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via https://www.reddit.com/r/BurningMan/comments/1ife5aa/town_hall_meeting_transcript_from_zoom/ – thank you u/experthumanpilot!

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:03:39
And we do want to hear from you. So please click below to add your question and we will read them on air and you’ll get some answers from all the panelists that we have ready for you today.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:03:43
So again, get those town hall bingo cards ready. It is my honor first.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:03:49
To introduce to you our Burning Man CEO and founding board member and my good friend, Marion Goodell.

[Marian Goodell] 10:04:00
Good morning. Coming to you from Drizzly, San Francisco i I’m so blown away with Wow, looks like 900 of you here. Yes. Hello.

[Marian Goodell] 10:04:17
So I’d love to touch on a couple of things to get us going for today. Really, we put together a nice little program for you.

[Marian Goodell] 10:04:26
And we’d love to share a lot of info and take in some Q&A.

[Marian Goodell] 10:04:30
First of all. Gosh, the tomorrow, today.

[Marian Goodell] 10:04:35
Theme really works for me. It’s been giving me a lot of opportunity to sort of look back as we look forward.

[Marian Goodell] 10:04:41
And I really realized that the first time that we ever passed a hat was in 1990.

[Marian Goodell] 10:04:47
And that was when they got to the playa and the man had been chopped up for firewood. And in order to build the second one, they had to get a loan from Baronio Lumber.

[Marian Goodell] 10:04:55
And then in 1997, I myself stood at the gate as people gave us really generous donations as larry had given out the idea of giving out of lifetime tickets, which 34 people took us up on.

[Marian Goodell] 10:05:12
And then, of course, we had the financial crisis of 2008 and then the regulatory hurdles of 2019 and then the pandemic.

[Marian Goodell] 10:05:20
So looking back, it’s really been interesting to watch how each time we have one of these challenges, we come through them.

[Marian Goodell] 10:05:26
We’ve overcome them, though, with communal effort and creativity and inclusivity and perseverance with you guys.

[Marian Goodell] 10:05:34
When I think about the team and my colleagues facilitating Burning Man, it is a passionate and strong group and most importantly.

[Marian Goodell] 10:05:41
We must be humble. After all, we are in service to a global culture.

[Marian Goodell] 10:05:45
We do the work because it matters. You matter. Your participation and facilitation of Burning Man culture is making the world a more creative and connective place.

[Marian Goodell] 10:05:55
Thank you. In practicing a mindset of service, we are accelerating feedback loops, listening and taking action.

[Marian Goodell] 10:06:03
For example, with the events selling out every year, we didn’t need to explain that tickets do not cover the event costs and that philanthropy is needed.

[Marian Goodell] 10:06:10
But the game has changed. And we should have brought you along better on this journey and we are appreciative of you sticking with us.

[Marian Goodell] 10:06:19
The future is bright. 2025 promises to be a transformative year.

[Marian Goodell] 10:06:25
We are learning and improving. Reducing bureaucracy and red tape.

[Marian Goodell] 10:06:29
And we hope that you see and feel this in how you engage with us and one another.

[Marian Goodell] 10:06:36
Charlie Dolman, our event operations director for Black Rock City, will talk more about this.

[Marian Goodell] 10:06:42
And how 2025 will be the best spring ban ever in a moment.

[Marian Goodell] 10:06:47
Also on Charlie’s team, Hazmat, which is Matt Morgan, who is the associate director of the BRC Business Operations.

[Marian Goodell] 10:06:53
And level Bryant Tan, who is Associate Director of City Planning, will also make appearances with Charlie.

[Marian Goodell] 10:07:00
Thank you for being a part of our amazing community. Thank you for the work in the fundraising this fall.

[Marian Goodell] 10:07:07
From the way you respond and help one another and strangers alike in times of need.

[Marian Goodell] 10:07:12
To the creative inspiration you provide to friends and neighbors in your local communities.

[Marian Goodell] 10:07:16
And the generous response to our recent philanthropic efforts. Because of your support, which comes in a myriad of ways.

[Marian Goodell] 10:07:24
The Burning Man community is thriving. And our December $3 million community campaign was a success.

[Marian Goodell] 10:07:31
Thank you. We exceeded our community campaign fundraising goals and we saw a 20% increase in the number of donors.

[Marian Goodell] 10:07:38
From 2023 to 2024. While it is certainly something to celebrate.

[Marian Goodell] 10:07:43
We, of course, will always and still continue to be fundraising.

[Marian Goodell] 10:07:47
We did not meet the adjusted fundraising goal we set for ourselves following the ticket shortfall.

[Marian Goodell] 10:07:53
As you may have seen in recent email updates or heard in 2024, we had a ticket revenue shortfall to the tune of 10 million.

[Marian Goodell] 10:08:00
And we needed to fundraise to close the gap to take to keep ticket prices lower.

[Marian Goodell] 10:08:07
While we didn’t meet that goal, we did managed to reduce our internal spending and our budget by 9%.

[Marian Goodell] 10:08:15
So what does this mean? While we are still moving towards a long-term vision for Burning Man, including a bright future for year-round programming, our current priority is the Burning Man experience in Black Rock City.

[Marian Goodell] 10:08:27
We believe helping people get access to Black Rock City plays a critical role in our mission to facilitate and extend the culture that has emerged from the Burning Man event into the larger world.

[Marian Goodell] 10:08:37
We will continue to tightly manage operating expenses and capital expenses across the organization.

[Marian Goodell] 10:08:44
And 2025 is going to be the best Burning Man ever.

[Marian Goodell] 10:08:48
With the challenges of 2024 stripped away, what isn’t… What the challenges of 2024 have stripped away what isn’t essential.

[Marian Goodell] 10:08:57
Opening up new possibilities for radical reinvention. That’s why we’re not just hopeful, but we are certain that 2025 will be the best Burning Man ever.

[Marian Goodell] 10:09:06
Because this moment of transformation belongs to all of us and bold ideas are what this movement is made of.

[Marian Goodell] 10:09:15
So… 2025 ticket news.

[Marian Goodell] 10:09:19
Lower ticket prices and new tiered models. Specific to 2025 tickets.

[Marian Goodell] 10:09:25
Did you see the announcement that went out earlier today? Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?

[Marian Goodell] 10:09:32
Registration for the Today Sale opens on Monday. Help us launch Black Rock City 2025 Best Burning Man ever.

[Marian Goodell] 10:09:41
Like for us inside the organization, we are considering today to be launch day Blackpag City, Burning Man launch day, February 1st.

[Marian Goodell] 10:09:50
Fuck yeah. For those of you who may not seen it, we announced entirely the new Black Rock City ticket offerings that make 2025 the year not to miss. Radical inclusion and gifting are at the center of the tickets to Black Rock City 2025.

[Marian Goodell] 10:10:06
Ticket prices available publicly start at 550, which is lower than the 575 from last year. And they range up to $3,000.

[Marian Goodell] 10:10:15
Lowering ticket prices to 550 helps us to keep Black Rick City financially accessible and culturally vibrant.

[Marian Goodell] 10:10:21
We are doing what we said we would do and we are confident in the future because of the strength of the Burning Man community.

[Marian Goodell] 10:10:27
Tickets priced at $7.50 or up cover the full cost and per participant to produce Black Rick City, which was an estimated 749 in 2023.

[Marian Goodell] 10:10:39
And the proceeds from these sales help to secure an inclusive Black Rock City.

