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.

Pictures are starting to trickle in on our new photo gallery (which will get all the old pics soon, I promise).  Check it out with the link to the right.

Much love to the events organizers in camp and to our sister camps: The Brave and SafeSide!  We love you all!

Hell yeah!  You know where I’ll be on Thursday and Friday night!

Since we last updated, Spicy has really gone above and beyond with adding new Events to the Combat Club schedule.  These include Mixed Martial Arts, Knife Fighting and — JUST ADDED — a blend of Martial Arts and Fire Spinning!

As you may have seen, we just posted our promotional spot for BMIR!  This is new territory for us, as we were nervous enough about all the events in camp!  But, we’re so thrilled that we’ll be getting even more exposure from this commercial.  Not to mention The Mayor’s dulcet tones being heard on the airwaves of BRC.

Our resident Yogi, Sat Sangeet has also been preparing for our morning Kindalini Yoga sessions.  So, get ready to get your spirituality on!

You can see a full  list of our events in our wiki.  But, be sure to come by Debase Camp and check our posted schedule for even more events and randomness throughout the week.

We’re almost ready for the Playa, are you?!

It’s getting bigger folks! Black Rock City will be growing by 1,800,000 square feet, the esplanade will be 2,500 feet longer, and the distance from the Man to the esplanade will be increased 500 feet. Click here for full details and maps.

The radial-streets are still numbered in the clock formation we are all familiar with. Center Camp at 6:00. Plazas at 9:00, 7:30, 4:30, and 3:30. Camping/placement areas end at 10:00 and 2:00. The Man at the center.

The concentric-streets begin at the Esplanade and thereafter go :

• Esplanade
• Allanté
• Bonneville
• Corvair
• Dart
• Edsel
• Fairlane
• Gremlin
• Hummer
• Impala
• jeep
• K-car

the “ring road” around Center Camp is “The Wheel”

This is definitely a milestone for those of us who have been to Black Rock City many times and only dreamed we would be our own theme camp someday.  A very special thanks going out to the Black Rock City Combat Club!  Without the addition of their awesome people and events, we may never have gotten off our asses and registered!  Watch for their updates here on debasecamp.com, as well as on their site.

Our first official planning meeting is coming up and the excitement is palpable!  Check back with us for a lot more updates as the countdown continues!

Outlets Now Selling Tickets
Walk-in ticket outlet sales have begun! Tickets through our outlets are $295 a piece and require that you have cash (exact change), or a money order. Outlets cannot make change or accept credit cards. Please be prepared when you go to buy your tickets. Buying your ticket through one of our Walk-in ticket outlets is a great way to interact with our community, get your ticket in hand service-charge free, stock up on supplies to get ready for the playa, and support local burner-run businesses! All of our outlets’ information and hours can be found on the ticket page, please do not burden the outlets with phone calls. Tickets are available in our outlets through Friday, August 22, or until supplies run out. If an outlet stops selling tickets it will be posted on the ticket page immediately. That would be here: http://tinyurl.com/2ysq6g

NO GATE SALES
Remember, friends, tickets are not being sold at our event site box office this year! Please help by reminding everyone you know that they need to be prepared and have their ticket in hand before they leave for the desert.

well folks, it is with an incredible amount of joy, anticipation and excitement (and not a little bit of trepidation at the daunting task ahead!) that we make our plans for this year’s temple public. We are extremely humbled by this opportunity and hope to create a temple worthy of the name. The responsibilities that come with a project like this are incredible, but we feel up to the task. Burning Man has been generous in their support of this project, and yet we know that it will take much more to realize the vision. If this is truly to be a temple for the community, then we need your help to make it happen. More than that, we want you to be involved!

www.basurasagrada.org

oh, and before you ask: yes, it will burn on sunday in the usual spot!