The Board of Burnt Oranges, Inc. (BOI) hopes you’re all hanging in there, distancing but interacting in meaningful ways. We’re thinking about you! We know a lot of you are creating and sharing art to help get through this bizarre part of our history. Since part of the mission of BOI is to cultivate interactive art and one of our goals is to provide interactive artists an opportunity to express themselves, we came up with a mini-grants program to implement while we’re awaiting the abatement of this pandemic. This will keep our artistic appetites whetted and give us something to do until in-person meet-ups begin again.
Spark the Art is a microgrant program designed for small funding grants ($20) with a rapid turn-around (one month). Here’s how it works:
FUNDING:
We’re asking our Burner community (and anyone else who wants to participate – think family, friends, employers) to make a small donation of $5 (more is even better!) to the microgrant fund
THE GRANT:
Anyone can apply for a $20 grant from this fund to help them create art that can be shared. This could be visual art, sculpture, music, dance (with a video to share), performance art locally…..use your imagination! The grants will come in the form of a $20 Amazon gift card delivered via email or SMS.
You don’t have to be a member of the Burn community. Invite your artistic family members and friends to apply, too (and ask them if they’d like to donate $5 or more towards Spark the Art).
We’re asking for a one-month deadline for the completion of your art.
We want to be able to showcase the art digitally from this program at AfterBurn and possibly on our website or Facebook page, so please submit a digital image/recording of your art to art@burntoranges.org. We’d also like to display your physical art in our Art Gallery at AfterBurn, if it is available.
Great news! The BOI Directors have all made personal donations to jumpstart Spark the Art and BOI has matched the first $100! So, get your applications in; it is a first come, first serve basis for the microgrants and there is already more than $250 in funds awaiting you!
Let’s continue to grow and share our creativity and passion, even while we’re all keeping our distance from each other. We will burn again together soon. Until then, let’s Spark the Art!
Love,
The Board of Directors
Burnt Oranges, Inc.
P.S. Did you know that if you submit your Amazon orders by signing in through the Amazon Smile website, Burnt Oranges, Inc. can receive a small donation from Amazon? It doesn’t cost you anything extra and it helps support your local artists! Try it out today: Amazon Smile
Please note that Burnt Oranges, Inc. does not respond on Facebook to questions or comments, but we ARE interested in your input, questions, and concerns. Please contact us using our monitored email address board@burntoranges.org and we will get back to you soon. Thank you.
Hello Florida Burners, the Burnt Oranges board hopes your new year is off to a great start! We anticipate some of you are busy getting ready for Love Burn, so we’ll cut to the chase: along with beginning to plan AfterBurn 2020, we need new board members! Read on for details…
We have board members we’d like to promote to participant AND we’d like to expand from a five-person board to a seven-person board. Although this is an unpaid volunteer position, we are pretending like it’s a job and want to make sure whoever joins is a good personality fit with the remaining board and shares our current short- and long-term goals. Here’s what we’re looking for:
Progressive leadership experience would be great! We’re community members and participants just like the rest of our burn community. But we have the extra responsibility of having to make critical decisions. You should be able to do so while also working with your fellow community members to lead the charge. Please be good at leaving your ego at home.
While the Burnt Oranges mission doesn’t actually mention AfterBurn, we have come to recognize that it is currently our one primary time and place to gather the community. We feel that we need to work with our event committee to make sure the framework is in place for future community members to run future events before we can seriously move into other activities. A larger board may allow us to work on AfterBurn and other fundraising or outreach activities, but AfterBurn is the priority for now.
That does not mean you’ll need to be on every single planning call – we’re planning to have a liaison or two handle that and report back to us – but you will need to help out with AfterBurn. Ideally you’re able to take time off from your work and life to help with build (Wednesday & Thursday pre-event assuming we return to Camp La Llanada) and/or strike (Monday post-event). You will also be working during the event as a Board of Director on Call. The number of attending board members will determine how long this shift is – we worked 12 hour shifts at AfterBurn 2019 including overnight shifts. If your radio will wake you up, you can actually nap during your shift! Basically, if the event leads need to escalate an issue – typically rejections or 911 calls – they’re going to call you. We also want to set a good example, so plan to work in a normal 4 hour (at least) volunteer shift during AfterBurn.
If you have skills with bookkeeping (we use Xero), developing meeting agendas and note-taking, nonprofit fundraising, or anything else you think may be relevant, we’re especially interested! We currently utilize a CPA for our actual financial filings, but one lucky board member will work directly with Morgan to eventually take over treasurer responsibilities.
We do also have monthly board meetings. These can be as brief as 30 minutes, but some times they can go for three hours. They are typically weekday evenings. If you can’t make one or have to miss part due to life, we understand, but it can’t become a regular occurrence.