[Marian Goodell] 10:10:45
Funding breathtaking interactive and participatory art and ensuring that black City continues to survive as a place of radical self-expression Creativity, fun, and joy.

[Marian Goodell] 10:10:58
We are also making participation in Black Rock City possible through several new and returning programs.

[Marian Goodell] 10:11:04
This includes the familiar steward sale for core event contributors. There was a question this morning that came to us through the wonderful world of the internet.

[Marian Goodell] 10:11:14
That about the ticket tiers and you’ll you’ll you’ll see that you’ll see that There is the today sale and there’s the steward sale and we are saving a lot of allotments just for the stewards sale. That’s held and preserved.

[Marian Goodell] 10:11:30
Another new program we have, a new program we have is the Renaissance Program.

[Marian Goodell] 10:11:34
This is intended to tap connectors to invite networks and inspire groups and collectives to bring their magic to Black Rock City.

[Marian Goodell] 10:11:41
The new resilience program that makes tickets available to those who have recently been impacted by natural disasters or geopolitical conflict.

[Marian Goodell] 10:11:50
And the ticket aid program that will once again make 225 reduced price tickets available to participants on limited income.

[Marian Goodell] 10:11:58
The generosity of higher priced ticket purchases and donations made to Burning Man Project make Burning Man a reality for more people by subsidizing the reduced price tickets.

[Marian Goodell] 10:12:10
Finally, in a few moments, you will hear from two up-and-coming community leaders in the Burning Man ecosystem.

[Marian Goodell] 10:12:16
Taylor Andrews, Next Gen Engagement Strategist, and Laura Day, Associate Director of operations about how we are reaching out, welcoming in new participants Because we believe more Burning Man is beneficial for all.

[Marian Goodell] 10:12:32
I’ll close by planting this seed for you. Burning Man is a community-based ecosystem.

[Marian Goodell] 10:12:39
When you choose your ticket tier for Black Rock City this year, you have an opportunity to have an impact on our collective experience.

[Marian Goodell] 10:12:47
To use Larry’s words. With his entirely new ticket offerings designed with gifting and radical inclusion in mind.

[Marian Goodell] 10:12:55
We created the hive. Now it’s up to you, the community, and all the participants to bring the honey.

[Marian Goodell] 10:13:04
And I think we have a little video for you.

[BMP Year-Round Events] 10:13:10
But the only thing I know… is the immediate experience of being.

[BMP Year-Round Events] 10:13:15
Belonging to yourself, belonging to others, belonging to the world, belonging to the the cosmos beyond that. That’s the sacred thing.

[BMP Year-Round Events] 10:13:24
We’ve never attributed meaning to the man. His face is literally a blank shoji-like screen, and the idea is, of course, that you have to project that onto him.

[BMP Year-Round Events] 10:13:40
Visions are things that are not defined that light falls upon them. They’re defined by the light that radiates out of them.

[BMP Year-Round Events] 10:13:47
He wanted us to have some cool art and to give the rest of that up to people who show up and say what they want to bring.

[BMP Year-Round Events] 10:13:52
I see the Black Rock Desert as this place where people can go out there and they can do anything they want However crazy it is, whether it makes sense or whether or not it’s useful by any conventional category, maybe they will discover something in themselves and maybe they’ll discover

[BMP Year-Round Events] 10:14:06
Focal point between them and the world. And maybe they’ll discover a life.

[BMP Year-Round Events] 10:14:10
Listen, if I could do it, failed bicycle message or a failed taxi driver, a failed gardener, a failed… You name it. By any normal standard, I was an abject and Failure. Now I see that that was actually a sustained course of study

[BMP Year-Round Events] 10:14:25
For everything I’m doing now. We just surrendered ownership and we’ve given it to a nonprofit, Burning Man Project. And its aim is to disseminate our culture at a global scale.

[BMP Year-Round Events] 10:14:36
So there’ll be Burning Man’s everywhere. Well, that would just be the beginning. We’re not just staging an event anymore. We’re coordinating a global community.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:15:16
Thank you, Larry. Oh, that felt good. That felt really good.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:15:21
Thank you, Marion, for getting us rolling today. Hi, everybody. My name’s Charlie Dolman or Louder Charlie on the player. I’m the operations director. Welcome to our Town Hall, Community Town Hall 2025.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:15:33
Thanks, everybody, for coming today. There’s a lot of you here and you guys plugging in this early is really what helps us get the ball rolling.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:15:41
And I just want to start off by assuring you they’re not going to be any thinly veiled frets about canceling the event. That’s not going to happen.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:15:48
I have in my day-to-day the huge pleasure of helping bring the thing in the desert to life with the aid of you all and with thousands of others.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:15:56
And my job is not only to think about the operations, the nuts and bolts, but also to kind of think about the culture And to understand and help shape how that fits with the work that we do with the work that we do you.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:16:10
That you guys do and what that picture looks like Over the last few months, we’ve got a lot of feedback from a lot of people. And I just want to say.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:16:19
That we’ve heard you. And honestly, even when it’s been uncomfortable, we’ve kept our eyes and ears open and we want that feedback.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:16:27
I know and you probably have seen that sometimes we’re a little bit crusty and a little bit snarky And that in places we’ve overcomplicated things and we’ve made things too bureaucratic maybe.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:16:38
And that’s no fun. And I do want to say that that has all been done with good intention. If that doesn’t sound silly, you know, people have tried to do a really good job, a really thorough job, and that’s what’s made it complicated.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:16:53
But then also it became not fun. We need to course correct. So starting in 2023, we went on a journey to address this, to respond to this feedback.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:17:04
And I, you know, I noticed in 2024, and I hope you guys noticed too, that it felt like one of the most relaxed burns. And I started coming in 2006. I’ve been in a lot of burns.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:17:13
But it felt like the most relaxed burn It was good. And we want to continue to build on that.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:17:21
So we have started to look deeply at how all of these pieces fit together. And my sincere desire, and I mean this, is that I Hope we managed to make things simpler, less bureaucratic, and just more human. We’re all people in this world.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:17:37
And we are here to serve you and we want coming to the desert to be fun and enjoyable. I believe in the culture. I believe in the event.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:17:44
Fucking love it. Excuse my French. And I believe in the gifts that you bring and the theme camps and the artists and the mutant vehicles and all the teams that do all the work that we need behind the scenes.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:17:52
You know, you will participate in different ways and so i hope that in the coming months you get to see some of these changes that we’re making and see them impact you personally.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:18:02
And so today I’m going to tell you a couple of those ways that we’re working to improve things. And then I’m going to invite some others to come up and tell you some of their bits and pieces.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:18:14
So as Marion mentioned in her email, she started kind of her last email alluding to some of these things. So I’m going to pull out a couple to highlight.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:18:21
And they fall into different buckets. So first of all, the administrative bit.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:18:27
So I’m sure mutant vehicle among owners among you here have noticed that we introduced a fast track a few years ago for some vehicles in good standing. Well, and that was a good start.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:18:39
But we can do more, right? So for 2025, we are not only removing some questions from the DMV application process, but we’re opening up that fast track process for all returning vehicles.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:18:50
And so that’s just going to make things simpler, easier, and faster for all the mutant vehicles to get rolling in Black Rock City.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:18:57
We’re also looking at cultural issues. For example, right now we’re working on some decommodification guidelines. And you might think, well, that’s just a weird one but The world has changed and evolved and Burning Man culture is now spilling out everywhere.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:19:13
And more and more and more, we are getting a lot of questions from around the world with people saying, hey, I want to do a thing How do I do this right? How do I make sure that I’m not bumping into this principle?

