Following the premiere, there was a Q&A session where Larry and Marian answered questions directly from the Vancouver community. Ever wonder about Larry’s thoughts on social change, or his vision of the future of Burning Man culture?

Now you can witness his and Marian’s responses to these questions and more here.

Rainbow over Nowhere 2008 - photo by Bongo Pedro

Spring has sprung, the Man burns in 110 days, and there is no doubt that Regional Event season has arrived and is well under way.

For the first time ever, we have posted the list of Official Regional Events on burningman.com – check it out:

http://regionals.burningman.com/regionalevents_09.html

The list is long and encompasses multi-day camping events that meet the event criteria and guidelines required to be considered an Official Burning Man Regional Event.

Flipside and PDF are just around the corner next, followed closely by the first official event in Paris (Burning Day and Night), Apogaea, Nowhere, and way too many to name in the weeks in between. There is no denying that Regional Event Season is upon us.

Totem - Playa del Fuego 2008 - photo by Bex Workman

Times are tough for everyone in the current economy. If you can’t make it to the big Burn, maybe you should consider checking out some of these amazing events that are happening in your own back yard.

Temple Burn - Element 11, Utah - 2008 - Photo by Bex Workman

It looks like an amazing event, check out this short slide show and interview with Monique Schiess, one of our Regional Contacts.

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything. I just have to share with everyone how freaking excited I am getting about the creation of Everywhere Lane on the playa.

Everywhere Lane is going to be located at 6:15 and Esplanade and is THE place to stop by to find out what is happening in the Burning world year-round.

The Regional Network Center will be open from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM daily with real, live Regional Contacts on hand to answer your questions and help you get connected to your local burner community.

Burners without Borders, the Black Rock Arts Foundation and Black Rock Solar will be our neighbors.

We’re working hard to collaborate and create a unique way to meet the folks working to keep the fires burning year-round.

Not long now. We head out next week to start construction on Everywhere Lane. More coming soon.

Until then.

Giddyup!

Have you heard of Governors Island? It’s a little isle on the Hudson that used to belong to the military and government. It boasts two different forts from the war of 1812 as well as military quarters for the officers stationed there. After 9/11, President Bush sold the island to NY for $1. It now hosts a slew of cultural and temporary events and things are currently ramping up there for Summer 2008.

Not That Dave, one of five Regional Contacts for NYC

Two of the five NYC Regional Contacts, NTD and Oscar helped arrange a visit to the island in order to check out Emergence House which received a grant from the Black Rock Arts Foundation. The grand opening of the gallery was 5/28/08. What an amazing experience it was to visit such an old Victorian House that is chock full of temporary interactive art. Over 30 individual installations and over 40 artists have come together to create a temporary interactive art house for 9 weeks.

OMan loves NY!

Governors Island will play hosts to not one, but TWO granted projects from the Black Rock Arts Foundation. Later this summer “City of Dreams Mini Golf” will be installed as part of the Figment celebration taking place June 27 – 29, 2008.

No visit to NYC can happen without a quick stop by the weekly Burner Happy Hour. This was a particularly exciting one being the first Happy Hour to happen after two Regional Burns that draw New Yorkers out into the world. It was a great chance to connect with new friends made at Playa del Fuego and meet some folks who had just returned from Burning Flipside in Austin, TX.

Special surprise visit from Donna the Palm Beach, FL Regional Contact who happened to be in town and came out to say hello. At one point there were five Regionals Contacts in the house but alas, I wasn’t able to round everyone up for a group photo before tight schedules pulled everyone out into the night.

NYC meets FL - from left, OMan (NYC), Donna (Palm Beach), Abby (NYC) and Bex at NY Happy Hour

I think it goes without saying that there is never a dull visit to NY. This trip upheld that theory once again. Visitors and residents in NYC can get in touch with the Regional Contact team there directly via: newyork(at)burningman(dot)com. Or check out the NYC page on the Regionals section of burningman.com.

PDF occurs twice a year, once in the spring and again in October. It’s held outside of Odessa, DE on land owned and operated by the DE chapter of the Vietnam Vets Motorcycle Club. It’s a special treat to be granted the use of their space on Memorial Day Weekend.

Camp Sexy rocks it during their HotDog and Coleslaw Event

The spring 2008 PDF was the biggest PDF to date with close to 1000 participants hailing from all over the North East US. As luck would have it, we were graced with the nicest weather ever and virtually zero insect friends feasting upon participants. Talk to any seasoned PDF participant and you’ll quickly learn that galoshes and bug spray are the two top items to pack.

NYC Regional Contact Cory Mervis and husband Leslie Bocksor offer up some playa at Spring PDF

The PDF participants brought their best to the table this spring. Camp Sexy served up coffee in the morning, Craigslist camp helped you do real time anything you can do on craigslist, Slumber Camp hooked you up with PJs and shade so you could catch some Zzzz’s, Bubbles and Bocce (With a Side of Bacon!) celebrated alliteration and the joys of their namesakes. Every which way you turned another camp was hosting an event or enticing you to stop by and say hello.

