Marian Goodell is a Founding Board Member of Black Rock City LLC, and Burning Man’s Director of Business and Communications.

[UPDATE: The last paragraph of this post was updated on February 6, 2012.]

Participants, friends, Burners, community:

The Burning Man organization recognizes that the ticket registration and random drawing process has caused many participants frustration and concern over whether they can attend the event this year.

Black Rock City 2011, Photo by Luke Szczepanski

A team of Burning Man staff and organizers, who have been working on the ticketing process since August 2011, met Thursday to review what happened and what can be done moving forward.

The organization is looking at short term fixes and long term solutions to improve the ticketing process to make it work as well as possible for as many people as possible.

Following phone conversations with major theme camp and art group organizers, we determined that only 20%-25% of the key people needed to bring those projects to the playa had received notifications for tickets. A number of people also told us they’d used multiple credit cards and asked friends to register for them as a way to increase their chances of getting tickets. Those who received more tickets than they need said they are considering how to redistribute them.

We believe we need two weeks to let the dust settle to see how much redistribution happens. Even with that redistribution we know that key people and projects may not get confirmations in time to move forward with their plans. We are looking at options to keep that from happening.

Burning Man’s most important priority is to make sure the community stays intact in the face of the current challenges. Combining what we learned from the phone conversations and what we’ve heard from the Burner community, we’ve come up with some ideas to address the short term issues. We will continue to gather information and listen to your feedback as we work towards announcing our plans within two weeks.

In the meantime we urge our community not to buy from scalpers or from large resale sites. We will have the Secure Ticket Exchange Program (STEP) activated on February 22. This is the most secure and hassle free way to enter the re-sale system. Please use it.

Those registrants who received rejection letters should keep an eye on your email as information about STEP and any other options will be made to you first.

Not everyone who wants a ticket this year will get one, that is clear — the demand clearly exceeds supply. But we are going to do everything we can in the coming days to ensure that we preserve and respect the community that supports and creates this event both in the short term and long term.

We will be reaching out to you and working with you to make that happen. We recognize that we have work to do to repair the faith in the organization. We are very sorry for the frustration, anxiety and deep disappointment this year’s ticketing experience has caused for so many citizens of Black Rock City.

Sincerely,

All of us here at the Burning Man Organization

The registration period for the Burning Man 2012 ticket Main Sale wrapped up last Sunday night, and our ticket vendor is currently de-duping and cleaning up the registrant database (including removing known scammers), before we do the drawing for the three pricing tiers on January 31 and February 1.

And guess what? Turns out, people are VERY EAGER to go to Burning Man this year. So much so, in fact, that they found creative ways to increase their odds of getting tickets in the Main Sale. As a result, there are a lot more tickets being requested than there are tickets available — an inordinately large number, in fact, and far more than we projected even after last year’s sold-out event. It seems that people a) likely got their friends, family and campmates to order tickets as well, and/or b) requested more tickets than they actually need.

So the unfortunate net result is that there will be a lot of people who aren’t awarded tickets from the Main Sale … BUT DO NOT FEAR!! Because this means that there will be a large number of tickets in circulation within the existing community, tickets that simply need to be redistributed to those who need them. Based on our analysis, we hold a strong belief that things will settle out over the course of time, once that redistribution takes place, such that most everybody who wants a ticket will find their way to one.

In order to facilitate the redistribution of those extra tickets now in circulation, we have set up the Secure Ticket Exchange Program (STEP). The STEP is a web-based system that will allow Burners to sell their unneeded tickets, and Burners wanting tickets to access them. This will allow for safe and secure transactions in a central place for community-monitored, face-value resales. This is in addition to 10,000 tickets going on sale on a first-come first-served basis in our March 28th Open Sale.

We would like to reinforce that we all share responsibility for preventing the scalping of Burning Man tickets. Burners can commit to only selling their tickets at face value, and to never buying tickets above face value. Friends don’t let friends buy from scalpers! We can work together by using STEP, keeping a vigilant eye out for scams and inflated-price vending, and reporting known scammers on our ePlaya ticketing thread.

Burning Man actively discourages the use of secondary resources (eBay, Craigslist, StubHub, etc.) for the resale of tickets, and we encourage those who do not obtain tickets from the Main Sale/Open Sale to utilize community-centric sources to keep a handle on this process together. Please use STEP and/or direct local connections to known Burners to find the tickets you seek. We will post information on how to access and use STEP next week.

So, folks, it’s up to all of us to decide how this all plays out … we can work together in our communities to ensure that most everybody who wants a ticket to Burning Man can get one, and avoid falling prey to third-party price gouging. Just as we’re able to create the world’s largest Leave No Trace event — against all odds, in the middle of the remote desert — we can see this challenge through together as well.

As always, you can find full ticket information on the Burning Man tickets page, and you can be sure to stay informed by subscribing to the Jackrabbit Speaks email newsletter.