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:19:23
And so we’re working with a group of community members to make some guidelines that are clear so that we can all understand, all start from the shared baseline and be comfortable in what we’re doing without being worried about doing it wrong, which none of us want to do.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:19:37
And then the last area of things is the mechanical area of things. And some of these things are big and some of them are small.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:19:44
So, you know, every year that little gap by greeters, when you come to leave the event It’s always just a total cluster of cars and RVs and people and bicycles and it just during Exodus especially So we’re going to redesign that space. We’re going to make it so that it flows and it’s safer and so that you can leave the city more smoothly.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:20:06
And on the way in, any of you who have ever come early know that we give you a wristband when you come early.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:20:11
Well, we sat down a little while ago And no one could quite remember why we used that wristband. I’m sure there was a really good reason for it at the time.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:20:19
But we can’t remember it right now. So we’re going to get rid of it.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:20:22
It takes 20 seconds to wristband. There’s 20,000 of them. You do the math.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:20:26
Ingress is just going to get quicker and better. And I want to thank the gate guys who did an awesome job last year. And this is going to help improve on that.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:20:34
So as I’m sure you can imagine, it takes a lot of humans to bring this city to life. And so right now I’m going to bring some of them up So that you can hear it straight from the horse’s mouth.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:20:43
If that’s in a phrase that Americans use, I’m not sure so First of all, I’m going to introduce Tay and I’m going to introduce Laura.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:20:50
Tay is Tay there? There we go. And Laura, are you there? Great. Tay is an awesome human.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:20:55
Who’s helping us build a bridge to new, younger burners. She first came to the burn in 2023.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:21:01
And came to us afterwards and was like, you guys need more young people. And we were like, yeah. And she’s like, can I do it? And we said, yeah.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:21:08
So Tay’s going to do it. And then Laura, for all of you who enjoyed center camp last year and the kind of reinvigoration of that and the awesome energy Laura was the engine behind that that really kind of brought it to life so

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:21:21
Over to you guys. Tay, take it away.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:21:26
Awesome. Hi, everyone. My name is Taylor Andrews, and I’m so stoked to be here with you all today.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:21:32
First off, thank you for showing up. Your passion and dedication are what keep this community and culture alive.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:21:37
I should start by saying I never wanted to go to Burning Man. Fuck Burning Man.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:21:41
But while researching psychedelics at the University of Michigan, I attended the MAP Psychedelic conference Where I met Marianne who proposed interning and eventually participated at my first burn. My biggest realization was, wow, this culture deeply resonates with me and my generation.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:21:57
But where’s everyone my age? This led me to hosting a gathering for young burners after Black Rock City 2023.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:22:04
We reflected on what worked, what didn’t, what aligned with us, and where was there room for evolution.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:22:09
The biggest key takeaway was that we needed to keep this momentum going. We needed more collaboration, more opportunities to connect.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:22:17
And more ways to engage the next generation. We all know that Burning Man is not just an event, it’s a movement, a way of being.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:22:25
A place where the impossible becomes possible. You don’t just go to Burning Man, you experience Burning Man.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:22:31
And as we look toward the future, it’s clear the future starts right now.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:22:36
And that’s where Rising Sparks comes in. Rising Sparks is a collective I’ve been facilitating to bridge generational gaps, empower the next generation of burners And really focus on engagement, mentorship, and acculturation. We know that getting people to check Burning Man off their bucket list is easy.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:22:54
But the real magic happens when they truly participate, when they integrate into the culture, create lasting connections, spark creativity.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:23:03
And to help evolve Burning Man while staying true to its principles.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:23:06
So through Rising Sparks, we’re taking action to make that magic happen. We’re connecting young burners and newcomers with seasoned leaders theme camps, art projects, volunteer teams. We’re facilitating gatherings and workshops and community events to really build intergenerational relationships while sparking new ideas. And we’re developing tools and resources to make Burning Man more accessible

[Taylor Andrews] 10:23:30
And helping newcomers embrace the culture. This isn’t just about learning how to pack a tutu or pitch a tent. It’s about showing people how they can become part of something much bigger. I like to think of it like mycelium. Each connection strengthens the whole spreading ideas and creativity and collaboration and deep

[Taylor Andrews] 10:23:49
And far-reaching ways. Rising Sparks isn’t just an initiative. It’s a call to action. Whether you’re a first timer or a long timer.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:23:58
We need you to help seed the next generation of cultural stewards.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:24:02
Because together we can make this the best Burning Man ever. And tomorrow starts today. If you’re interested in learning more, getting involved and staying connected.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:24:12
Please drop us an email at the risingsparks at burningman.org and follow us on the Instagram at the rising sparks.

[Taylor Andrews] 10:24:20
And speaking of intergenerational collaboration, Laura Day, over to you.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:24:26
Hello, Burning Man. Thank you, Charlie and Tay. Girl, you are slay.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:24:33
Thank you all for being here today. I’m Laura Day, all day on the playa, and I’m here to share with you a new opportunity we’re launching this year, the Renaissance Program.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:24:44
So here’s the concept. We want to make it easier to come to Black Rock City.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:24:49
Especially for groups who want to plan their burn together in advance.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:24:53
We want to create a pathway for the community to invite more makers and artists and innovators to create the tomorrow of Burning Man today.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:25:03
This is a year of transformation where we welcome the next wave of burners And maybe lower some of those jaded fucks back into the dust. You know who you are.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:25:13
This is about growing our community with intention while holding true to the core of our culture all cultures, like any organism.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:25:23
Need to evolve and grow to thrive. And we are no different.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:25:27
We want to see that metaphorical mycelium that Tay was just talking about.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:25:33
So who will shape the future of Burning Man? Well, you, who better than the trusted members of our community?

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:25:40
Anyone passionate about growing this community with a vision for being part of Burning Man’s future can participate in the Renaissance program.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:25:48
Well, you guessed it by completing a form. Don’t worry, it’s literally five questions and you’ll find it linked on the ticketing page or at bit.ly slash Renaissance-champion.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:26:00
Then you too can become a Renaissance champion. Wait, what’s a Renaissance champion?

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:26:08
Well, imagine you are a Burning Man matchmaker. You know a killer performance trip in Detroit.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:26:14
A maker space in Mexico City and a group of friends in Tokyo who have always dreamed of playing on the playa together.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:26:21
You can be the bridge for those groups to find their way home.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:26:25
Just like how we invited artists and performers to reimagine center camp with us.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:26:31
Some of them had never been to Black Rock City and others hadn’t been in more than a decade.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:26:36
We created some real magic together, and that’s just the beginning of that story.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:26:40
And that’s what we want to do for the whole of Black Rock City.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:26:43
So if you’re a community connector and catalyst or just know some humans, you want to get dusty with this year, you can be a champion. And as such, you’ll be able to request for groups or individuals. So how will that work? You’ll sign up to become a Renaissance champion.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:26:59
Right now, through the short form on the ticketing page In March, after the steward sale, you’ll get all the details on how to get and share these tickets.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:27:08
Through the program. You get to share the love and invite your chosen ones.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:27:12
And then they’ll purchase their tickets and become part of the cult.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:27:15
Culture, culture. No hoops, no red tape.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:27:19
And a friendly team of humans are right here to support you.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:27:23
Just to be crystal clear, this is not about selling tickets. This is about community building initiative that leverages this special moment in BlackRock City’s evolution to fuel a renaissance of self-expression Tomorrow, today.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:27:37
It’s not an ambassador program. It’s an open invitation to spread the culture and craft the future of the community.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:27:44
It’s organic, decentralized, and anyone can participate. We want your ideas. We’re building this program with you.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:27:50
So for now, you can fill out the form or you can hit me up directly with your questions and ideas using champions at burningman.org.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:27:59
Much easier to spell than Renaissance, I figured. We will be sharing much more of the nitty gritty about the Renaissance program in a few weeks.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:28:07
This will be the best burn ever because we can reimagine what and who Burning Man will be.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:28:12
And every one of us has the power to shape it.

