Day 3: The Convection Caucus

[After the Urban Safari I went on a personal business expedition to My Dutch Bike to see how their shop is set up and the types of bikes they had. Pretty cool, but the shop was empty. They had a lot of window lookie loos, but no one brave enough to walk in. Hmmm... is Boulder ready for dutch cargo bikes? I will find out in 2010, but that is another story for another day.]

Over to the Convection Caucus. In the main hall of the Bentley Reserve, Burning Man departments and art projects set up convention booths were the visiting delegates could connect and learn more about departments such as: DPW, BM Lawyers, Regional Ticketing, BRAF, Accounting, Info Booth, Special Events, Tech Team, BMIR, Burners without Borders, Black Rock Rangers, Burning Blog, Earth Guardians, and a whole lot more. There were booths for: NIMBY, The Box Shop, Flaming Lotus Girls, Kostume Kult, Kidsville, Burning Man Opera, etc. The great thing was to hear their stories, how they got started and what they continue to face in their respective communities. A lot of it sounded exactly what the BurnWorks and the Phoenix Asylum have been trying to do for the last 2-3 years. We are not alone. Inspiring.

There were break-out groups that Regionals could attend throughout the Caucus. I went to "How to run an effective meeting" and "Thinking outside of the Bar". The latter meeting was interesting to hear how the regional rep directly worked with the local government to throw small events and how she now has (pretty much) the full support for any event she wants to put on. Proper planning, documentation will help get your event approved. Or will it?

As I sat there listening to this, it made me think about the events that Boulder Burners and creatives throw: Second Friday Art Openings, The Cruiser Ride, The Big Wheel Rally, PirateCon, SantaCon, Kinetics, Naked Pumpkin Run, World Naked Bike Ride and others. Could those event organizers put them on with the blessing of the city? Most of them no. The Kinetics Race had a really long run, but finally closed under the mounting costs, declining attendance and lack of a corporate sponsor. The Cruiser Ride continues to ride a razors edge of being shut down or the city turning a blind eye to the organized chaos that it has become. The Big Wheel Rally has the best shot at becoming approved. Will the costs of permits, insurance and potentially police escorts shut it down or hurt the fund raising efforts? Is it better to beg forgiveness or ask permission? Should certain events/activities become headless so the city cannot single any one person out? Going legit or remaining an outlaw? Maybe certain events are best left underground while others should come up for air and work with the city? Lots to think about.

The Caucus ended with a talk by Larry Harvey, the founder of Burning Man. The main hall filled with area Burners to hear Larry since he hasn't spoken at a large event in about 4 years. Larry talked about the origin of the "9 principles" and then adding the 10th principle, Immediacy. He also discussed the amazing programs that were born out of the Burn: Burners without Borders, Black Rock Solar and the Xara Learning Village Charter School. Burning Man has influenced communities throughout the world and "creates Social Equity" and Larry posits the world will change again when there is another large Burning Man-style event in Europe or Asia. I can't wait to see it.

Next: Burning Life