Weather Preparedness & Self Reliance

Regional burns expose us to all types of weather. Burning Man faces the unique challenge of camping in the desert -- Mosaic Experiment challenges us to be prepared for October camping in Ohio. What can you expect? Anything. That means sunny days and chilly nights, light rain, heavy rain, wind, hail, cold. One day you might be happy running free in a tank top. That night, you might be wrapped up in a sleeping bag with three layers of pajamas cuddling for warmth. One thing most burners have in common: we're proud of our ability to survive unpredictable weather, outdoors, without trips to the local store for last minute items -- and we do so with style while having a great time. Showing up prepared (and the process of getting prepared) teaches us how to take care of ourselves responsibly, so that we can make the most of our time burning together.

How can you up your Radical Self-Reliance quotient? Plan ahead for everything. Anticipate dramatic changes. A good question to ask yourself: what kinds of things do you pack beyond the obvious "umbrellas, sweatshirts and raincoats"? How are you planning to prepare for wind? Do you have good stakes for your tent and shade structures? Do you have an extra tarp? How will you survive a cold night if temps drop into the 30s?

R A I N

Rain at Mosaic

In 2014, we thought it would be helpful to start a thread on our Mosaic Facebook Group asking our community to share the ways in which they prepare their art, theme camps, tents, and selves for the inevitable October rain in Ohio.

Here are some of the best recommendations our community members responded with:

• Good solid rain boots

• Have a SPARE pair of rain boots

• How to waterproof your boots with wax: http://youtu.be/htyNHX6afQM

• LOTS of warm socks!

• Pack your clothing in a Rubbermaid container.

• Pack an extra outfit inside a Ziplock bag in case your tent floods. Pack bedding in trash bags if it's raining on arrival day, so it doesn't get wet between car and tent.

• Waterproof your tent and clothing (the spray can stuff from Shoe Carnival is said to be good enough.)

• PREVENT TENT LEAKS: When you leave your tent, make sure nothing is touching the sides. Anything touching the tent sides creates a place for rain to gather and enter the tent rather than roll off. Pull all crap toward the center!

• Put a ground sheet or tarp under your tent and ensure it doesn't extend past the sides of the tent. If the tarp is sticking out around the sides, it will gather rainwater and pool under your tent.

• Better yet, put the ground tarp inside the tent under your bedding.

• Have lots of tarps and rope!

• Don't build art projects out of cardboard for events when it might rain. 

• Warm cocoa, hot cider, miso soup. YUMMY during cool rainy camping adventures.

• For cold rain and damp nights, use a light weight sheet or blanket to cover air vent under rain fly and then tarp away!

• Vitamin C! Airbornes!

• Extra tie downs and stakes for your tarps!!!

• Wool, fleece, warming clothing

• Rain suit! Something like this

• Check out this article with tips from engineers: Storm Proofing Your Tent

W I N D

Rain isn't the only likelihood. You should also prepare your structures for wind. When high winds pick up, EZ Up shade tents that aren't staked down can go flying and become dangerous. Are you bringing a dome or other large shade structure? Make sure you've researched and planned how it will stand up to wind. Some tips:

• Make sure you secure your tent to the ground in a way that it will not come loose. Buy higher quality stakes than the simple metal ones that come with your tent.

• Wind over time will cause your tent to move up and down and side to side, therefore your ground stakes need to be checked frequently to see if they are working.

• Properly angle your stakes and guylines. If wind is up-rooting the pegs, use longer ones, and remember to hammer them in so that the point is closer to the tent than the head.

• Keep in mind that anything lying around your camp that is not secured down, like garbage, plastic bottles, paper, art or anything else, will get blown during high wind. It is your responsibility to take back everything that you bring in, from the largest structure to the smallest bottle cap or cigarette butt. Keeping everything secured means you won’t have to spend time searching for it later.

C O L D

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It's possible that we might experience cold weather at Mosaic. If it's cold and damp, body chill is even more likely. How to not just survive, but thrive?

• Cold Weather Clothing: Make sure you pack the basics: long sleeve shirts, long pants, a hooded sweatshirt, parka jacket, warm socks, gloves or mittens, a beanie. Layer your clothing so you can add/subtract insulation as needed.