[Laura Day | Operations] 10:28:14
So who are you going to bring?

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:28:24
Thanks, Olay. It’s great to see all this enthusiasm. Thank you so much, Laura.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:28:30
And Taylor for bringing this stuff to light. Okay, so the next two humans I’m going to bring up, we’re going to be Level and Hazmat.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:28:38
Level, as many of you know, runs placement. He was also a big part of our cultural direction setting work Hey, Level, what made you first come to Burning Man?

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:28:47
If that’s not too personal.

[Level – Placement] 10:28:49
Hey, Charlie. And hey, everyone. What made me first go to Burning Man? You know that game Sim City?

[Level – Placement] 10:28:55
The computer game in the 90s. If you were nerdy enough, you did. I was like, there’s an actual place where you can play SimCity Live and do it every year and move things around.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:28:58
Sure.

[Level – Placement] 10:29:07
You know, I’m an urban planner, so that was 100% why I started going to burn mement.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:29:13
That’s quite a thing. Hazmat, are you there?

[HazMatt] 10:29:18
I’m here.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:29:18
The video you’re here. Okay, great. Hazmat is more of the kind of behind the scenes kind of guy You run Burner Express. You obviously have major contracts, run OSS, logistics, purchasing. You have a lot of stuff on your plate.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:29:32
How long have you been coming to Sebetiman? How long have you been around? It’s a while.

[HazMatt] 10:29:37
Yeah, I started volunteering for DBW in 2000. 2000 was my first burn And in my very first year of volunteering, I cleaned up a bucket of human excrement that had been kindly stored in the back of a shipping container from the previous years

[HazMatt] 10:29:58
And then in a secret and solemn DPW ceremony, I was dubbed hazmat the next year and Interestingly, I oversee the United States Services porta potty contract But the one did not necessarily lead to the other. It’s just a happy coincidence.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:30:13
It’s just serendipity. I love it. I love it. Okay. So level, tell us what’s happening with placement this year? What’s it shaping up to be?

[Level – Placement] 10:30:21
Yeah, you know, we’re talking a lot about how to make things easier, how to make things smoother for everyone out in Black Rock City.

[Level – Placement] 10:30:29
As the head of Burning Man Bureaucracy, I’m here to let you all know that there are no more forms Okay. I don’t know if you’re laughing or if you’re cheering. Unfortunately, that’s not the total truth.

[Level – Placement] 10:30:42
But we are really looking closely at our forms and figuring out how we can streamline things.

[Level – Placement] 10:30:47
I know, especially with placement, there’s more forms, there’s more questions. And so this year we’ve stripped them down. There’s a lot more questions that aren’t required. There’s a lot of questions in all our forms that are pre-populated. So if you want to just kind of press go because you’re doing the same thing you did previous years.

[Level – Placement] 10:31:04
And the biggest part of this I think I want to explain to folks is that we’re creating a fast track process within placement.

[Level – Placement] 10:31:10
Where if you’ve been to the playa for three years and in good standing, you’re going to have a significantly shorter experience, might be about half as many questions as you typically see. So I know my colleagues at the art department and the DMV are also looking at their forms and thinking about how to make things go faster and quicker. So unfortunately, it’s not no more forms, but it’s shorter forms and a quicker experience with them.

[Level – Placement] 10:31:32
That’s the first big headline for me. Second, I would also, we let folks know just a couple days that are theme camps, how many steward tickets you were receiving. By and large, that was 100% of what your request was.

[Level – Placement] 10:31:46
We know that it’s been kind of a competitive market to try to get those tickets in the past, and we wanted to smooth that out.

[Level – Placement] 10:31:53
And meet the needs that you stated to us, I will advise you all, if you don’t need all the tickets that we offer, don’t buy them because we don’t want to keep you on the hook for them either. So remember that that’s There in the summer, we’ll be announcing a little bit more of a way in case you find that you still need tickets. We’ll find a way for you to ask for them.

[Level – Placement] 10:32:12
So stay tuned for more information about that. And then my last bits is really about kind of how we’re trying to connect with the community better We really want to get information out clearer in a more transparent way, sooner and faster. So you may have already, if you’ve been around, seen that we’re announcing things sooner. We let folks know in mid-May whether you’ve been selected for placement. We share neighbor information now.

[Level – Placement] 10:32:38
That’s all been work that sort of stemmed from cultural direction setting that said, hey, placement, open up your doors, tell us more information.

[Level – Placement] 10:32:45
We’re doing our best and we’re going to be doing more. We have office hours that have started monthly. They’re every last Thursday and Friday of the month.

[Level – Placement] 10:32:54
So please join those sessions. You can chat with me live. You can chat with my team and other placers one-on-one, ask all sorts of questions, and we’re there to help And we have an office on Playa, you probably have noticed. That’s only started since 2022.

[Level – Placement] 10:33:08
Stop by, come visit, say hello, ask for help. We’re there to help you.

[Level – Placement] 10:33:12
And you can always email us at placement at burningman.org. There’s real people like myself behind that to get back to you. So anyway, those are a few highlights from placement.

[Level – Placement] 10:33:21
I’m going to pass it on to Hazmat to tell you more about OSS and things that we’re improving there.

[HazMatt] 10:33:30
Thanks, Lovell. As some of you may have seen from Marianne’s letter, we are planning to bring back delivered housing this year through the OSS program to some extent.

[HazMatt] 10:33:41
In 2020, before the pandemic hit. We decided to ban all delivered housing.

[HazMatt] 10:33:48
This largely stemmed from the perception that it was enabling turnkey camping or convenience camping as we call it.

[HazMatt] 10:33:58
Some camps were definitely doing it wrong, but many others were actually doing it really pretty right.

[HazMatt] 10:34:04
The thing is, is that a blanket ban really kind of threw the baby out with the bathwater. Many people were doing it right and the sieve that we put in place a little overdramatic. Certain things, for example, people that I had no business really driving a giant RV. We’re now responsible for getting behind the wheel of that RV and driving it into the city.

[HazMatt] 10:34:32
International travelers. It just put up some barriers to entry that we did not intend.

[HazMatt] 10:34:38
That’s the main thing. It didn’t accomplish what we wanted it to accomplish.

[HazMatt] 10:34:43
People who were determined to to do it wrong, found ways to get around what we put in place.

[HazMatt] 10:34:51
And as Charlie and everybody’s been saying, the bureaucracy that we essentially put in place was a little heavy-handed or just didn’t accomplish what we wanted to do. So now we were taking a more nuanced approach.

[HazMatt] 10:35:06
And we will be allowing camps in good standing to get delivered housing.

[HazMatt] 10:35:11
As well as new place camps. Unplaced camps will be allowed a limited number of units, likely five or six.

[HazMatt] 10:35:19
And lastly, we will be reaching out to providers that have participated with us in the past. And stay tuned for further details.

