabricator. We discussed things - took measurements and discussed some more things. The fabricator mentioned that he could house the vehicle at his shop while it was worked on - SWEET!

The analysis was that we could create a 6' cage that would run 21' long; extending off the front/back that would allow for a 'Drape' over the four sides to fully transform the entire vehicle from its People Mover base. The easiest transformation would be to make the vehicle look like a School Bus. I started to work with ChatGPT to create School Bus images Front | Back | 2 Sides | Top images that could be transformed into a Screen Mesh fabric and hang on all sides. The vehicle would maintain its interior UV-Light lighting and Back Bar.

There were a few follow-up conversations over the summer and a commitment to come back together after BRC and see where we were at. As of this writing I have not received any additional follow-up on the status of the CAD work or an idea of what the 'Cage' would be built with or a realistic budget.

The DMV License submission timeframe is ~2/15/26 with an open window of ~1-month. We shall see if anything comes from this previous 2025 excitement for a 2026 BRC debut for Polly Wally.

****2024 Update****

Over the past year there have been several local Phoenix Poly campers that have come by Casa De Scotto/WildChild that have stated they would or they know a guy that would or a guy that has this skill or that skill and together we would resurrect Polly Wally and do the things necessary to make it DMV license worthy. So far that has all been cheap talk and as we head towards another new year there has been zero progress on anything.

The annual DMV registration for 2025 will be ~March-April; so at this point with no progress, no start to looking to transform the current vehicle to a thing, no commitment by any of the Phx-based campers to commit to the several months worth of work that would be necessary to revamp the base vehicle into a mutant vehicle that would be approved by DMV - we are now looking to 2026 for any possible BRC landfall of the vehicle.

If there are no polycampers or friends of such with these skills/tools and time within the Phoenix area or such willing to come to Phoenix for extended periods of time to make these modifications to the vehicle during 2025 - we will be looking to dispense with the vehicle; do not know where or to whom cause I do not know that as I stated before maybe donating the vehicle to our local AZBurner community that they would actually want it.

BOTTOM LINE - If in the year of our Burner World 2026 we make no progress on the transformation of the current vehicle it will be GONE, DONE AND NO LONGER IN MY BACKYARD!

If there is any polycampers out there that wants to transport the vehicle to their yard and take this all on - please contact me and let's have a chat as it might be easier to make it into something where all your tools are and not here @ Casa De Scotto/WildChild. ****Burning Man Tickets 2026****

The distribution & Prices of tickets for Burning Man 2026 has yet to be announced: See http://tickets.burningman.org/ for details.

Registration for ticket sales outside the Camps Stewards Sale allotment will be thru your Burner Profile:

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. The Placement timeline is that we will not know how many slots we will be allocated until Mid-February with the Stewards Sale ~First week of March. In the post-playa assessment that we submitted to Placement as part of their requirements of Theme Camps I requested that we receive at least 50 slots aka 100 Tickets & 50 vehicle passes; the same number we received in 2025.

After the New Year I will start the process of making contact with campers that were on the 2025 Stewards sale and inquiring about their interest in 2026. I will be looking to fill 50 slots aka 100 Tickets. Over the past few years the total # of tickets in the Stewards Sale has remained the same but with that comes an ever increasing number of Theme Camps requesting tickets and all of the Theme Camps that did not make BRC 2025 and put their ticket allocation on hold forward to 2026.

****Camping Fee - 2026****

Our only source of income to cover the costs of bringing PolyParadise to Black Rock City each year is thru the Camp Fee. In 2025 we established a camping fee of $275/person.

We did end 2025 with a positive balance of $600.

With all of the infrastructure items that need to be replaced for 2026 - The camp fee for PolyParadise 2026 will be $325/Camper. That is up $50/camper from 2025.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BELIEVING IN THE POLYPARADISE COMMUNITY!!!

Registration for PolyParadise will OPEN on March 1, 2026.

Because of the income reporting issues concerning PayPal & other online payment systems I am no longer be able to accept payment for camp fees via said PayPal. Camp Fees in 2026 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.