Slip n slide contest supplies at Spring PDF

One of the biggest events was the Naked Slip and Slide contest. Judged by the Vets, this was a no camera event of epic proportions. Participants have perfected technique, style, and presentation in their slip and sliding revelry. With 800 Sq feet of slip and slide available, you can imagine just how creative it could get.

Now let’s not forget the Pony! It wouldn’t be PDF without the Pony effigy. The pony serves as an homage to their roots at Assateague Island, where the event was first held.

The Pony Burns! Photo courtesy of Anna the Russian Spy

Multiple burns, sunshine, slip n slides, bacon… Playa del Fuego should definitely be on your radar for a Regional Burn experience.

What better reason to pay a visit to Vancouver, BC to attend the DVD release party and check out what the Vancouver Burner community is up to.

This time, I was joined by both Marian Goodell and Larry Harvey, two of six LLC members of Black Rock City LLC. We started off the journey by joining a group of Vancouver Burners for “Dress Up Breakfast”, a weekly gathering organized by Napalm Dragon and Snow Dragon of costumed and well dressed folks who meet up for a proper Saturday brunch. The Vancouver Regional Contacts, Uber and Diana joined as along with close to 30 other participants for a morning of coffee, bacon and lots of laughter and conversation.

Dress Up Breakfast

Napalm Dragon

Squishelle took us on a tour of Vancouver to check out the sites and to pay a visit to an art gallery exhibit that had just opened the night before. Basil McMahon organized a collaborative group installation that transformed a blank slate space into an environment created from recycled and found objects. Pictures of his work can be found here.

Basil McMahon

Squishelle

From there it was off to the screening of Juicy Danger Meets Burning Man. The completely packed hall fell silent as the film opened and we were treated to sharing the adventures of “Tiny” and Tim as they made the long journey from Vancouver to Burning Man. If you are a veteran Burner who attended the event in 1997 this film really is a must see. Familiar faces flashed across the screen as the story of Tim and Tiny unfolded before our eyes.

Post screening Christine, Tim, Director David Vaisbord and our very own Larry Harvey and Marian Goodell hosted a Q and A, a chance for the community to ask any burning questions they might have and to hear what has happened since the film was first released. Check out Circus Orange for a taste of where Tim has taken things.

Larry awards the Director and stars of the film with specially made crowns to celebrate the occasion.

Coronation - Vancouver

In true Burner form, the rest of the evening proved to be full of fun. A fashion show, live bands, DJ’s and dancing, costumes galore… there was even a chorus of singing Black Rock Rangers AND a mobile conference room mutant vehicle parked in front, complete with executives and their HR consultant who offered to talk to Larry about the possibility of a new position within the company.

This visit quite short and sweet, I found myself wishing we could stay longer and continue to explore all the amazing things happening in the Vancouver Burner community.

Special thanks to Squishelle for permission to include several of her photos!

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything about my adventures through the vast and every growing Regional Network. I’m here today with an update and also to wish a great big Happy Birthday to this little Regional Blog!

It’s been almost a year to the date since my first post and I write you once again from Atlanta, GA where I first started posting in April 2007.

This particular trip took us to the Work Play Weekend for Transformus, held at Deerfields outside of Asheville, NC.

I participated in the very same work weekend last year and it was a real treat to get to go back to beautiful Deerfields for a visit with my friends, the Dirty Southern Burners.

Froggie Friend

The weather was a bit warmer this year, though not any dryer. In true Deerfields tradition, we saw our fair share of rain over the course of the weekend. One particular treat the rain brought out (of the pond) was frogs. Hundreds upon hundreds of them. Everywhere. Spring has officially sprung in the South East and that means mating season for our little frog friends. Every few steps another little croaker would come bounding out of the darkness as we approached. Friday night’s rain storm brought about a long stomp through the dark, wet night in search of the little critters who were making a LOT of racket. Think I’m joking? Click here for an auditory experience.

Saturday arrived with dryer skies and Micah and Tunna from DPW led a series of work crews to get the chore list for the weekend done. Crews worked to restore the lake stage, trails, and MOOP detail among other things.

Just before dark that night, the Mysterians gathered to hold a Town Hall meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to give the community an opportunity to ask questions and participate in discussion with the Board of Directors for Transformus. Burning Man has done similar Town Hall meetings at BMHQ in San Francisco over the years. It is a great way to gather community feedback.

Transformus Town Hall

Wordplay opened the meeting by passing a sage bundle around and allowing everyone the opportunity to introduce themselves, where they hailed from and why there were there. Over 50 people from six different states were in attendance and the number of new Burners who had not yet been to Transformus or that thing in the desert was astounding!

Rebecca from the Alchemy Board of Directors took the minutes from the Town Meeting.

Rebecca Cobb

In true Dirty Southern Burner fashion, a beautiful fire was constructed and as the Town Meeting wound to a close, Phyrebolt from South Carolina did us a favor and set the pyre ablaze. The fire burned bright through the night, drawing chilly friends together for a chat or a dance to the beats laid down by DTR the other Regional Contact for South Carolina.

DTR

Fire!

Morning brought sunshine, bacon and goodbyes. Such a short but sweet visit to Mysteria was just what everyone was needing, it was time for everyone to pack up and get back to their various homes to tackle the week ahead.