[HazMatt] 10:35:29
Charlie, back to you.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:35:31
Thanks, Hazmat. Thanks, level. Well, guys, that’s a little window into the nuts and bolts or some of the nuts and bolts for event operations. There are many more bits and pieces that you’ll begin to notice over the coming months.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:35:43
It’s an ongoing conversation. And as I said at the beginning, I really want your feedback. The invitation to this town hall came from event ops director at email, eventops director at burningman.org. Reply to that. Send us an email at that and I will get the feedback and we’ll put it in and we’ll take it in words. We will get the feedback. Thank you. And so

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:36:06
So that’s where we’re at. I am so excited to see how you guys participate this year. If you are interested in volunteering, there is a volunteerism office hours And you can find the volunteerism engagement stuff on the same page as the

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:36:20
Participation pages of the profiles Go be awesome. Let’s make 2025 be the best Burning Man ever.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:36:27
Thank you guys for your time. And now I’m going to hand it Back to Andy.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:36:33
Hi, Andy. It’s you.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:36:34
Hey, that’s me. Thanks, Charlie. Thanks for all that great information. I’ve been here a long time, you guys. I started burning in 1997, so I am a Gen X burner of a certain age.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:36:45
And it is really cool to me every time to see how organic and participatory Burning Man remains and how it evolves in real time.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:36:53
As we all participate together and build BlackRock City. I’m so proud of it. And I’m proud to see us welcoming new participants too.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:36:58
Listening to the feedback and evolving how people get to Burning Man and support their creative projects.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:37:03
I did a theme camp last year myself as a theme camp lead for the first time in 20 years.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:37:09
And I learned a lot in that process and I’m excited to see these changes. And I hope that, like me, you see them as making our participatory experience even easier together.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:37:18
I’d like to turn it back over to Marion right now to talk about the best Burning Man ever and how you make it happen.

[Marian Goodell] 10:37:27
Yeah, actually, I think we want to go to Q&A and I’ll close up um As we need to at the tail end, Andy.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:37:35
I like that because I’m seeing a ton of questions, especially with those tickets going on, the information going out today and this being a group of core collaborators.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:37:44
They’re going to have a lot of those questions. So why don’t we go ahead and dive into the Q&A section? You’ll see a button at the bottom of your screen to submit your question. We have a whole team of people here looking at all of them, and I know we’re going to get a lot of them.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:37:59
So we will try to surface the ones that answer best the questions for the people who are present now.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:38:03
If it’s okay, I’d like to go ahead and get started with a question for Marion because We are getting lots of questions from theme camp organizers like me.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:38:13
About getting enough because of the timing of the sale. I think that we surveyed theme camp organizers before we made these ticket sale decisions. Is that right, Marianne? Can you confirm The availability of the steward To choose your price point across all the tiers.

[Marian Goodell] 10:38:30
Yes, I did not actually do the surveying. Our friend level did the surveying We took the input that he received. I think, Lovell, you said you heard from almost 90% of the theme camps, right?

[Marian Goodell] 10:38:43
Yep. And so we took those numbers and made some estimates and we have reserved that allotment aside, we also have some guesses on DMV.

[Marian Goodell] 10:38:53
Collective. So we have taken those numbers and added a percentage and held those all tiers.

[Marian Goodell] 10:39:01
Flush with the tears that I think those groups will lean in towards.

[Marian Goodell] 10:39:05
So that they’re put aside.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:39:11
Okay, great. Let’s see, we’ve also gotten quite a few questions around The current administration and working with the BLM and how that affects Burning Man, I’m glad to share We’ve been fortunate to have a great relationship on both sides of the aisle. Marion, you want to talk more about that, about the planning for this year?

[Marian Goodell] 10:39:31
I’m sure actually i’m sure actually it’s kind of interesting that people are wondering about the US political climate As far as I know, we’ve been doing this for a long time. I personally been doing it, I guess, close to 30 years. And we have seen political leaders come and go.

[Marian Goodell] 10:39:49
We are very fortunate that no matter who is in leadership position in Washington DC, We have a fabulous relationship that’s kind of like the way we like to roll uh burning man has friends all over and are well liked and appreciated for the work that we do in the world and are not really even seen as political.

[Marian Goodell] 10:40:11
And so We’ve already been in touch with our BLM folks, our state director that’s actually known us now for a couple of years in Nevada is actually the acting director for the BLM in Washington DC right now.

[Marian Goodell] 10:40:25
And he knows our situation and we just talked to him the other day and he sees no issues.

[Marian Goodell] 10:40:31
So in fact, if anything, guys. This is the upside. Marnie and I and Charlie and you ho have all talked a bit about and we’ve had some conversations already with the BLM.

[Marian Goodell] 10:40:45
About pushing back on their costs. Because the whole dollar amount for the BLM, I think, reaches close to 8 million.

[Marian Goodell] 10:40:53
And some of that is we’re put in a position of paying their hourly rates and their requests and we can only push back so far.

[Marian Goodell] 10:41:01
But I felt pretty good about actually using this moment in time.

[Marian Goodell] 10:41:06
And Marnie and I got on a call and said, okay, we think there’s too much of this and there’s too much of that.

[Marian Goodell] 10:41:12
And he said, I hear you. And we’ve started some official letters. And so I think we’re actually going to see some improvements in some of the costs with the BLM.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:41:22
Excellent. Thank you, Marion. I am just crossing things off my Reddit town hall bingo card right and left here, folks.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:41:28
I think I might win. I don’t know what the prize is, but we’re trying to help you out here. I’m going to back up again into the ticket world because we’ve had more questions about that. The tiered model is new this year and people would like to hear a little bit more about how we came up with the tiers, what do they mean? Do they come with different perks? When will each price point be available? And who determines who pays which tier?

[Marian Goodell] 10:41:57
That is a great question. Heather White, if you want to come on screen and help me here.

[Marian Goodell] 10:42:04
And Taylor, you can bring us your pretty little face too. We wanted to have all of our little nodding heads here’s You can hear from us. Heather works closely with Lulu, who runs the ticketing department And it was Heather Yuho and Lulu and I that collaborated this year on the ticket levels.

[Marian Goodell] 10:42:22
Heather, do you want to add a little bit to this or do you want me to take it?

[Heather White] 10:42:27
I’m happy to add more. And I think adding Tay and having Laura here is also really important for this.

[Heather White] 10:42:35
I think we all look at the tiered pricing and we think about tiered pricing.

[Heather White] 10:42:40
But what we’ve also shared today is new pathways and new programs to include as many people as possible.

[Heather White] 10:42:46
So I think that’s to me what’s important to weave together. The tiered pricing in and of itself is not new. I remember when I first came in 2004, There was the idea of pay what you can to support others to come as well. And so that’s what I really think that we’re trying to do is talking to the theme camps, making sure that we have enough tickets for everyone and giving people the choice of how they want to participate and support others

[Heather White] 10:43:13
And if we don’t create enough spaciousness there to have these other programs where we can bring in the groups that want to come.

[Heather White] 10:43:21
I hope that helps.

[Marian Goodell] 10:43:23
Yeah, and the question also was about special perks. And like Heather said, we’ve done tiers before. In fact.

[Marian Goodell] 10:43:31
The funny moment about the tears was we had tears and the managing tears was kind of like internally was like sometimes like what this and then the things are off and then they’re on.