****PLEASE BE AWARE - Camp Fees are NON-REFUNDABLE****

Know it is not that I am non-compassionate to the reason you are requesting a refund; I am making it clear Camp Fees are Non-Refundable. Once I receive your Camp Fee I am spending it; thus it is not available to return to you. What I also do not allow is a transfer of a Paid Camp Fee by one person to another - what this means if you pay your camp fee and find another person to take your slot that new camper will also need to pay a camp fee to the camp - You cannot benefit from the camp's No Refund Policy and every camper must pay a camp fee to the camp and not transferred between campers. ****Scotto Speak****

2025 was my 26th Burn and my 25th 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!

With all that praise heaped upon us all - What a CHALLENGING YEAR it was for us as individuals - as a Camp - as Camp Management and our infrastructure. Having to rebuild our structures 4x; not getting the Human Carcass Wash structure up & running until Thursday and all the adversity we faced - we came out the other side knowing more about ourselves as a group of global campers.

My overall assessment of our camp is that after 27yrs 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 28 days of time together. You and I have been doing this thing side-by-side for 14 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 2026. Double Kudos to Trevor for making a December visit to Phoenix; we were able to have a chat about all the issues that face us as a camp and its infrastructure. We were also able to get a head start on some fixes and needed adjustments to some key systems the camps function depend on.

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 PolyParadise, Version 28, it will be better than ever!!!

August 30 - September 7, 2026 - 245 Days left till Burning Man!

Scotto
- Camp Daddy
- Benevolent Dictator Village of PolyParadise
- Burning Man Lifer/Geek/Zealot

****PolyParadise****

The total population of PolyParadise On-Playa was 174 Campers. We thank the Twisted Swan & The Temple of Bacchus for being part of our space; adding in their 60 Campers we had a total of 234 Campers within our borders - WOW!!!!!

We had 96 veteran campers return and 78 new campers and of that number 65 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 64 International campers from (Austria Australia Brazil Canada Chile Egypt France Germany Israel Mauritius Morocco Spain Switzerland Thailand UK).

We did end 2025 with a positive balance of $600.

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 member of PolyParadise.

This was the Fourth year that Placement put us in contact with our neighbor camps a few weeks prior to BRC landfall. This year we were given our adjacent neighbors; I was hopeful that this year we would get an interactive conversation with those we have put in contact with. We did hear from both camps that borders our space; One camp would share the RV Service Road and one could not accommodate. The entire layout of the camp must include the service roads from the start; If a camp is not there then we must include the service road dimensions within our space and then we Pin Flag from there.

Our 2025 Playa dimensions were different than in previous years; the layout was basically a square 250'x300'with a cutout on the 8:00 side of '50'x100'. The Twisted Swan & Temple of Bacchus were given a 250'x150' space. This was also the 2nd year in which we had pre-designated service roads from Placement. These roads ran laterally from ~mid-block on the 8:30 radial towards 8:00 between both camps. The intent was to place the Human Carcass Wash mid-block on Ellison; though the original Human Carcass Wash Structures were used to re-build the Community Space post the major Wind/Dust/Rain event of Saturday. From there within PolyParadise we did the best we could to create vertical rows of vehicles between Ellison - Farmer. This allowed us to create walkways thru camp that should have made getting from the ends of the camp to the Community Space easier.

In early 2023 we partnered with the Twisted Swan on a rental of a 26' container from a company in Empire; this container will allow both PolyParadise & the Twisted Swan to be able to store gear from both camps that do not need to be hauled back to our home locations.

PolyParadise was able to store all the EMT Conduit, shade structure parts (Connectors, Tarps, Canvas Tarps, Cammo, Chairs, Metal Racks). The container will be stored at the companies yard in Empire and be delivered on-playa in 2026.

****Playa Location****

Each year BRC Placement continues to create unique neighborhoods with all placed Theme Camps & Villages. In 2025 we were mapped @ 8:30 Ellison - Farmer with the Twisted Swan & Temple of Bacchus directly adjacent to our space. This year we were given a brand new location for PolyParadise- we were located on the 8:30 radial extending towards Farmer. The original idea was that the Human Carcass Wash would be located on Farmer; but due to the weather events the Human Carcass Wash's (3) 20'x40' structures were used to create the Kitchen & Community Space. The Human Carcass Wash was created on Thursday off the Service Road between PolyParadise & The Twisted Swan as a 20'x20' space.