• Avoid cotton materials as they trap and hold moisture close to the body, reducing any insulating value. Undergarments of polypropylene are ideal for wicking away dampness, while over garments should be made of wool. If you layer, it's easier to adjust your comfort level as temperatures change.

• Air mattresses trap cold air underneath you. Layer a fleece or wool blanket on top of your air mattress to insulate your own body heat.

• If you are hanging near a camp­fire, make sure that your outer layer of cloth­ing is less likely to end up ruined if struck by an errant ember.  Wool is one of the best, most fire-resistant nat­ural mate­ri­als and is great for this.

• Hydrate, then hydrate some more: You may not feel thirsty in cold weather, but staying hydrated is just as important in cold weather as it is in summer. Drink water (warm or cold), hot tea, or hot chocolate—the latter also provides high-calorie fuel for your burn adventure.

• Be ready for condensation: As you breathe in a warm tent on a cold night, condensation will form on your tent, even if it's a four-season model. There's not a lot you can do about condensation, but the next morning be sure to dry out your sleeping bag before using it again. To minimize condensation, you can vent your tent at night—it won't hold in heat as well, but it will stay dryer.

• The old wisdom of stripping down before you get into a sleeping bag doesn't make sense. Put on everything you brought before you turn in for the night. And if the campfire is still going, heat some water, pour it into a heat-proof water bottle, and snuggle into your bag with it.

• Hot Hands and Mylar Blankets are a quick lifesaver on a cold night. Open a pair of Hot Hands, shake them, and throw them in the bottom of your sleeping bag. Cover your bag with a mylar blanket. You'll sleep like a baby all night long.

rainbowtent

The key to enjoying Mosaic Experiment is to #BurnResponsibly. This means taking action before you arrive to be prepared. The time is now to get ready!

Have a comment on this list or another suggestion we should add? Let us know at info[at]mosaicexperiment[dot]com.

Mosaic Experiment: A burn for all ages

I'm often asked why we fought so hard to make Mosaic an all-ages event, and it only takes remembering my mother to realize how important children are to the sustainability and health of our community. 

Despite it being Mother’s Day, not a day goes by without reflecting all the valuable lessons my mom taught me right up until her passing just over two years ago. I’m forever grateful because she not only allowed me to become who I am right now, but actively encouraged it. She taught me that if I felt strongly enough about something, to stand by it with all my conviction as she did with her own beliefs. Whenever I’m in great need for strength and inspiration, I need to look no further than the beautiful woman who gave me life and raised me.

At Burning Man, the greeters mantra is “Welcome Home!” When I first heard those words, I took it to mean “Welcome Home, misfit!” It was an island of misfits in the middle of the nowhere. My people were there. My weirdos! 

At Burning Man, everything you can imagine is there, and if it isn’t, it will show up years later. I ran into people in their 70’s and 80’s making art, gifting food, offering water, talking deep philosophy. I also found a village called Kidsville right next to the Alternative Energy Zone. After years of exposure to Burning Man, these children will grow up to be the future artists, greeters, rangers, First Aid workers, city builders, event planners, and event producers.

We’ve heard every argument why underage children shouldn’t attend burns, and addressed them all.

It typically comes down to Radical Inclusion vs. Civic Responsibility, instead of Civically Responsible Radical Inclusion. You can’t cherry pick one principle over another, they’re all supposed to be played in harmony.

Radical inclusion doesn't mean "everyone can go. "It means "non-discriminatory access for everyone, regardless of your skin color, sexual orientation, regional affiliation, religion, race, or age." 

Civic Responsibly simply means basic infrastructure is put into place (portable toilets, event insurance, parking plans, emergency response protocols, etc.) Civic Responsibility does not mean “we are protecting everyone from danger!”

There is danger everywhere. It is the right of the parent to choose what they expose their children to, and the parent's responsibility to protect their children if they perceive danger.

Burning Man is a cultural movement, not an event. You can't change culture without breaking the traditionally accepted norms of what you expose your children to. You don't have to bring your children, but we shouldn't exclude parents who wish to.

Children will not be the future greeters, rangers, medics, gate people, and event holders if they are not included.

