MicroBurn 2021

ABOUT

MICROBURN 2021

MicroBurn is a not-for-profit event born in the North West of England and inspired by Burning Man and related events. We are super excited to be able to gather again on a family-owned eco farm in the beautiful Welsh Valleys for MicroBurn 2021. 

However due to COVID-19 and Regulation 16 of the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020 which imposes obligations on people responsible for premises that are open to the public, things are going to be a little different from usual. MicroBurn must be as outdoor as possible this year to comply with the Welsh Regulations - this means changes this year to consider before you buy your membership

– All participants must provide evidence of a negative Lateral Flow Test to be admitted, no test result no admittance. Civic responsibility: let’s keep each other safe.

– The Kitchen Bus will not be open to the public so no communal meals this year. Radical self-reliance: you are going to have to bring your own food and the means to cook it.

– The Chapel will not be open for any events this year. That means no rave at night, no cabaret and no workshops in there.

Because we cannot keep music enclosed in the Chapel this year all music elsewhere on site must be kept to a reasonable level with no loud music at all after 11pm.

We do plan on having a massive outdoor open sided structure in the main field to hopefully protect us from the worst of the elements.

We do plan on having the Marquee Bar as usual but minus a couple of sides to create good airflow.

Finally, to mitigate the risk of exposure to COVID-19 we must ask, regardless of presenting a negative Lateral Flow Test, the following participants must not attend MicroBurn for any of the following reasons:

i) any person who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the previous 10 days,

ii) any person who has had close contact in the previous 10 days with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19,

iii) any person experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19;

Refunds will be provided in these cases if you are unable to transfer to another participant.

OUR VALUES

Of course, this is a BURN – which means we're here to practice the principles of Burning Man

"Principles WHAT?" you say? Be sure to verse yourself in the values that guide us and check out the Principles here.

Most importantly for us:

1) YOU are the event. And when we say 'what you bring is what you get', we mean it. There are no spectators at the MicroBurn, and no centrally organised or pre-booked entertainment. So bring your art, bring your style, and bring your ideas: the MicroBurn community offers you a supportive environment to prototype your dreams. Get involved!

2) This is a LEAVE NO TRACE event. Everything you bring to site, you take back with you. There is no waste-collection service here: plan ahead to take your trash off-site with you. If it fit when you packed up, it will fit when you pack out. And if you see trash or something that's out of place lying around, pick it up and put it where it belongs - we are all caretakers of the land around us. And we love this farm: if something is going to damage the environment there, please don’t bring it: let's leave the site as delightful as we find it.

3) EVERYONE pays for a Membership, including the organisers. We are not a commercial event: everyone is a volunteer, and no one profits from MicroBurn. Every penny that's paid by you goes back into the event and the year-round processes to keep it going. And when you arrive? You'll find a gift economy built on love and generosity: no buying, no selling, no trading.

LOW INCOME MEMBERSHIPS

If you're on a low-income, we have a limited number of reduced-rate memberships available. Low income memberships are available to full time students, unemployed people, people on benefits and people on a very low income that would otherwise struggle to attend Microburn.

Unemployment as life-style choice does not qualify for low-income memberships and students and other people with no or low income  but with good finances should purchase standard tickets.

FOOD

This year there will be no communal kitchen, so you have to rely on yourself, bringing your own facilities and food with you. Remember that no food is bought or sold on-site during the event.

TRANSFERS & REFUNDS

If your plans change, you can arrange your own transfers via Quicket (except for low income memberships). The most secure way to give a membership to someone else is to transfer it from your Quicket account. This will remove the membership from your account and put it into the recipient's Quicket account with a new barcode.

If you cannot attend Microburn for Covid reasons (positive Covid test result, near contact with a person who has tested positive for Covid, having Covid symptoms), contact us and we will refund you. Please do first try to organise a ticket transfer since there will be many burners hoping to get a last minute ticket, and every refund means less money for MicroBurn to cover our costs.