[Marian Goodell] 10:43:39
And we thought it was easier to reduce the tears. But I think one of the things that was hard about last year is there was nothing but between 575 and 1500. Like that’s a huge miss because when we went out in the world and had conversations this fall about, well, what is the situation? Why were we in this situation with reduced tickets?

[Marian Goodell] 10:43:59
And people were saying, well, if you’d only told us that this was the price, I would have totally paid it, but you didn’t give us that opportunity.

[Marian Goodell] 10:44:07
We didn’t either have a slider to choose what you want. So now we’ve created a version of sort of choose what you want.

[Marian Goodell] 10:44:12
And there is no other special perks in this ticketing tier process.

[Marian Goodell] 10:44:18
The goal is to actually be a community ecosystem So if you’ve ever like, I’ve actually had my toll paid for when I went through a toll booth, which was the funniest moment.

[Marian Goodell] 10:44:27
And it’s kind of sort of like that. It’s like, I feel good. Let me pay a little bit more because I can.

[Marian Goodell] 10:44:34
And it’s all going to supplement and help support. Because remember, we don’t have any sponsorship like other events Our sponsorship is together.

[Heather White] 10:44:43
Yes, Marianne, and I don’t think any of us just mentioned ticket aid, right? The ticket aid program as well.

[Heather White] 10:44:48
So when people are able to pay at the higher rates, they’re subsidizing more tickets through those other pathways and avenues.

[Marian Goodell] 10:44:56
Right. So the 225 ticket is obviously below our cost and actually so is the 550.

[Marian Goodell] 10:45:01
And the 650 is just below it. So we’ve created all these other tiers to actually help keep those ticket prices really affordable.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:45:10
Marion, it sounds like people are excited to hear about these programs like Resilience and Renaissance, but they’re curious to know what ticket sales will remain the same as far as is STEP going to work the same?

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:45:20
You mentioned ticket aid, staff sales, DGS, volunteers, what things are staying the same?

[Marian Goodell] 10:45:28
Well, ticket aid is the same, except it also has, I believe, a shorter and easier application process for Reels.

[Marian Goodell] 10:45:41
The DGS, which is known if you’re on the inside is our process to it’s the directed group sale is steward sale Directed group sales and stewards are all the same. There’s an internal machinery that we use.

[Marian Goodell] 10:45:55
But they’re the same. So if you’re part of internal collectives and teams, you’re still part of the DGS, which is also part of the steward sale.

[Marian Goodell] 10:46:05
That’s a body of work. There are ways in which volunteers, if you’re somewhere along in the season where you can work with a department head and make sure you have access to tickets.

[Marian Goodell] 10:46:15
There is a limited number of those. I will be honest with you is that part of what we also had happen last year is we saved too many things in all the allotments so that when each allotment wasn’t used and when we got to the end and we would normally just put them all in oh my God sale.

[Marian Goodell] 10:46:30
There wasn’t enough demand. So we are going to more tightly manage these different allotments.

[Marian Goodell] 10:46:35
So each one we’re going to try to hit them so that we’ve hit the right mark so that we take care of what we need to take care of in order to meet our budget.

[Marian Goodell] 10:46:45
What the Renaissance tickets are super cool. You heard it from Laura Day. I think it’s going to evolve and you’ll learn more about it.

[Marian Goodell] 10:46:52
But the example that I can best use is a friend that I’ve known for a number of years that I follow in Kentucky.

[Marian Goodell] 10:46:58
And she runs a welding collective. And I kind of wondered, well, she hasn’t been back in a while. Is that because she’s with all these other folks and she can’t really, she can get a ticket because she as part of bwb or she knows Andy, but what if there’s like six or seven more people in Kentucky that want to come?

[Marian Goodell] 10:47:16
The champions is meant to be a decentralized system so that people can help others that really want to come, bring their vibe.

[Marian Goodell] 10:47:24
Come. It’s a decentralized chance to it’s a little bit like stewards but not Resilience tickets came through when we were imagining how hard it feels for us to be starting ticket sales right now.

[Marian Goodell] 10:47:40
After the fires. Most of us live in California. We feel the pain one of our board members, several of our staff lost their homes.

[Marian Goodell] 10:47:48
And how could we be talking about something like this after such a natural disaster? And then we thought also about the hurricane in North Carolina.

[Marian Goodell] 10:47:55
And that was like, wait, there is so many ways in which we have these moments of friction in the world.

[Marian Goodell] 10:48:02
Where coming home and finding a way to come home is really important.

[Marian Goodell] 10:48:05
So the resilience ticket is going to be something that will open up at the same time as ticket aid.

[Marian Goodell] 10:48:11
And people will apply for that and we will help make it super easy.

[Marian Goodell] 10:48:15
To get a ticket to Burning Man. So we’re keeping some things the same.

[Marian Goodell] 10:48:19
And we’re adding some new things.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:48:26
I think people ask.

[Heather White] 10:48:27
No, I think the only thing to emphasize is that step will be the same, where you’ll have a secure exchange. And I saw some questions about fraud protection and that’s all still there. So we’ve got the protection there.

[Marian Goodell] 10:48:32
Heather, did I miss anything that was new or old?

[Marian Goodell] 10:48:39
Oh, yeah. Step is changing only in our vendor on the back end. That’s why if you look, if you read, if you were as efficient as I was, because I had to QA everything.

[Marian Goodell] 10:48:48
It does not have guaranteed dates for step. That’s because the vendor we previously used is not The one that we’re going to be using this year and we are working to to have the backend implementation, but we do plan a step program.

[Marian Goodell] 10:49:03
It’s basically a resale back into a safe system.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:49:10
Okay, I am looking at all the questions we’re getting in. They’re pouring in and I love it. I’m just so excited that so many people are here today. So I’m getting… I’m getting ramped up for the best burn ever, you guys. There’s a question here for Hazmat about that delivered housing.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:49:24
What does delivered housing mean? What counts is that containers as well as trailers and RVs? Can we get a little more information there?

[HazMatt] 10:49:37
Charlie, you want to take that or do you want me to?

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:49:40
You are probably closer to that than me, Matt. I’m just going to say.

[HazMatt] 10:49:42
Yeah, for sure. We’ve allowed containers uh housing containers in the past and we will do so in the future. So really anything that you’re living in counts as counts as housing that simple.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:50:03
Hope that answers the question. We’re talking about housing, housing, housing.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:50:03
Right.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:50:08
Okay, let’s see. Another question. This one looks like it’s for Charlie. Hey, I have a great question about being a participant of Bernie.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:50:14
Black Rock City, how to get involved, which departments need the most volunteers? Can you share an example of how to get involved with volunteering.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:50:23
Sure. Well, that’s a great question. Thank you for bringing that up.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:50:26
Which departments need the most people? Well, you may or may not know, but it takes over 10,000 humans to run all the different systems that exist in Black Rook City. And that is literally everything from the moment that you touch the player, there’s the people that laid out the cones on Gate Road. That’s the gate team all the way through into the city to placement and greeters and doctors and

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:50:48
You know, all the things. So I think, and all of those teams are significantly large. So rather than say any one team needs it, I would encourage If you want to participate to go to the profiles page And click the volunteerism form and it will just ask you about your interests

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:51:06
And the kind of thing that you’re interested in doing, and then that will go along to the department manager and the volunteer coordinator from that team who will reach out to you.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:51:14
The awesome thing about having all these teams is that they all have their own culture and their own identity and they have their own kind of genre of human that kind of really feels simpatico with that group.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:51:25
So people come and they find their people. And sometimes they come and they’re like, hey, you’re not my people, but you’re my people. And then they move team and that’s all good.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:51:34
So that form on the profiles page is one place. You could also email volunteerism at burningman.org and someone will reply and kind of you’ll have a helpful conversation about that.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:51:43
And if you’re on Player, we also have the V-Spot which is on… the by oh the v spot it used to be used Level, level. Where it’s moved. Where did it go?