After last year’s Mosaic event, I saw some online discussion about the gifts we received at the event which “melted our souls.” It got me thinking of the most touching moment I had while attending Mosaic 2014. It was during the Saturday night burn, but wasn't the burn itself....it was this woman standing in front of me holding her baby. 

The woman was facing forward, fascinated by the huge burning effigy, but her baby was held over her shoulder, facing me...fascinated by the little glowing lights I had around my neck. I grabbed my lights and jiggled them which got the baby's attention. The baby looked up at me and smiled. I hit one of my light controller buttons making them blink, and the baby started laughing. Everyone was watching this gigantic beautiful art piece burn to the ground, but to this baby, there was nothing more fascinating than these little glowing lights.

If that mother couldn't bring her baby, neither would have come, and I never would have had that beautiful simple sensation of entertaining the mind of a child with my little glowy $5 light string, making us both laugh, which made the mother laugh, joining everyone's laughter over the collective joyous experience.

These endlessly curious little versions of ourselves will soon replace us. Curiousness, fascination by everything, wonderment about how so many strange things are possible, how are they done, how can we make more, do more, build more, and BE more? I was moved to tears because I saw myself, asking "what is THAT??"

I mean, really, I want to know, what IS that?

That is a mother, with her child, and they're standing with you at a burn, that's what it is. The burn incinerated the childish, and nourished the childlike. Our community fought hard for that gift. Mosaic Experiment will continue to protect it.

Bureau of Unclaimed Secrets

Name/Burner Name Havoc

Where are you living currently? Indianapolis

When was your first burn? How did you find out about burns? Burning Man 2010 was my first burn. I first heard about Burning Man in 2003, but it took me seven years to get my shit together.

Project Name and Description: My project is the Bureau of Unclaimed Secrets, an interactive secret exchange.

The Bureau of Unclaimed Secrets is an opportunity to explore and evolve thoughts and feelings. Part therapy, part interactive art, this installation allows participants to record and share their secrets. Participants are encouraged to write down their secrets on 3x5 cards (provided). The secrets are then filed for safekeeping with the Bureau, and the participant given a matching numbered tag, allowing the bearer to come back and access, change or destroy that secret. Participants are encouraged to gift tags to others and to come back throughout the burn to check on the evolution of their secret.

The Bureau of Unclaimed Secrets is highly interactive and often cathartic for participants. I love that the secrets evolve over time and that people can be deliberate and potentially strategic about who gets their secret.

Inspiration: I was highly inspired by the piece "Terrain" by Julianne Swartz. ("Terrain" is a site-specific sound installation at the Indianapolis Museum of Art that evokes secrets, whispers, and memories. The murmuring voices are largely indiscernible; however, in certain moments private intimacies can be distinguished, such as the words “I love you.”) The quiet, contemplative nature of the piece got me thinking about secrets and how we share them.

Time spent on project: For this incarnation, probably 20 hours of prep work, 40 hours during the event and 10 hours after the event matching people up to their unclaimed secrets.

Collaborators? Helpers/Assistant Builders? My fiancee, Chris Miller, was a huge help!

Challenges during the project: It's always a challenge to figure out the logistics of something like a secret exchange. Figuring out the mechanism by which people could give away a secret and let someone come back and claim it was a bit of a challenge, but once the idea of tokens came to me, it was just a matter of getting the materials and setting it all up.

“This was by far my favorite experience at Mosaic. There's just something so incredibly profound and freeing about this. Thank you both again for bringing this to us.”

Do you have a link to where people can learn more about your art? www.unclaimedsecrets.blogspot.com

Any words of advice for future art projects at Mosaic Experiment? Make a budget, make a timeline/plan, have at least one person who knows the project and can help you out in a pinch.

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INSPIRED?

Start creating your own experience for Mosaic Experiment 2015. Check out Art Grants and Effigy, and sign up for our mailing list: [wysija_form id="1"]

Cake or Death?

