Dear Red Nose Veterans,



Like we told you in Newsletter #1, RND is planning to reconvene on the playa this August to assist you in having the Ultimate Amazing Time at Burning Man.

We have important new news for y'all. Here's a quick gander:

 


DETAILS


The Red Nose District signup page is now live

May 31 was the submission deadline for theme camp applications. We got ours in just under the wire. So we’re now an official Burning Man theme camp.

 

Ready to hop on board?
Click here to go to the RND signup webpage.

You can sign up as a member of any of our sub-camps, and a portion of your dues will support your sub-camp's projects.

 

Those who were with Gooferville last year should note that this year Gooferville is called "Circus Metropolus".

If you prefer, you can also select "no camp affiliation", and 100% of your dues will fund RND operations.

And, back by overwhelmingly popular demand, we're again offering delicious hot dinners with a choice of "vegan" or "omnivore" styles.



Vau de Vire Society will not be with us this year

In 2006, Vau de Vire brought you RND's outdoor stage, the fabulous 35’-tall Hypha sculpture, acrobats, music, and the RND plaza playground. Unfortunately for us (but lucky for them), Vau de Vire has received an offer they can't refuse to perform with the Bumbershoot Festival, which conflicts with Burning Man. Dang!


The Fringe will share our stage

Last year, some friends of ours called The Fringe camped next to us. They brought a big mobile stage, a well-organized camp, and about forty residents. This year, they’ll be our neighbors again. They're also planning to co-produce a Thursday show with Gooferman & Circus Metropolus, and then produce an after-burn party at RND Saturday night. They've got five quality DJs, along with BLVD and a couple of other live acts.


The Green Chai Garden has joined RND

Coco got me addicted to her wonderful chai in 2005, when my camp and hers were neighbors. This year, she's bringing many kind friends with her from Canada. They'll be helping her brew up and distribute a heaping helping of the best green-tea chai you've ever tasted. Be sure to grab a cup!


Kasia & Piotr will be bringing sculptures for RND

Kasia Wojnarski is an awesome fire artist. She’s also a member of our EnHightened Beings camp. Last year she placed her Burning Tree sculpture across the Esplanade from RND. This year, Kasia is creating a new fire sculptur, and she's indicated that she'd like to place it inside RND.

 

Kasia’s brother Piotr is also an artist. He’s offered to bring his stroboscopic musical water fountain to grace our fair District. When he brought it in 2005, it was a very popular late-night attraction. It’s guaranteed to boggle your mind, or what’s left of it in the wee hours.


We have big shows planned for each night Wednesday thru Saturday

Our schedule of shows for the Big Top is firming up. It looks like Cirque Berzerk will be performing on WED and FRI, Gooferman & Circus Metropolus will be performing THU, and Fringe will take the lead on SAT. Depending on how things turn out, we might even do a show on TUE.

 

 

We have some very nice infrastructure upgrades this year

 

Thanks to the extreme diligence of our electrical wizard Joe, we’ve just bought a 23-kilowatt generator for Red Nose District. Last year, our rented generator was too expensive to run 24/7, so we had to keep reconfiguring our grid. Chaos ensued.

 

We’re looking for a generator service company that can do a bio-diesel conversion for us. If you know someone who does that sort of thing in the Bay Area, please let us know.

 

Chuck of Arabia will be managing graywater. His big green initiative is to stop paying $0.80 per gallon to get our shower water hauled away. Instead, he’ll be purifying it and using it to run the swamp coolers in the Totem Massage & Chill tent. He’ll also be nudging the kitchen staff to use less rinse water, since foody graywater can’t be purified for reuse and will still cost a bundle to get rid of.

 

Dr. Nome will be managing our potable water supply. He’s buying a new 800-gallon tank and renting a trailer to move it around on. We’ll have the option of taking it to town and refilling it during the festival if we run low.

 

We’re adding a little kitchen for people who aren’t on the meal plan. The little kitchen will have everything you need to make dinner for yourself and your friends, and will keep you from getting trampled by our dangerously efficient meal crew in the Big Kitchen.

 

 

We have a list of unfilled but critical jobs - please help!

 

The following crucial jobs must be filled. When signing up for RND membership, please consider whether you can take on one of these tasks:

 

Chef for a night (8 needed):

Last year's kitchen was wonderful, so we're doing it again. And we're gonna need a chef for each of the eight nights we serve camp meals. Our chefs design the menu, buy and prepare the food, freeze it, bring it to the playa, and supervise the kitchen crew in getting it ready to serve. We (those who sign up for the meal plan, that is) pay for it and enjoy it... what could be better?