If you are selected to join, we have tentatively planned our annual in-person board meeting for February 29 at Catpult in Lakeland. Unless you or someone you love is a leap year baby, it’s an extra day that we hope is free. We are also expecting to begin AfterBurn 2020 planning the following week and would like all board members to plan to attend the kick off meeting. Our 2019 event committee has indicated a desire to return for 2020 and they’ll be doing the event planning, that’s why we don’t all have to be on every single AfterBurn meeting.
You need to be a team player! We’re aiming for a seven person board and a roughly equal sized event committee, plus we have even more team leads at AfterBurn and an entire community of volunteers. If you don’t play nice with others, please contact the DPW/DOGS team for volunteer opportunities.
Now that you know what we want from you, here’s what you get from the position:
An all expenses paid reasonably priced lunch during our in-person board meeting!
Dinner at a board members’ home in Lakeland after our in-person board meeting!
The ability to put “board member of a nonprofit” on your resume!
Use of a radio for part of AfterBurn!
Financial assistance to attend the South East Round Table (SERT), most likely in April and pretty darned close to home!
Tons of new friends!
Your very own @burntoranges.org email address!
Coverage on our liability insurance plan!
Lots of Slack notifications!
If this is as exciting sounding to you as it is to us, here’s what you need to do:
When #1 is done, send your letter of intent to board@burntoranges.org. For inspiration, consider including a description of yourself, what you think you bring to the organization, and what you’re looking to get from this experience.
Do your best to keep February 29 clear and begin thinking about how you’ll get to Lakeland for a long day of fun if you’re selected.
Steps #1 & #2 need to be completed by February 14. After this date, you are still encouraged to apply, but you will be considered for the next round of “hirings” at a future date. The current board will sort out any obvious “No” votes (sorry, if you have a lifetime event ban we can’t really have you on the board) and conduct interviews – ideally in person as a group, but we have creative ideas if that won’t work – prior to our February 29 in-person board meeting.
Thank you for all of your great submissions for the new Community Event Committee! We removed a few duplicate entries, now it’s time to vote! The top 11 vote recipients will form the new committee. If you would like to have your name displayed differently, please email us with the name displayed and what name should be displayed. If you were nominated and are unable to serve the community, please email us.
NOTE: Nominees who are unable to serve at this time are indicated by a disabled checkbox, a line through their name, and zero votes on the result page. So far, both removed nominees did receive enough votes to place them in the top 11 and, along with everyone who voted for them, we appreciate everything they have done and are able to do for the community ❤️
As promised in our announcement post, this page will provide answers to your questions.
Updated June 21, 2019
Can Burnt Oranges board members be nominated to the event committee?
As board members will already be serving the event committee and art grant committee in a variety of ways and will be required to serve as Board of Director on Call (BoDoC) during the event, board members who are nominated will have their nominations removed from voting.
Why can someone nominate someone else?
“The hero can go forth of his own volition to accomplish the adventure … or he may be carried or sent abroad by some benign or malignant agent … The adventure may begin as a mere blunder… or still again, one may be only casually strolling when some passing phenomenon catches the wandering eye and lures one away from the frequented paths of man.”
Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Some times we all need a little encouragement. If a community member thinks you have the ability to help 10 other people run this event, we encourage you to take it as a compliment.
But shouldn’t I be able to know who nominated me?
We encourage the elected event committee to work with the Burnt Oranges board to refine the event committee – including nomination procedures – for future events.
What if I’m nominated, but can’t serve?
If you’ve been nominated (check here) and know you can’t serve, please let us know at board@burntoranges.org. We encourage you to do so as soon as possible, if you’re elected to the committee then have to step down, you may disappoint those who voted for you.
Unfortunately not. Community members are already working on their projects for TTITD and we need to give them, and everyone else, enough time to plan. Remember: fewer people have done more in less time with less support the last two years, you can do this.
When and where can I register my theme camp?
Excellent question and we’re excited to hear you’re excited about bringing your theme camp! The Burnt Oranges board will be working with the upcoming event committee to determine how they would like to collect this information and we anticipate they will announce additional information as soon as possible.
When is the event?
Historically, Afterburn has been Veteran’s Day weekend, which would be the weekend of November 9 and 10. If the new event committee wants to stick to this date, cool! If they’re concerned about the multiple conflicting events that weekend and want to change the dates, neat! If they want to move it to the second Tuesday of next week or spring or a day ending in Y, rad! The point is, we don’t really know when the event will be because it’s up to the event committee.
What if I want to join the committee but don’t want to lead it?
In the wake of Hurricane Irma, Afterburn: Restoration was gifted to the Florida burner community in an effort to assemble and strengthen our community after tumultuous times – both within our community and meteorologically.