Name/Burner Name: Dominic Barbato and Emily Gosnell

Where are you living currently? Ann Arbor, MI and Baltimore, MD

When was your first burn? How did you find out about burns? Em and I actually went to our first burn together back in 2011 when we finally made it to Burning Man. I had found out about burning several years prior to that (it took me 8 years from discovering Burning Man to actually making it to the desert). At one point during college I was reading "This is Burning Man" by Doherty, and it came to a point in the book where they were describing an artist attempting to build a full-scale model of the game "Mousetrap" complete with a piano dropping off of a crane at the end of the Rube Goldberg-esque contraption. It never worked..... so they spent their time dropping pianos from cranes...

It was at that point I thought: "Wow, there is a place in the world where someone would let me build an elaborate contraption to drop a piano from a crane..... and then would be completely fine with it failing?"

It was only a matter of time.....

Project name and description: We did an interactive game called "Cake or Death". Emily carried around an open platter of cake and Dom (dressed as Death) had a closed container.

When a participant chooses Cake, they got themselves a tasty treat and went on their way. Those who were brave enough (or foolish enough depending on your disposition) to choose Death were given a Death Tarot Card that said the following:

"The receipt of this card signifies that the bearer has experienced a symbolic death. Think of all the regrets you carry with you each day, the painful memories you try and hide, and the worries you may have about the future. As you have symbolically died today, take this as an opportunity to feel reborn and live the rest of your time here as if all of those regrets and worries have been lifted from you.

Your Rebirth begins the moment you hand this card to another person."

The goal was to give people a positive mindset for their time at the burn while simultaneously setting the stage for future gifting (since the last line asks you to pass it on).

What was your inspiration? Well, Eddie Izzard (a British comedian we are both fans of) does a bit called "Cake or Death". The gist being that the Church of England can not do fire and brimstone very well (thus the ridiculous cake or death choice). Obviously, our project does not have anything to do with that other than the name.

We originally did the piece for another regional (Transformus in North Carolina) where our camp was running a tea house. We needed snacks to go with tea and cake was an obvious choice... the Cake or Death set-up flowed from that because we thought it would be funny.

As for the Death Tarot, Dom was the primary writer of that. His explanation: "I was going through a major bout of depression in the spring of 2014, and it was really rough. I had a thought during it that what would really help me out was just someone (even a stranger) giving me an excuse to drop my baggage and go about my day without it burdening me. The writing on the Tarot Card was my attempt at that."

Time spent on project? About a month. The hardest part was getting the costumes, that and laminating and printing all of the Tarot Cards. The writing on the back went through a few drafts as well.

Did you collaborate with anyone else? All of the awesome members of the Bliss Junkies Union: Olga, Chelsea, Dave, and Morgan

Challenges during the project: We actually did not start out planning on laminating the cards.... but through a mistake at the printer, they were on much thinner paper than we were initially thinking of using. We were worried they would easily become MOOP or would disintegrate in bad weather. Emily had the idea of laminating them and we are really glad we did.

We also went through a few different arrangements when it came to the "performance" At first the Tarot Cards were visible, which made people choose them exclusively without thinking. Then we tried having Dom hide them in his cloak and not present anything. This created a problem because people would often not realize "Death" was an actual valid choice and would think we were just jokingly pointing to Dom wearing a costume. It seems hard to believe, but it took a few trial runs for us to realize the most effective thing would be for us both to have plates with gifts... but only one visible.

Having done this twice we can say with certainty: People at Mosaic were much more willing to choose Death over Cake compared to people at Transformus.

Any words of advice for future projects at Mosaic Experiment? Just prepare for sudden changes in weather and you should be fine. Mosaic is such a fun place to do a project because it is such an intimate setting, so you can really experiment and be creative without having to worry about working out the kinks in your project with thousands of people present.

That is about it..... we never really considered ourselves artists..... just bliss junkies who like provoking responses from people :).

Mosaic Experiment 2015: How will YOU participate?

Get notified! Sign up for Mosaic news including ticketing, art grant info, and more:[wysija_form id="1"]

Jimithy & the Bipolar Dragons camp

Name/Burner Name: Jimithy (Jimithy) McMahon

Theme Camp Name: Bipolar Dragons

Where do you currently live? I live on the Greenbrier river in Alderson, West Virginia.

How many years have you been burning? What was your first burn? Mosaic Experiment was my first burn.

