The event has drawn to a close for another year and while the cleanup crew is still out on the playa picking up after us dirty hippies, we’re all here at home wishing we could be back in the city. However, we can all reflect back on our week in the American Dream and know that we totally succeeded in helping to build the temporary city we love so much.
This year was full of first and last times for lots of stuff in BRC. From all the virgin burners we had in Debase Camp to all the long-time BRC staples that will never be seen on the playa again. Most notably, the loss of Adrian will take the most toll on your humble Captain. Adrian’s Piss Clear and then Bootie BRC have always been what tells me I am really home. Now that she has moved on with her life, it’s hard to think of BRC the same. At the same time, wonderous new beginnings were all around us this year! So, it’s not all sad crying time in Debase Camp.
Our little group pulled off something none of us ever though possible. We successfully plannned and ran a medium sized theme camp with daily events! Mostly thanks to Sat Sangeet’s morning Kundalini Yoga and Spicy’s Combat Club, people actually came looking for Debase Camp this year! We weren’t just a bunch of slackers with a big canopy and a dome. That is really what set us apart from any other year that our group has attended and I can speak for most (if not all) of Debase Camp when I say that it was a smashing success! We even over-booked, as anyone at the New Earth discussion can tell you. But, even when we had the task of keeping a hippie discussion separate from a filipino knife fighting class, we took it all in stride and made it happen. A massive thanks to Sat Sangeet and Spicy (not to mention everyone else who helped plan and make those events happen) for their hard work and dedication, as we wouldn’t have been anywhere without them.
Another milestone was the joining of multiple groups of people — some of which had never met each other — in to a cohesive group. In Debase Camp alone, we had 3 entirely different groups of people who all came together to fill out a space that looked entirely too huge for our needs when we arrived on Saturday. We had so many people, we even had to split off an entire group of people who came with a lot more people and structure than expected! While that was sad, it provided them with the opportunity to form their own camp, which is always exciting. Not to mention our sister camp down the street, comprised of some salty motherfuckers. Of course, we like to keep those bastards at a safe distance, as their coolness is too powerful and overwhelming.
In short, Debase Camp was widespread and totally dominant. There was nothing more exciting than having random people walk up and say, “is this Debase Camp?” and then being able to say, “yes, yes it is.”
So, what’s next for Debase Camp? As your humble and gracious Captain, I am sad to say that I will not be at Burning Man next year. After 10 consecutive years of burning the man, I am ready for a short break. This year tested me mentally and physically, as anyone in camp can attest to my limping around towards the end of the week. Next year, though enticing with the Evolution theme, I will be at an island resort somewhere in the southern hemisphere. However, this does not mean that Debase Camp is over! Debase Camp, as I hoped, has only grown and taken on a new life of its own. It has always been my fondest wish to see Debase Camp carry on after I am gone and it looks like that will happen! So, expect to see Debase Camp registered and placed for next year’s event!
Thanks go out to all the people who helped plan this year’s theme camp and all those who made it work so smoothly once we got to the playa. Without all of you, Debase Camp would have been nothing. And once again, a big hug to The Mayor for providing us with one of his now-famous songs at the end of the week. He proved once again that he can re-write any song to be about Burning Man.
A personal thanks to everyone who participated in the camp this year, including our many visitors from around the playa and everyone’s playa Grandmother Kate. This year really did feel like the culmination of many years of hard work. Seeing so many of you with virgin eyes and veterans who rediscovered something they had lost was impressive and awesome. Without all of you, I would never have imagined I would still be going after 10 years. I’m just sorry I can’t be there next year to see what comes next. But, don’t despair, I will return in 2010 to stand around and yell at you hippies to get off my lawn.
Most impressive, Debase Camp. Most impressive.