 

Placement coordinators for new arrivals (3 needed):

This is a NEW position this year and frankly an important one. We want to create a real neighborhood this year in the RND with designated pathways and access roads. The placement coordinators will be responsible for making sure that plan is fulfilled, and will probably have some say in devising the plan as well. We need people who are outgoing, cheerful, diplomatic and who want to get to know our residents. We're not going to lie, a position like this often requires someone who's good at dispute resolution, so if that sounds like you, by all means put your name in the hat. Jim Noname has volunteered to manage the placement team. People show up at all hours on the playa and no one person can deal with all of them.

 

Trash hauling:

Another REALLY REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT JOB.  Last year one of RND's weakest links was our trash plan.  And before going any further, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE understand that your Red Nose dues do not apply toward us hauling your personal trash off the playa, that is your responsibility and yours alone, please DO NOT put your personal camp trash in the RND trash receptacles... pack it out as any good Burner should.

 

Having said that... we're a big camp and it's just the nature of a camp our size to generate trash.  We're going to need drivers to haul our trash to Fernley before the Burn (after the Burn, the roads are clogged), so that when we’re done with teardown, that's it... we're out like we were never there.

 

Teardown crew:

We need dedicated crew to stay until the RND is torn down and packed away.  Our plan this year is to begin some teardown Sunday, finish by Monday at sunset, and exit the playa Tuesday morning.  Realistically, this can sometimes NOT happen due to weather, etc. etc. etc.:  We need a crew that can stay until the job is done.  This is ESSENTIAL to the Red Nose District happening at all... no teardown crew, no RND.  Please volunteer for this if you can stay a few days extra on the back end.

 
Stage manager (experience required): 

We'd LOVE to have more than one stage manager this year so that everyone can have a chance to get out and see the sights, yet know that everything is functioning in their absence.  The stage manager would be responsible for coordinating with the talent, sound mixer, lighting designer, and electricians for the day or night they're assigned... if you look good with a walkie, this could be your job

 

Lighting & soundboard operators (experience required):   

Again, we'd love to have more than one of these, so please let us know if this is your forte and we'll work on coordinating nights... 

 

Fetching ice from Center Camp:

We need it, they have it, we need someone to get it. Once each day.

 

Shower attendants:

This isn't just helping scrub down the boys and/or girls (depending on your preference) of your choice - though you never know at Burning Man.  This job requires understanding the shower system and making sure it's functioning properly, including water usage, propane supply, shower sign up, keeping the area clean (we should ALL help with this, but the attendants should oversee it) and making sure our greywater tank is not overflowing.  This can be a fun job--despite the plumbing (or maybe because of it).

 

Potable water wrangler:

Dr. Nome needs a volunteer for the RND Water Co. who will monitor our water levels and drive the water wagon to town for a fill up. Good driving skills with a heavy trailer are essential.

 

Assistant RND midway coordinator and midway attractions proposals:

The front of the RED NOSE DISTRICT will be a wonderful world of midway games and carnival posters... and it's up to all of us to figure out just what that can be... Ever have an idea for a game or attraction that would be great at Burning Man, but it was too small or too whatever for placement as art?  Well, this is your chance!  Step up one and all to the RND midway and give it a whirl... 

 

Here are a few ideas to get your juices flowing:  we could use artists to create giant side show banners to line the midway, builders to create booths for games. Example: a giant-sized whack-a-mole (contestants can take turns as the mole or as the whacker) with a cartoonish rubber mallet --- this idea is up for grabs by the way for anyone who might want to build it... or any other ideas: cotton candy?  rides?  Contests?

 

Boenobo has volunteered to coordinate this madness... placing projects, helping them get power, etc...

 

RND Marquee builder and updater:

There's gonna be A LOT of stuff going on in the RND and we want people to know about it, so how about a big marquee to let everyone know the day’s events? We need someone to build it and someone to update it daily with what's up for the following day at RND... It should be lit well at night and legible...  if you're artistic and diligent, please sign up for this.


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Does all this sound like fun? Then flex your clicking finger and join us!

Click here to go to the RND signup webpage now.

If you have some kickass friends who might want to join RND, please forward this message to them.

Email me if you want to add or remove an email address from this distribution list.

 

Here are contact addresses for the RND managers.

EnHightened Beings - Jesster - canuckleheadadv@earthlink.net

The Nome - Dr Nome - Dr.Nome@speakeasy.net

TOTEM Massage & Chill - Chuck - tadmuck@comcast.net

Circus Metropolus - Boenobo - boenobo@circusmetropolus.com

Cirque Berzerk - Sue - suzanne@bernelphoto.com

The Green Chai Garden - Coco - coco_73@yahoo.com

Kitchen manager - Vicki - vicki@gradman.com

Green theme coordinator - Indigo - indigomoonstar@yahoo.com

For more information on RND, see our home page and our internal documents, both newly updated.



Honk!
Chuck Nichols
RND treasurer

tadmuck@comcast.net