For me, that meant the five hour drive to Atlanta where I have been meeting Regional Contact candidates interested in joining the ranks to work with Danielle to support and nurture the Atlanta community which has grown at an explosive rate and now hosts what they hope to be their first official Regional Burn in 2008, Alchemy.

Once interviews have been completed in Atlanta, it will be time to say goodbye once again and head off to join the Florida Burners for PreHeat.

Stay tuned, more coming soon.

2008 is the second year we have hosted the Summit, geared towards Regional Contacts and other community leaders. It provides an opportunity for Regional Contacts from around the world to get together face to face to share ideas, attend work shops and trainings, ask questions and spend some quality time in person with their fellow cohorts and colleagues from around the globe.

Phil from Paris, Stefan from Munich

Aside from a mixer on the playa, this is the only opportunity to get so many Regional Contacts together in one place at the same time. The Regional Network has grown by leaps and bounds in the last year to become a truly global Network. We now have Regional Contacts in 16 countries around the world. Regional Contacts joined us for the Summit from as far away as South Africa, France, Ireland, Germany, and the UK. It was thrilling to have such international representation and participation for a long weekend in San Francisco.

The agenda included discussions, workshops, and presentations about everything from the incredible Black Rock Solar project, Technology to benefit local communities, how to write a mission statement and success stories from other Regional groups and communities and ideas of how to get more involved in civic minded projects at home via the ideas of Burners without Borders.

Tom Price during Black Rock Solar presentation

The Technology workshop

With over 100 Summit attendees, you can image the amount of creativity, energy, enthusiasm and passion generated over the course of the long weekend. There is no doubt that these hard working volunteers care about their local communities and are working towards fostering them to grow and flourish.

Additional photos from the weekend can be found here. Special thanks to Mr. Nightshade from The Blight.Net for documenting everything for us!

Monique from South Africa with Randy from Ireland

It’s been quite some time since we’ve had an update from Regional Land and I’m here to do just that. This chapter in the adventure takes us through Europe searching out the Euro Burners and finding new Regional Contacts to put our growing Regional Network on the map in several new countries. First stop – Paris, France. Here I caught up with the Paris Regional Contacts Eddy, Marc and Philippe.

These three have been working hard since Nowhere to create and bring their local community together in Paris. One of the things they have stared is a monthly gathering in Paris akin to the Burning Pub in London only theirs is called Burning Cafe. To get in touch with the Parisian RCs you can send them an email to: paris(at)burningman(dot)com. Alas, I missed the monthly gathering in Paris by a few hours due to a delayed flight and lost luggage. As they say here, c’est la vie and I hope to catch up with them again in January for the next Burning Cafe.

For info on all the current happenings in Paris, be sure to check out their site – www.frenchburners.org and paris-announce0subscribe [Email address: paris-announce0subscribe #AT# burningman.com - replace #AT# with @ ]

Once you join the site, you will receive the monthly newsletter that lets you know about current events in Paris and around Europe. A must for any French speaking burners who live here or are passing through Paris.

While I missed Burning Cafe, I DID however manage to make it to a soiree in Brussels of epic proportions. Our new RC in Belgium, Charly organized a party for the French speaking website parano.be

Charly Belgium RC

Charly our new Regional Contact in Belgium: belgium(at)burningman(dot)com

Held in the former slaughterhouse caves underneath the largest and oldest open air market in Europe, over 2700 participants came together for an evening very much in the Burning Man spirit. The site (very similar to tribe.net) allows people to pick a secteur (tribe). The night of the party, each secteur represented itself in a vault within the caves. The MTL (metal heads), the GOT (goths), PKR (poker fans), ART (artists), etc all came together and interacted and met with each other.

There was even a Burning Man secteur created for people to stop by and visit, ask questions, say hello and learn about that little thing we do in the desert. At all times of the evening, the BM secteur was full of people browsing books and Newsletters, photos and enjoying a relaxing time in the little chill lounge that we built. I was amazed at the similarities in participation and community. Everyone was at ease, meeting new friends, visiting old and bringing something creative to the table. The interest in Burning Man was definitely high as many had heard about it but never had the chance to attend.

The Burning Man secteur and special friends from England – Vanessa, Zooty and Zero!

Vanessa, Lady Zooty and Zero

French Man

Glow Show

Not only did everyone participate but Leave No Trace was very much in full effect. The following day as everyone sleepily showed up to tear down and pack up I was thrilled to see that each secteur carefully removed all traces of the night before. Sweeping up MOOP on the floor, peeling the tape from the walls. There was no doubt that even without being an official BM event, the same spirit and principles that we hold so dear were very much at the surface and in practice underneath the city of Brussels for one magical evening. Benoit put on a glow show on the dance floor. Fire was not permitted in the caves.

Not only do we have new RCs in Paris and Belgium but also in French speaking Geneva, Switzerland where Nathanael Gloor has stepped up to represent and help keep the fires burning year round en Suisse. You can reach him: geneva(at)burningman(dot)com

Nath

Viva La France!

Bienvenue to our new French speaking Regionals!