We do a big public project on playa that requires participation of it’s camp mates.  There are 3 levels of participation to choose from.  We are organized and structured and that’s not for everyone at BM.  We place a high value on kind and conscientious peeps, on a community vibe, connection, and (as best we can)- knowing everyone in the camp.  But don’t worry, we’ve been doing BM a long time and that also makes us snarky jaded fucks sometimes.  😉   If the preference of you and your crew is to camp somewhere as your base of BM antics and having little interaction with your camp mates, that’s not too vibe aligned with us.  Diversity is valued and we have members from all over the world.  That said, sorry/not sorry, absolutely no Trumptards.   We also place a high value on knowing what’s going on.  If taking the time to read through everything is too much trouble, this is the not camp for you.  To register you’ll need to demonstrate you know what’s going on at a basic level.

“‘Working’ Members help us plan, build, maintain and take down the camp.  You’ll come to camp meetings and work days (for Bay Area folks), help with set up on playa from your arrival day until we’re done with set up, take a hosting* shift during the week on one of our nights we’re open to the public, and commit to helping with Strike* on Sunday for 5-6 hours. If you’re arriving on playa after the principal OC set up is done, that’s OK, you can still be a Working Member if you wish!  In this case, you’d make yourself available for camp maintenance help on your arrival day (after your personal camp set up) + 1 full day after (to the extent there things to do).  Early Arrival is an option only for Working Members in most cases, and we want you and need you to pull this off!   Please note, you don’t need to be Bay Area based to be a Working Member.  It’s ok if you can’t attend one work day or meeting pre-playa.  What counts is all the commitments while at Burning Man.  To ensure commitments are kept, we make use of what we call the “I’ll Show Up” deposit*.  Dues level is lowest for Working Members, as is available camp slots.”

‘Participating’ Members have no obligation to come to pre-playa work days (but we’ll ask), will still come to a Camp wide meeting(s) (for Bay Area folks only), and on playa have no responsibility to help set up, so works best for those that can’t make it to BM ’till Monday or later.  But – you will take a hosting shift* during the week on one of our nights we’re open to the public, and commit to helping with Strike* on Sunday for 5-6 hours.  Camp dues level is higher than Working Members, lower than Supporters, and we want you and need you to pull this off!

Camp Supporters will still come to a Camp wide meeting(s) (for Bay Area folks).  On playa, you’d have no scheduled committments to help with Set up, Strike of the public shade/dance/chill area.  Of course you will still set up, take down and clean up your own personal camp area.  You are not obligated to take a Hosting Shift, (though we’ll ask).  We will still request and appreciate your participation in any number of contributing ways.   Dues level is highest, and thus your participation is more (but not solely) on the side of financial support towards the project budget, and helping members of less means be able to join us, and we want you and need you to pull this off!  Like other tiers, we do request you check out when you leave BM with one of our core members to ensure you’ve not left us with any of your MOOP, large or small.  Longer explanation below.

The Hosting shift is a 3-4 hour slot of time you’re available to help out with camp needs.  If in the Day time, you are a ‘Day Lead assistant’ helping the daily to-do’s.  If at night (which most are), you’re designated to hang in the chill space and keep an eye on things as a host would at their own house party.

Strike is the take down of our public chill space, re-packaging everything neatly, intelligent re-loading of truck and lots of MOOP’ing.  In most cases, if you can’t do 5-6 hours of Strike on Sunday, this tier of membership won’t work for you.  Strike is ezy-pzy though at OC compared to what we do at OT.  : )

To guard against flaking, no shows, BM burn outs and lemons, all ‘Working’ and ‘Participating’ are required to give us an “I’ll Show Up” deposit of $500 (or $150 for International members).

For US residents, this is a personal check from you that we will not cash (unless…). You will not be out this money. We hold the check until after BM, then we shred or return to you as long as you:  1.) showed up for both your Hosting shift you signed up for, 2.) for Strike on Sunday for 5-6 hours. 3.) You check out when you leave BM with one of our core members to ensure you’ve not left us with any of your MOOP, large or small.  If your camp area is covered in carpet fibers from the rug you brought, if you left a bag of trash, or water you thought you’d ‘donate’ without asking anyone, the playa bike you ‘found’ after yours got stolen, etc, we will keep a portion of in aggregious circumstances all your deposit.   We have no interest in cashing these checks!  We have learned though that unfortunately for some, once at BM the temptation to flake requires some measure of pain to guard against. Since International members can not give us a personal check, they will instead send us $150 over Paypal as their “I’ll Show Up” deposit. In this way, you will be out this money temporarily, but we refund it immediately after BM as long as commitments kept.

We don’t want to, but we absolutely WILL keep your deposit if you flake. If you want no work commitments at Burning Man, that’s one reason why we have the ‘Supporting’ Member option.  That said of course all will need to Leave No Trace.

You’re helping create a needed and awesome spot for BRC to come experience our unique vibe and music, visual and performance offering.  You’ll have placement so you’ll know exactly where to go when you arrive BRC and won’t have to cruise the event looking for a camping spot.   Our large shade area that will make the Opulent Chill space is primarily a night time programmed affair and during the day is more so the living room for the camp members, so you’ll of course have a big fat chill space to enjoy all week.  The inner camp will have custom built showers on a trailer with 3 stalls hooked up to a central water source for our own home made playa shower experience.  (ie – you DO have to bring your own water for drinking and cooking, but you DON’T need to bring your own water  for showers!)  The camp will also have a power grid you can plug into for your tents, carports or RV’s (extra chip in required beyond dues based on your power draw, and is per dwelling, not per person, but can’t be shared between different dwellings or it messes up our power grid).  We’ll have a basic kitchen you can cook your own meals in with stove tops, microwave, prep infrastructure (pots, pans, etc).  Your dues DO NOT come up with a meal plan.  We are DIY with food, but do work with Dubgypsy Kitchen as one of the camps they offer a meal plan to, and they deliver 2 meals a day to OC (brunch and dinner).  The camp does not provide any RV service plug n play style.  But – RV folks will self organize with the camp’s help around pumping coordination and water refills based on our contacts of doing camps over the years.

To plug in the power grid, the extra chip in amount is as follows:
Light Power – you want a plug in your tent to re-charge a phone and/or have a simple light – $25
Heavy Power – you want to plug in an AC unit or fridge at your personal camp set up (like a yurt or tent) – $100
RV Power – you want to plug your RV into our power grid so you don’t have to run your internal gennie – $150 if 30 amp, $200 if 50 amp