[Marian Goodell] 10:51:54
Level. He’s just… Where’s the V-spot?

[Level – Placement] 10:51:57
Right next to apply info, 545 and Esplanade.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:52:00
Next to player info, which is the big blue, the blue circle on top of the pole, the V spot. And so the V-spot has all of the things that the teams that need stuff that day. And the awesome thing about the V-spot is it’s not just burning, you know, the infrastructure teams. If artists need help, like, oh, we need help. We need some extra guys to get this thing over the finish line, then that information can be shared there as well. So if you want to come help participate on Playa.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 10:52:25
And you’ve got a spare day, go to the V spot and they’ll find a way for you to get involved that works for you.

[Marian Goodell] 10:52:31
Charlie, I was going to add something too. Sometimes people are in other places than where there is a sort of coagulation of volunteers and they don’t have an opportunity to contribute And one of the things that we do when we travel and have chats with people and they’re like, I want to volunteer, but I want to do it like before we get there, how can I help?

[Marian Goodell] 10:52:54
And that’s where the regional network is super, super functional for that. There is a map under regionals.burningMed.org and a list.

[Marian Goodell] 10:53:02
And you can email and contact people in your area. And sometimes it’s not volunteering for the actual event infrastructure, but artists in the area might be doing something and really need help.

[Marian Goodell] 10:53:14
And that’s another way to get involved. And then you’re working on an art project and you get to come there.

[Marian Goodell] 10:53:21
You might find a theme camp that is actually rebuilding their structure in your area and help them and join them and So that’s what the regional network is there to help do, although sometimes people wonder But they’re there to help people connect with the Burning Man vibe.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:53:40
Okay, thank you. Thank you, Marion. I see a question here for somebody. I don’t think that folks have met yet.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:53:45
It’s for people seeking information about Burning Man project’s budget and the cost of operations and where they can find this info and does all the ticket revenue go to cover Black Rock City.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:53:54
What’s the top of the line people should know? Marion, I think you should introduce our friend Yu-Ho.

[Marian Goodell] 10:54:00
Hi, you ho. Yes, Yuho is our new CFO. He hails originally from finland has been in the States, I think, over 20 years. And he’s, I think, a six or eight year burner And joined us in March. And I think the thing that is really

[Marian Goodell] 10:54:16
Powerful about you ho is having come into the organization while we’re in this moment, he’s learned a lot and dove in really quickly.

[Marian Goodell] 10:54:24
And I think you can really, he’s got a really good handle on what we’re doing.

[Marian Goodell] 10:54:29
So Andy, there’s a couple of bullet points you had there for him. Where can they get the info?

[Marian Goodell] 10:54:35
Does the money really go to ticket sales and something else?

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:54:38
Where can they find this info? What’s the top of the line information people should know, the cost of operations?

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:54:46
Those were those bullet items.

[Juho Parkkinen] 10:54:50
All right. Well, hello, everybody. What a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Yuho Parkinan, and yes I’m the CFO here at Burning Man, and I’ve been here for about nine months. And it’s a pretty amazing experience.

[Juho Parkkinen] 10:55:02
First of all, so a few months ago we launched a website on the homepage. It’s the summary of financial information. So if you go to their homepage.

[Juho Parkkinen] 10:55:11
You go to about us and then from there you click to the public financial information. You’ll see a nice little website that the historical financials over time. So that should be your landing page that gives you the high level information and you can dive deeper from there.

[Juho Parkkinen] 10:55:25
The second question was. What was the second question? Where does the ticket revenue? So yes, all the ticket revenue covers, all the ticket revenue goes towards the event, but not all the ticket revenue covers the entire cost of the event.

[Juho Parkkinen] 10:55:40
So we’ve talked about this for a while. And in that same summary financial page you will see that the frequent trophic work that we’ve been doing for years goes to subsidize the cost of the ticket.

[Juho Parkkinen] 10:55:54
And this year, for example, we talked about the ticket prices, the $750 ticket is definitely the ticket that is the ad cost ticket. Everything above it, you’re making Burning Man accessible with the lower tier ticket prices.

[Juho Parkkinen] 10:56:07
And I think Digas question. Was Andy, what was the guy’s question on this one?

[Juho Parkkinen] 10:56:12
There was multiple.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:56:14
Well, the way they phrased it, it was three points, but the last one was just like the top line people should know. I mean, there was a question last year was a big fundraising campaign. Could you talk about the fundraising and how the organization thinks about things like supporting art and burner led causes out in the world?

[Juho Parkkinen] 10:56:23
Yes.

[Juho Parkkinen] 10:56:30
Yeah, absolutely. So we definitely had a $10 million fundraising target for 2024 And then as Marianne mentioned, we had the shortfall on the ticket revenue, especially at the higher tier ticket prices.

[Juho Parkkinen] 10:56:43
And that became the adjusted philanthropic target of $20 million that we went after.

[Juho Parkkinen] 10:56:47
Now, the good news is at the same time, we did a bunch of work to cut costs.

[Juho Parkkinen] 10:56:52
And we were able to reduce costs for about 9%. But the revenue side was still down about 16%. So we couldn’t cut our way entirely out of the shortfall.

[Juho Parkkinen] 10:57:01
But we’re very excited about 2025 plan, including the multiple ticket tiers and the rest of the cost work that we’re doing behind the scenes.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:57:14
Fabulous. Thank you, Yu Ho. I did see a comment that someone was asking about accessibility. You do have the option to turn on captions at the bottom of your screen if you would like to.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:57:24
Marion, I think we’re going to come back to you because we are approaching the end. But I think that maybe it would be great to have you tell us a little bit about exactly how this is going to be

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:57:35
The best Burning Man ever. What do you think?

[Marian Goodell] 10:57:39
Well, Andy, I feel like there is a lingering question that has not quite gotten landed in the questions that are coming through about the steward sale. And I would love to hit that.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:57:52
I would love you to do that too. Um.

[Marian Goodell] 10:57:55
I would love to do that. And… I have… Well, it’s really about I’m just pulling up our things here.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 10:58:03
Do theme… Is it the…

[Marian Goodell] 10:58:13
What I’m seeing is the nuance of what’s available for the stewards and why are the stewards full tiered? And the stewards are full tiered because we have discovered through this listening experience of the fall of that Some camps can actually pay more and they want to pay more.

[Marian Goodell] 10:58:35
The if you will, we were trying to explain that the 750 being the baseline cost, everything below that is supplemented by the other tiers. And it was constant. Every event that I went to, every dinner.

[Marian Goodell] 10:58:49
We did some gatherings in a couple of different cities. It was clear that people said, well, I was part of the steward sale. I’m part of a camp. And if someone had given me the option, I for sure would have paid more.

[Marian Goodell] 10:58:59
Some of my campmates, we supplement some of our camp mates.

[Marian Goodell] 10:59:03
We’re looking at the stewards process a little differently to give that flexibility. You all also notice, I think you heard or you read that we are allowing group sales. So some camps have their own bank account and they have access to pooling their money.