Theme Camp Description: The "Bipolar Dragons" camp is about living with the twin dragons of depression and mania. I created a yin and yang design of dragons to create a wide variety of Batik t-shirts that were given away throughout the burn. Batiks were also created by request. The overall camp design was a stockade. It symbolized the barriers that those with severe mental illness must create in order to feel safe in society.

Theme Camp Inspiration: I discovered the Mosaic Experience a month before the burn took place. I'm an artist who is afraid of society as a whole because of my mental illness. I've never been to a burn (or known anyone who had) but I hoped that the principle of "Radical Inclusion" would give me the courage to be a real member of burner society. This would be a wonderful gift to me. I took some time figuring out what I could give to the burn. I decided that truly exposing my lifetime with this illness (and my experiences with family members both with and without this illness) could be a gift. I came up with using Batik art to help tell the story. Unfortunately framed Batiks are restricted to someone's wall. Distinctive t-shirts each with unique artwork would have a much wider audience. I also thought it was fortuitous that they'd have someone with inside knowledge about the illness.

What was your favorite moment from Mosaic 2014? Dancing wildly in a field, while people had fun with karaoke.

What advice can you offer new theme camp organizers? Get some experience as a burner before attempting it. (I think this advice would be obvious to most people.)

Any burny plans for 2015? I plan to bring Batiks to distribute that are based upon the dragons in the life of someone who has bipolar disorder. A special addition for 2015 will be a tall metal sculpture of a weeping willow. The central tree canopy sways fluidly. The lower 10' of each limb is covered in flames (they are vertical vapor burners). The limbs swing independently of each other and the tree canopy. There are no wires, motors, electronics, etc. Everything comes from the momentum of the sculpture. The simplicity of the tree makes the movements captivating. The tree has surprisingly chaotic behaviors while still being structurally strong and stable. It represents the chaotic environments the severely mentally ill and those close to them must live in. At this time I'm making a structural model to help me visualize all of the movements. Next, I'll make a scaled down version of the sculpture in order to work out any gotchas with the flame burners. Then I'll create the full sized tree. I guess this seems like a lot to tackle but my life is all about extremes.

Visit Jimithy's Bipolar Dragons Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BipolarDragons to check out his latest endeavors.

Joel Lam's "Hive-Mined = Memories"

Name/Burner Name: Joel Lam (Boss)

Current city: Cincinnati, OH

Theme camp/burner group name and description: Camp One (because I camped alone since my friends missed getting tickets before Mosaic sold out)

Art piece name and description:

• Piece #1: "Hive-Mined = Memories" A hive is nothing but a collection of cells. A mind is nothing but a collection of memories. This piece consists of 104 custom-made cells. Each cell contains an experience or feeling. You’re challenged to remember the last time (or first time) you experienced or felt it. Where were you? What was going on at that time? 

  

  

• Piece #2: "Hive-Mined = Teamwork" The treasure inside is great, but the real treasure is the journey to unlock it. This chest is locked with a number combo. Work with others to solve the clues and gather information from Theme Camps in order to unlock the treasure. This piece is meant to encourage socializing and give you an excuse to speak to strangers. 

  

• Piece #3 (not installed due to weather): "Hive-Mined = Teambuilding" One bee can’t build a hive. Two bees can’t build a hive. Only a team of bees can build a hive. This is a monument to teambuilding. The sphere on top represents a hive, the ultimate goal for any team. Each model represents an aspect of a good team (e.g. Trust, Cooperation). Hidden teammates under the platform represent the necessary hard work that goes unseen. Together, the team builds the tower that reaches their goal.

Inspiration for art:

• "Hive-Mined = Memories" --> Circles with Candles: Friends and I were at a bar and I complained about lacking inspiration. Then magically a clip of John Travolta at the Academy Awards (mispronouncing Idina Menzel’s name) came on the TVs. I noticed the background behind Travolta and it was beautiful. I knew exactly what I wanted after that.
• "Hive-Mined = Teamwork"--> Treasure Chest: My friend saw an amazing art installation on the playa this year. He told me all about a cabinet that required simple riddles/puzzles to unlock it. He was really floored by it. I never found that installation but liked the idea and tried to add a socializing aspect. Thanks to the theme camps who contributed fun facts.
• "Hive-Mined = Teambuilding" --> Tower: I worried no one would visit the other pieces so designed something tall to attract attention. It’d be a beacon for my little art area. The Burn decided it wasn’t needed, but I enjoyed building it nonetheless.