BAR

As always, we'll organise a space with a bar at the MicroBurn. And if you haven't gotten the idea by now: no booze will be bought or sold, the bar runs entirely on donations by YOU. The bar team will be requesting both your elixirs and time ahead of the event.

PARTICIPATION

MicroBurn is a co-created event meaning it's run by YOU! Everyone is asked to do one or two shifts on-site, in addition to a kitchen shift if you have opted in and purchased a kitchen membership. Specific volunteering roles include rainbow rangers, welfare, leave no trace and more. Full details and shift sign-up will be out during the summer.

How to get involved?

1. Join us on Slack, where most of the action happens! Whether you're a lead or not, everyone is encouraged to join. Sign up here.
2. Join us on Facebook, and reach our to the wider community here.
3. Come along to an online community meeting. Dates and links to join are posted on Facebook and Slack just before meetings.
4. Email [email protected] describing your skills and the area you'd like to get involved in. The participation lead will try to hook you up with a team that suits.
5. Await the grand volunteering spreadsheet, where on-site shifts will become available to claim.

And if you're interested in helping to organise the event throughout the year, get in touch and join an online meeting!

ART GRANTS

Do you have an idea for an art project you'd like to make reality? Test-run your dreams in the Welsh hills! Grants are available for a limited number of art, decor and performance projects. The deadline for submission is the 27th August and the grants will be awarded by 3rd September (we know, not much time!) Apply here.

ENTERTAINMENT

Got a workshop or performance idea? We are all co-creators of MicroBurn, so if you'd like to run a workshop, lead an event, or perform something, you can! If you'd like your activity listed in the central schedule, keep your eyes peeled for the sign-up form that will be available shortly.

ADOPT A YURT or BRING A SPACE

On-site we will have open-sided yurts, available for participants to take over and turn into enchanting spaces for all as well as a large open-sided tent. Or if you're planning to bring along a tent or structure for the common use of MicroBurn participants, let us know in advance so we can find a space for it and put it on the map.

LOCATION

Nestled in the Welsh hills, this is a working farm with live animals: be mindful of them during your stay. Remember to use the recycling facilities provided, only bring what you need and plan to take your own garbage away with you.

The farm site has toilets, various outdoor spaces, camping fields and some limited space for campervans.

The site owners have requested that we do not publicise the venue location. Exact details will be shared with membership holders closer to the event.

GETTING THERE

Please share rides or use public transport where possible. This reduces the quantity of vehicles on-site, for which we have a limited number of vehicle passes, and is of course better for the environment. The nearest train stations are Caersws and Newtown. You can offer and request rideshares here.

ARRIVAL & DEPARTURE

Arrival is from Thursday morning and the event officially begins from 2pm. The site cannot accommodate many people arriving early- only those on the Build list will be permitted to arrive before Thursday morning. If you'd like to help with Build, watch out for the sign up sheet. Build begins on Tuesday.

The following Monday is Strike day, and everyone is asked to contribute at least a couple of hours of their time to help. A limited number of people will be staying on until Tuesday to finish the job. Everyone else needs to have left site by Monday evening.

LEAVE NO TRACE

MicroBurn, like all burns, is a Leave No Trace event. We aim to leave our environment at least as clean and tidy as we found it, if not better. All waste and garbage must be taken off-site at the end of the event, and at MicroBurn we all work together to do this.

There will be a Recycling Station on site, where participants can separate their waste. This will then be taken by volunteers to the local recycling station. We are all responsible for making this happen, and you can sign up for a recycling run or LNT shift on the Volunteer's Spreadsheet both ahead of the event and on-site.

INCLUSION

If you have any inclusion or accessibility needs, join the Slack team here or get in touch with us at [email protected]

We will do our best to accommodate your needs.

NEED TO GET IN TOUCH?

1. Join Slack
2. Join the Facebook community
3. Email [email protected]

And if you're still lost, a few weeks before the event the SURVIVAL GUIDE will be emailed to all membership holders. This contains everything you need to know.

See you in September!

MicroBurn HQ

xxxxx