The received location & shape of our Placement allowed us to totally rethink how our Kitchen/Community Space/Event Space was oriented. The main entrance would be on the 8:30 radial and we aligned the Grey Water Tanks, Dish Washing & Trash along use the Placement created Service road between our two camps.

For 2026 we will be asking for the same placement area; though we would like to have a full 300'x300' space instead of the 250'x300' with a small 50'x100' cutout we were given in 2025. 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 8:30 Ellison - Farmer - ****Volunteeratoldism™**** On October 1, 2024 the Trademark was issued for Volunteeratoldism from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office to Scott Platsky. Not only did I CREATE a new WORD I have been awarded the Trademark for that word - WOW!!! The grand idea of Volunteeratoldism aka moving the major camp duties (Kitchen Management, LNT, Garbage, Ice) from having leads in charge to a distributed model of randomly assigned jobs to all campers worked AMAZING! With our large camp population each camper only needed to be assigned (1) Job during the week. There were (4-5) campers assigned to each job/task/shift. In my observations; there were no camper complaints or no job/task that were not performed or completed. We did not have a formal check-in for each job/task/shift so I cannot guarantee that all campers assigned to any specific job during the week actually showed up; but all jobs were completed and from my end nothing fell thru the cracks. The entire idea of Volunteeratoldism was created after BRC 2022 in which all previous PolyParadise Leads had either stepped away from Burning Man and or their role as a lead; the daily tasks/jobs still needed to be done. Instead of recruiting new leads and continuing with the same model, it appeared to me that the best way forward was to move to a distributed model in which each camper would have a vested interest in the success of said community creates pride & satisfaction. Due to the perceived success of this model of distributed camp duties in which each camper is randomly assigned (1) job/task/shift for the entire week will be the way forward. *** 2026 UPDATE *** This will be the 4th year we experiment with a Community Based effort for ALL CAMPERS being assigned a Job/Shift across (Kitchen Management, Garbage, LNT, Ice). In previous years I waited until ~August 1 to create the Assigned Job/Shifts-send the file to be printed on poster board; announce on the FB Group and post the board On-Playa. This has worked with mixed results as not all campers are on the FB Group or log onto the PolyParadise FB Group or read my posts or do not know outside of the registration process to know you are being assigned a Job/Shift. With that said I am changing how the Randomly Assigned Job/Shifts are announced. The Job/Shift will be established at the time of Registration. An immediate email will be sent with said assigned Job/Shift with an attachment of the instructions for all jobs. There will be reminder emails sent every 30 days between 3/1/26 & 7/16/26 | Then every two weeks 7/16/26 to 8/16/26. Let's see what happens...

****Survival Guide****

2025 marked 15 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 mind-blowing.

In 2024 we purchased additional 10' UV-Tapestries that made the space even more captivating.

****2023 Art Project - Anniversary Year #25 -****

The Art Project for our 25th Anniversary within BRC was AWESOME! A 4'x8' sheet of plywood with Large Numbers/Letters spelling out 25 Years 1999-2023 adorned with UV-paint. The effect was incredible on our walkway into the Community Space. This Art Piece can be reworked with a (6) replacing the (5) in 25 and a (4) replacing the (3) in 2023.

****2024 Art Project - Anniversary Year #26 -****

The Art Project from 2023 - The Large Numbers/Letters spelling out 26 Years 1999-2024 adorned with UV-paint is amazing especially @ night aka UV-Light lit on the entry way towards the Community Space. This Art Piece will be reworked with a (7) replacing the (6) in 26 and a (5) replacing the (4) in 2024.

****2025 Art Project - Anniversary Year #27 -****

Are there any ideas for a 2025 Art Project to celebrate our 27th Anniversary - I do not have any immediate inspirations; but am open to ideas.

Not necessarily a 'Camp Art Project' but we will have an additional SIGN out front of camp. I am sure you all have seen, walked passed, read the 'SHIAT Scotto Says' that has adorned the front of the Event Space for years. I LOVE this sign - each morning I spend time sitting Beside Myself - LOVE IT!

For 2025 we will be premiering a 'SHIAT Trevor Says' Sign with his BEST LINES: Oh Geez - Oh Really - Do Better - All the things - Get sorted - Your not wrong - O'Hi There...

Are there any ideas for a 2026 Art Project to celebrate our 28th Anniversary - I do not have any immediate inspirations; but am open to ideas.