In between AB17 and AB18, a few of the community’s artists participated in the Florida Arts Road Road show and installed their art in front of 35,000 participants – and thrived. Many thanks to the Palm Beach Burner Collective for your participation, leadership, and sense of community. We see you.
The entire year of 2018 was spent dedicated to safety training by consulting with leaders at the highest level of BMORG and Black Rock Rangers and FAST. In addition, past and current leaders taught a re-formed CATS team the art of burning brightly. Anyone who saw Shelter From the Tempest or the Hippocampus burn saw the art executed flawlessly – and safely.
With a “blank slate” in mind, the community brought beautiful art and co-created a thriving enclave on the hills of Sand Lake at Afterburn: Tabula Rasa.
For the past two years we’ve seen participation increase; last year’s Department Leads brought dedication to the Tabula Rasa in new ways. Rangers created by far the largest theme camp at the event and had nearly 50% of the event’s participants stop by for an event safety training. Thankfully there were no incidents to debrief, no trips to an emergency room, and 218 ticketed participants went home knowing they left their mark on the canvas.
A restoration. A blank slate. The next step for Central Florida will be a rebuilding. We spent countless hours listening to those who’ve been hurt in the past, and offered apologies, an ear to listen, and now an opportunity to make a difference.
In all of our conversations and experiences elsewhere in the burn world, we’ve found one thing to be of the utmost importance, that yields the biggest amount of personal transformation, community building and creativity: a true spirit of participation.
There can be no argument; an event that’s run by the community offers the pinnacle of achievement. Community-run events are more vibrant, more expressive, more inclusionary and offer what only a regional burning man event can – the opportunity to come together and say, “We Did This.”
For those who have served the community at past events, we salute you.
For those who wish to say “I Ran AfterBurn,” come this way.
This year, the 2019 central Florida regional burn will be 99% community run.
The 1% is the part where the current volunteer board members will be responsible for handling financials (art grants, paying vendors, reviewing budget proposals, ticketing, etc) and legal concerns (contracts, insurance, security, etc), and the community will run, administer and learn how to bask in the fulfillment that comes from running YOUR OWN EVENT.
What’s Next?
The Board of Directors has unanimously voted, and we’re going to help the community form an event committee!
11 members will be voted onto the committee by you, the community.
Previous event and team leads are encouraged to participate.
The Newcomer is encouraged to participate.
The “great idea” person is encouraged to participate and carry out those amazing ideas!!!
The “naysayer” is encouraged to participate; committees LOVE debate!!!
Event committee members are asked to dedicate their time:
Roughly an hour a week between now and October
Roughly two hours a week in the month leading up to the event
Roughly four days for onsite, pre-event prep, teardown, and the actual, physical, immediacy of doing the thing
However long it takes you to finish any post-event work (inventory, submitting receipts, reporting, etc)
One of your first decisions will be picking event dates! We have options, including YOUR option, but yes, you decide.
The nomination process begins now and closes in one week. Community members will vote to determine which nominees will represent you in the committee starting in one week, and continuing through 7/1/2019.
We’ll announce the top 11 vote recipients and plan a public Zoom conference call to kick off the event planning process directly thereafter with your newly elected representatives.
Nominate yourself or someone you see as representative of your community.
Your first tasks may be daunting, but will be equally rewarding. Your challenges may seem difficult but with the support of 10 other committee members, department leads and returning veterans and board members, ultimately achievable. And you’ll learn something about yourself you might not have known: you could have been doing this all along but had been told “NO” your entire life. Not anymore. We’re here to say yes. Won’t you join us?
Who Runs Meetings?
There will always be at least one board member present – again to help with financial/legal concerns – but otherwise meetings are scheduled and run by the community. For transparency, we do require that meetings be held through Zoom which we will set up and record.
Who Is In Charge?
For legal liability, the events committee is a voting, advisory panel represented by the community who attends the event. The committee shall form no legal entity, nor have any liability beyond the personal action of any member. The committee shall elect two co-chairs who will take roll, and present written recommendations to the Burnt Oranges Board of Directors.
If it’s sane and safe, we move forward together. If it’s crazy and ludicrous and just might work, we move forward together. If it’s legal, we move forward together. If it’s affordable, we move forward together. If we’re going to take a bath on it due to poor ticket sales, it gets postponed or cancelled prior to vendor and property deposits being paid.
Department leads (CATS, Rangers, Medics, etc) will report to the Community Event Committee. The Community Event Committee will have the ability, at their discretion, to appoint, steal, beg, borrow, or otherwise appoint, vote or select “Event Leads,” or whatever titles they desire for those who will be doing the majority of the event’s work.