Time spent on making art: Circles with Candles = 25 hours. Treasure Chest = 5 hours. Mosaic Muses inside Treasure Chest = 2 hours. Tower = 5 hours.

Helpers/assistant builders: Kenneth Areas helped me with dry-runs at home to assemble and disassemble. Kat Pope and Colin Smith helped me assemble Piece #1 at Mosaic.

Challenges during the build: Challenge #1 = Being ok with displaying my art / overcoming my fear that everyone would ignore, dislike, or not understand it. Challenge #2 = Weather. Building something that can withstand the wind, morning dew, and rain. And hail! Challenge #3 = Logistics to transport and safely disassemble/reassemble at Mosaic.

What skills did you learn that will help you with your next art piece: How to cut PVC pipe, how to use zip ties instead of rope or wire, and how to walk away from my art / not hover so I’m there to explain it.

How many years have you been burning? When did you first start burning? 5 months. I started May 2014.

Where was your first burn and what was it like? Who told you about it? Scorched Nuts 2014 was my first burn. I found it online and went to meet people / get advice before going to Burning Man. It was amazing.

How did you find out about mosaic? What did you think of it? Kat Pope and Britt Marie B told me about Mosaic. I thought it was great. Everything came together really well. The effigy burn was fantastic.

What art projects are you currently working on? Repurposing the tower into a cat tree, building a throne that hopefully fits the theme for Scorched Nuts 2015, and incorporating a waterfall into my next art pieces.

What projects do you hope to do in the future? I hope to someday organize a lamplighter ceremony at a regional burn, build the Temple at a regional burn, and maybe even create an art car / mutant vehicle.

Do you have a link to where people can learn more about your art? No, but maybe I’ll create a link someday.

Closing Remarks: Thank you to the entire Mosaic team. Your hard work was a great success and it’s very much appreciated. Thanks to the burner community for welcoming an enthusiastic newbie. I encourage everyone to volunteer at their next burn. It makes the experience even better!

Volunteer Appreciation!

We can't stop gushing about all the participants who are building and running this event!  Volunteers are so freaking important to this being an incredible experience for everyone.  Thank you so much to all the folks who are getting down with volunteerism! First off, volunteers are getting on of these sweet patches that our DPW dept head, AbieNormal, designed!  Secondly, the MOrg is going to have a volunteer appreciation lunch on event Friday afternoon (check your What, Where, When on-site)! And there will be a volunteer hub inside the Atomic Chocolate Bar on-site for all your volunteers desires.  If you are volunteering at Mosaic, make sure to stop in the hub (our growing center camp) and put food in your face-hole at Mama Micki's Bistro on Friday.  Already signed up to volunteer?  You will (or already have) receive an email from your department lead giving you the game plan. THANK YOU FOR DOING!

Looking to volunteer for Mosaic?

Parking team still has some openings! Easy job to learn, perfect for virgin burners looking to help. Those cars won't park themselves!

Rangers and first-aid have some shifts to be filled, as well as DPW on-call shifts available.  Check it sign-ups here!

See all you BEE-AUTIFUL folks soon ;)

Planning to have a campfire? Please register it!

October in Ohio might get a little chilly at night. You are more than welcome to bring an above ground fire pit or a burn barrel, but if you do we would like you to register it, please. We just want to keep everyone safe and make the landowner happy. Thanks a bunch and see you soon!

Squiddy Rob Mosaic Fire Safety Lead fire@mosaicexperiment.com

Mosaic needs your help parking cars!

Hey everybody! Boodles here, and as your friendly neighborhood parking lot mama, I'd like to issue a little PSA about volunteering. Our parking volunteer numbers are looking pretty sad, guys, and I dont understand why! You get to wear all kinds of silly costumes and blinky things, and dance around like a fool if you want to, and if you're lucky you get to pretend you're an air traffic controller with big glowy wands! We need you to help save us from chaos and disorder, click here to help park cars!

Also, I'd like to issue a quick reminder about registering your car if you need to have it at your camp. If you're not registered, we WILL ask you to move your vehicle to the parking lot. Click here to register your vehicle.

