Saysha and Trixie are building and bringing two of the most dazzling interactive art displays for the front of camp. Cosmic Passage is the largest, with a 30′ diameter base and chill area in the center. Strings of programmable LEDs are stretched from a center pole and attached to the ground to make a large cone shape. In the center of the pavilion is a seating area with many pillows to chillax on and gaze up at the beautiful patterns issued by a computer.
We’ve invested $5k in a large enclosed cargo trailer. This is used as a backdrop to hold one of our major art projects and anchors a shade structure for our camp member hangout area near the kitchen. It is used for storing the bulk of our gear the rest of the year. During the event it hides from view a lot of the tools and boxes a camp typically has in abundance and keeps it all from blowing around during dust storms. This is one of our most essential pieces of equipment.
Over the past decade, our clan has never lost a tent at Burning Man, but hasn’t been so lucky with tents used for long-term storage. This last winter, a storm wiped out all three of our tents that have stood for several years without any problems. There was 20 x 60 ft. of space dedicated to camp infrastructure thrown about and rain damaged as a result of this. All three tents were mangled into uselessness.
Storing gear is a challenge for all camps. They either must pay someone else a lot of money for rent throughout the year, or find land that can host other options. Why not build a building to house the stuff? We’d love to, but building codes either make it impossible or prohibitively expensive to do so. One person had to clean all of this up, get more tents and reorganize everything.