You’re encouraged to utilize existing department leads, or create your own. We have plenty of ideas to share with you, and encourage you to come up with your own. Board Members will be “On Call” during the event to deal with any legal, financial, or other ethical manners as required by our sanctioned status and agreement with BMORG. The “Event Producer” shall be listed as a board member (TBD) for insurance, legal, and financial reasons.
But we will not be meddling in the basics of how you want your event to run, nor responsible for its overall operations. We’re literally handing your designated “Property Quartermaster” the keys to all of it.
The Burnt Oranges board will also provide guidance – and, if necessary, a veto of any any activities the Community Event Committee plans that may jeopardize the event, community, or organization. It’s a true partnership; we’re providing the umbrella of liability and fiscal sponsorship; you’re providing the content, team, and feels.
There’s Not Enough Time!
The operational logistics for the past two Afterburn events were handled in far less time by far fewer people, but we do understand the concerns you may have. That’s why we’re available to provide guidance now, and in the future when necessary. Remember, there were 220 people at the event last year, all of our tools are already on site, and we have great team leads to help you along the way!
What About Art Grants?
Standby for a separate post about art grants very soon. Don’t wait for the post to start planning your projects though!
What If The Community Doesn’t Want To Run A Burn?
While all members of the Burnt Oranges board will be sad there isn’t a burn, the burn isn’t ours alone and we’ll respect the decisions made by the community. If the committee decides not to have an event, or to postpone it until 2020, we’ll support it, but miss it as much as you do. We’re already planning a decompression, so if you need some post-TTITD community there will be opportunities!
What’s Burnt Oranges Doing?
Actively pursuing our mission to support participatory art and community throughout Florida! With the burn being returned to the community for management, we now have the bandwidth to focus on that mission, including the aforementioned decompression, casual local burner social events, and additional art-grant-funding events (aka: fundraisers).
WTF?!
If you have additional questions regarding this evolution, please email us at board@burntoranges.org. We will compile questions and publish an FAQ.
For those of you who were waiting until the day of the event to buy tickets only to see tickets are no longer on sale, we’re helping you out! Tickets are now available to purchase until Sunday November 11 at noon.
For anyone reading this who decides to go through the Brown Paper Ticket listing with a magnifying glass, you may notice that the event dates appear as though the event is an hour long on Sunday. Fear not, the actual event hours have not changed (read the event description on Brown Paper Tickets), we just had to do that to allow beyond-last-minute ticket sales.
I was out at Woodchuck weekend with a bunch of rockstar volunteers, and we got stuff mowed, trimmed, organized, and generally “chucked.” Wait ’til you see the mind-blowing art that got built this past weekend! I’m super-excited!
The star of this issue is the Survival Guide. We’ve updated last year’s guide, and it provides answers to most questions. The rest of the questions? Email me, I guess. bob@burntoranges.org
I have to go pack my first-aid kit now. Don’t forget yours!
How ’bout that?
Bob
P.S. Speaking of reference, Tabula Rasa is pronounced TAB-yoo-la RAZ-a. Check out this fascinating source for pronunciation samples: https://youglish.com/search/tabula+rasa
In this issue:
The Survival Guide to AfterBurn: Tabula Rasa
The Art Attack
Who’s going to be there: Theme camp listing
Survival Guide to AfterBurn: Tabula Rasa
The Survival Guide provides an overview of everything you need to survive at the event. Download your copy of the PDF and read it over: SURVIVAL GUIDE 2018
Art Attack
From Buttercup and Kevin Bean
The Art Department has a new name: Art Attack!! What ya think?
Here are opportunities to pARTicipate with Art Attack at AfterBurn: Tabula Rasa:
The Hipocampus needs 2 volunteerseach shift 10am-2 pm and 2-6 pm to help instruct participants on how to help put the finishing touches on the sculpture by wrapping it in muslin soaked in colored paraffin wax! Training will be provided at the beginning of each shift by the artist James Olsen and the Art Attack!
Thursday art placement with the Art Attack team 2pm-4pm and 4pm-6pm. Need 2 volunteers per shift.
Art placement moop sweep has 4 shifts early Monday, from 9-11 am.
The Art Attacks Artist Apreciation Artist Meet Up @ The Hipocampus at 3-5 pm Sunday night! Bring snacks and beverages to share!
Who’s going to be there: Theme camp listing
Want to know who’s going to fill up the blank slate at AfterBurn? We have two pages of registered theme camps on the website! There are some great new offerings, and some friendly and familiar faces. Check it out!
THE SKY IS FALLING! (I.E., TIMELY ANNOUNCEMENTS & CRITICAL LINKS)
Bob is an exuberant pARTicipant who would rather make art than sit at the computer…but who sits at the computer and writes this stuff for you. You can email Bob at bob@burntoranges.org with questions, concerns, or submissions to this announcement list.