Mosaic Placement Map is now live!

Dearest Mosaic Experiment 2014 Registered Theme Camps and Art Installations,

I have to start off by saying thank you for wanting to go through all the effort to gift your camp and art to participants (and thank you for registering by the deadline)!  The following is what you need to know about bringing your camp/art to Mosaic.

When you will be able to get on site? Theme camps and art installations will be able to be processed at gate and start setting up their camps no earlier than 2pm on Wednesday, Oct 1.  This means that no theme camp or art will be placed or able to start setting their camp up until that time, no exceptions. Estimations of arrival were asked for in the registration form before the Wednesday, 2pm info was out.  If you would like to arrive on Wed please sign email Redbird at placement@mosaicexperiment.com so that we can inform gate and know when to expect you.

How will you know where you are placed?

See the above placement map!  Your camp space allotment onsite is based off the dimensions given in your camp registration.  Small ground flags will indicate your placement borders.

Parking of your vehicle? Unless you indicated that your vehicle is required to be onsite in your registration, all vehicles will be required to be in the parking lot by time gate labels on your car. You can still register your car to camp with you here.

What, When, Where?

If you would like to submit something for the what, where, when daily delivery (yes, participants want to make it like a morning newspaper delivery!) then submit your happenings here, one at a time please!

We’ll have a center hub this year too! This year at Mosaic we will have a volunteer hub inside the Atomic Chocolate Bar.  It’s purpose is to help out volunteers and participants navigate the burn, volunteer shift rotations, volunteer appreciation, Khaki station, and anything else that makes sense.  Should you find yourself wanting to volunteer on the spot or in need a Mosaic info, stop on in!

FIRE! No fire poofers or flame effects this year.  Propane allowed only for cooking fires.  No impromptu fire pits.  All camp fire must be safely elevated as to not scar the ground underneath.  FAST volunteers will be around during camp setups to check out your fire.  If you are attracting fire spinning as a camp, consider providing a fuel dump at your camp for spinners.

Reminder of sound policy

“Turn down for what?!” The layout of Reclaim is such that the placement of sound camps is carefully chosen  (considering topography, forested perimeter, land shape) to maintain a pleasant experience for the sound camps, surrounding campers, and other theme camps.  Nightly sound limits are an effort to minimize sound complaints.

Who does this pertain to? Sound policies are for ANY participant, art installation, or theme camp employing any amplified sound system (1 to 10000w) or loud musical instruments.  Mosaic has set a maximum of 4 large sound camps this year.  Only these four camps will be allowed louder sound limits. Any other  theme camps or participants employing amplified sound or acoustic instruments will be subject to quieter sound limits.

What are the event guidelines?

BASS AND VOLUME TURN DOWN: Large Sound Camps For the 4 large sound camps, all sub-woofers will be turned off and turn volume down such that 90 decibels are registered at 40 ft from camp center.

BASS AND VOLUME TURN DOWN: All sound not certified as a large sound camp: For any other sound (amplified or otherwise), all sub-woofers will be turned off and turn volume down such that 50 decibels are registers at 40 ft from camp/installation center.

Bass and volume turn down times: Wednesday- 10pm Thursday- 3am (Friday morning) Friday- 3am (Saturday morning) Saturday- 3am (Sunday morning) ***Bass turn down and volume restrictions expire the following mornings at 10 am Thur-Sun***

How will amplified sound policy be regulated on-site? Our friendly Sound Squad will monitor sound systems during the above posted turn down times. A decibel reader will be used to evaluate volume 40 ft from camp center.  Remember that these are helpful volunteers who offered to work the graveyard shifts, please work with them.  Non-compliance with turn down requests made by a badged Sound Squad member after the listed times will be grounds for sound shut-off for that camp for the duration of the event. Repeated failures to comply with sound policy will be grounds for removal from the event.

Remember to read the survival guide: http://www.mosaicexperiment.com/survival-guide/

Planning on sleeping in your vehicle? Make sure it's registered.

Having a campfire? Register your camp fire.

Lastly, and most importantly, please encourage your camp to volunteer!

Thank you and see you at Mosaic! redbird, DPW Placement