Larry Harvey announced the 2012 Theme at Artumnal on Nov 19. 2011.
BurningMan.com posted it on Jan. 22, 2012.
Welcome, “Fertility 2.0″

It may not be official, yet.

But while you are brainstorming how to create your 50 foot phallus, here’s some silly theme thoughts:

Recorded live during Hug Nation, Nov 22, 2012.
**NOTE: I AM NOT AN OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF BURNING MAN. I am merely a Participant with a passion for the event, people, and principles of Burning Man. Half-baked ideas & views expressed aren’t necessarily those of the Burning Man organization.” **

WHAT: Public Relations Manager position available

WHERE: Burning Man office/San Francisco

BY WHEN: Submit resume and cover letter by Sunday, January 22nd, through this link.

JOB SUMMARY:
Are you a veteran of the world of public relations and a proud citizen of Black Rock City? Have you longed for a PR role that lets you apply your communications chops and management expertise to something you’re passionate about – something just like Burning Man?

Your dream could be a reality! Due to internal evolution and growth on our existing team, we are seeking an experienced Public Relations Manager to join the leadership of Burning Man’s Communications Department.

This is a strategic, year-round, San Francisco-based role that will serve as the glue amongst the other communications staffers for the organization.

The candidate will oversee the execution of Burning Man’s external communications strategies and provide budgetary, staff, and administrative oversight for Communications-related teams and programs, including:
* Print Production
* Public Relations/Media Operations/Social Media
* Intellectual Property Enforcement
* Print Press, Online Press, Film/Video, and Academic Archives
* Burning Man Information Radio
* The Black Rock City Census

The PR Manager will also collaborate with the Government Relations leadership team to support activities engaging with community organizations, governmental collaborators, and other key entities in Nevada.

The PR Manager role will have support from the vast volunteer team as well as existing communications team members within the organization.

Other duties include management of the Media Mecca process and other volunteer teams leading up to, during and after the Burning Man event. Candidates must be prepared to perform full-time, active daily duties in the desert during the Burning Man event. This includes camping with and providing supervisory support for the Media Mecca leadership team as well as other relevant staff and volunteers.

During the rest of the year, the PR Manager maintains relevant media, press, and academic relationships, and creates and advances Public Relations content and campaigns using tools such as the Jack Rabbit Speaks, Burning Blog, Facebook/Twitter/other social networks, Burningman.com, and print materials, and other public-facing communications channels.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
* 5-7yrs of experience in Communications, Public Relations, and/or Media industries, ideally including aspects of intellectual property law, contract law, the media/entertainment industries, festival/event production, and/or any combination thereof.
* 3-5yrs of experience in management, including knowledge of reading financials, developing budgets, and human resources/personnel management.
* Excellent communication chops, including strong writing, copy editing, and interpersonal communications skills.
* High level of exposure to and comprehension of the Internet and related technologies.
* Understanding and support of core Burning Man philosophies, in order to effectively uphold policies related to the maintenance of these philosophies.
* At least 3-5yrs participating in Burning Man, preferably at some volunteer level or other exposure to its organizational infrastructure.
* Ability to multitask, and be flexible and adaptable about numerous and frequently dynamic sets of priorities. Self-motivated. Able to effectively delegate responsibilities and negotiate effectively.
* Dedication to organizational, legal, and interpersonal confidentiality in all applicable matters.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
* BA or equivalent in fields relating to Communications, Writing/Journalism, Media/Public Relations, or related fields.
* Experience speaking as a liaison to the Press.
* Experience supporting at a managerial level within a business organization.

If you’re ready to put your hard-won skills and expertise to work for your community, we want to meet you! Submit resume and cover letter by Sunday, January 22nd, using this link.

This is a full-time, regular position eligible for benefits in our San Francisco office.

Rupert Powers, Freddy Pete, and Norman Fillmore of the Washoe Tribe atop Stewart Community Center

Black Rock Solar, one of Black Rock City LLC’s spin-off non-profit organizations, completed work last week on two new solar arrays for the Washoe Tribe of Nevada. The 14 kW roof-top arrays will provide electricity for the Stewart Community Center, where community members attend meetings and cultural events, and to the Head Start building, where educational programs and support services are provided for tribal youth.

Dave Lasky

These are Black Rock Solar’s third and fourth projects for the Washoe Tribe. Through these projects, BRS worked with members of the tribe to provide hands-on job training and classroom education in photovoltaic systems.

These two installations were supervised by Dave Lasky, one of Nevada’s most recent North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certified solar installers, a distinction held by only 22 people in the entire state.

Western Nevada College Array

Also last week, BRS completed work on their largest array to date, for Western Nevada College, located in Carson City, NV. This 201 kW installation will provide a savings of $28,000 per year for the college.  The crew (including 5 newly hired members) dug 518 holes to build the racking system, and installed 836 solar panels at a value of just under $1 million.

This is the first in a series of arrays BRS will be doing across the state for the Nevada System of Higher Education. The dedication ceremony for WNC is scheduled for April 18th, 2012, a few days before the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day. For information, visit the Black Rock Solar website.