[Marian Goodell] 10:59:18
And we want to make that easier so campmates don’t have to all like run around and then put it in a pool. We are going to be happy.

[Marian Goodell] 10:59:24
To be contacted in advance and do a group sale. But some can’t still decentralize their camp purchases. And the feedback we got was Please allow us as individuals in the course of our collective to pay what we can afford.

[Marian Goodell] 10:59:40
So we have done that by making the tiers all available for the steward sale.

[Marian Goodell] 10:59:46
The steward sale, the aim of the steward sale is more towards the 650s and not the 550s The 550s are still the more limited. There are many of them, but they’re not the ones that are available all over the system.

[Marian Goodell] 11:00:01
The 650s are the aim we have for the steward sale.

[Marian Goodell] 11:00:05
There are 550s in there and there are more. But we’ve made sure that there’s going to be enough in the range that we believe that will take care of everybody in the stewards. I saw just a ton of questions in here.

[Marian Goodell] 11:00:19
About that and about that and I felt like I didn’t really answer it well enough.

[Marian Goodell] 11:00:24
Earlier on. I hope that helps.

[Marian Goodell] 11:00:29
By the way, the Renaissance program will not promote plug and play camps. I saw that come through it will I really trust what Laura and her team are doing.

[Marian Goodell] 11:00:39
Laura produced a micro festival before she came working with us. And she also oversaw the changes in development in Center Camp.

[Marian Goodell] 11:00:46
And I think she’s really good at helping figure out how to stimulate culture. And this is why when we discuss this in a leadership meeting.

[Marian Goodell] 11:00:55
Charlie said, I want Laura Day to do this. And so Laura has been super stoked and she’s been working this week with Jonah, who also has done the Lucidity Festival.

[Marian Goodell] 11:01:05
And they’re both super confident that we can create a really easeful program And also, you know, it’s all relationship based If you’re doing a plug and play camp, you’re really going to need placement. You’re going to need infrastructure because remember, plug and plays usually have real infrastructure.

[Marian Goodell] 11:01:22
And that kind of stuff gets on levels radar and that gets on Hazmat’s radar.

[Marian Goodell] 11:01:27
So I’m really comfortable feeling like by talking to you guys.

[Marian Goodell] 11:01:32
Sort of putting this out to the community, taking it in.

[Marian Goodell] 11:01:35
As we go, I’m pretty sure that we’re just not going to see abuse of this because there is demand. There’s actually people that have said, I would have come last year, but you know, I’m with this group and we did this thing. We’d really love to come together.

[Marian Goodell] 11:01:48
You know, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll pull it in.

[Marian Goodell] 11:01:51
We don’t think we’re going to end up with like 5,000 plug and plays for this one. We think they’re going to see a lot more people in collectives. And it doesn’t have to be just arts. It could be like a science group

[Marian Goodell] 11:02:02
You know, it could be people that could be people that do something that just feels like you need to bring it to Burning Man.

[Marian Goodell] 11:02:09
So yeah, Andy, I know I went off script, but I did see a lot of things here that are important to what messages we’re trying to get across the finish line these days.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 11:02:18
Well, these are times and we have to do what we have to do, Marion.

[Marian Goodell] 11:02:18
And… We have to do what we have to do.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 11:02:22
It is 1102, but you know, this is Burning Man. We all care a whole lot.

[Marian Goodell] 11:02:27
It’s Burning Man. Yep.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 11:02:29
But I’m seeing lots of gratitude for holding this event in our questions rolling in now. I really appreciate everybody being here today.

[Marian Goodell] 11:02:34
I’m so glad.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 11:02:38
And again, we are taking in every single question that came in and applying it in our conversations as we go forward.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 11:02:45
And you’ll see more posts on the journal and the Jackrabbit. You’re going to want to stay in touch because we all are getting connected.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 11:02:53
For the best burn ever. Thanks so much for being.

[Marian Goodell] 11:02:55
Andy, I’ll land the last bit I have here. The one thing that we weren’t able to do today is introduce a Phoenix Delgado and you will see letters from Phoenix Delgado He is our new director of philanthropic engagement.

[Marian Goodell] 11:03:09
And you won’t recognize his name, but I wanted to introduce him by name so that you might know that He’ll come along. And also really Thank you to everybody. You all are bringing like we push this out to the community in a way that we knew that if you were showing up here

[Marian Goodell] 11:03:27
You have been doing something And that you’re really wanting to know what the future looks like? How are we doing what we’re doing?

[Marian Goodell] 11:03:36
And so thank you. We also invited over 5,000 donors that we had, and that’s everything from $5 two way up from that. And I know some of you are here and thank you for all the work that you did to help

[Marian Goodell] 11:03:51
Make Blackrock City and Burning Man come back to life. We’re just like a theater or a ballet and a university even.

[Marian Goodell] 11:03:58
Ticket sales don’t cover the costs and the ongoing generosity of the community is vital.

[Marian Goodell] 11:04:05
And as you can see, we are continuing to lean in And we’re going to be in service to Burning Man and the community and the culture.

[Marian Goodell] 11:04:13
And I really appreciate your support and participation. We can’t wait to see you on the playa.

[Marian Goodell] 11:04:19
There has been questions about whether we’re going to release this recording. I believe that is the plan.

[Marian Goodell] 11:04:25
It will probably be released and up for just a short period of time because the information will probably become stale before you know it.

[Marian Goodell] 11:04:33
And we, as Andy said we have we have all 273 questions here, many of them thematically similar.

[Marian Goodell] 11:04:42
The format by which we plan to get back to you is probably digesting these And seeing them show up in either storylines or blog posts. I mean, if necessary, in a letter from me.

[Marian Goodell] 11:04:53
But I think a fair portion of what we just talked about is covered in here.

[Marian Goodell] 11:04:59
And I’m so grateful. Thank you for everybody’s time. Thank you for being here.

[Marian Goodell] 11:05:04
Anything else, Charlie?

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 11:05:09
Let’s do it. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve got things to build, people to talk to, stuff to do. It’s exciting.

[Marian Goodell] 11:05:15
Today, we’re launching today we’re launching Black Creek City 2025.

[Marian Goodell] 11:05:19
I think placement questionnaires are open on the 19th. Dmv questionnaires are open on the 19th.

[Marian Goodell] 11:05:25
I think that that’s when we’re opening the ticket aid program, if I know right. Katie, are the art questionnaires open?

[Katie Hazard | Director of Art] 11:05:31
Also on the 19th, along with all the other ones, February 19th at noon, tell us what art you want to bring.

[Marian Goodell] 11:05:33
On the 19th. February 1st. This is open season, Black Truck City 2025. We’re super stoked.

[Marian Goodell] 11:05:44
You guys make sure you email the rising sparks, the rising sparks at burningman.org and Champions, if you’re interested in the Renaissance decentralized, getting some other vibe in the community. We’re all over the world. We want some some connection.

[Marian Goodell] 11:06:01
And anything else we’re missing? Wrap it up and go look at tickets.burningman.org. You know, we’re pretty stoked. We did a lot of thinking about this, a lot of hard thinking.

[Marian Goodell] 11:06:12
Really tried to think about what you all needed, what we needed to get the the vehicle over the finish line, so to speak. And you know, we’re in it with you. So thank you.

[charlie dolman | event operations director | he/him] 11:06:25
Thank you.

[Andie Grace, Actiongrl] 11:06:26
Thanks, everybody, for being here today. We’ll see you on the playa.