Freezer Burn - 2022-02-22 State of Things Q&A Report

Our Freezer Burn 2022 “State of Things” online Q&A held on the 22nd of February (20222202) ran smoothly, and was a great success (or we the producers felt it was a success, anyway). The overall meetin

 · 9 min read

Our Freezer Burn 2022 “State of Things” online Q&A held on the 22nd of February (20222202) ran smoothly, and was a great success (or we the producers felt it was a success, anyway). The overall meeting drew just over 70 participants throughout the night, and we touched on a lot of great subjects for nearly two hours. 

So yeah, There have been many questions coming to us about the event, so we made the purpose of the evening to share information with you, that we feel is important for this stage of the planning, and to answer any preliminary questions. The upcoming Lead Meeting & Town Halls (dates to be announced) will both be other suitable gatherings for more questions and discussion. As always, we remain open to any inquiries or concerns sent to our email address, freezerburnproducer@gmail.com

Essentially one of the main driving points we tried to make is that we need to get team leads! This event only happens if we all make it happen, and we are currently short on many positions!  Got ideas for making it better? It’s your time to shine! 

Covid: 

We are currently planning to go ahead, and have our fingers crossed that we can have a safe and enjoyable event. We are trying to ensure that rapid tests are available and we have some budget set aside to deal with the ever-changing situation. We will follow all Alberta mandates and take into consideration the mandates of our neighboring provinces. Our production team has been discussing different ideas to help our participants navigate this topic onsite, and we have a couple ideas that we could employ. CONSENT must still be a primary focus! Do you have permission to enter someone’s personal space? In the end though, It is up to every participant to do their own risk assessment prior to the event. Do you have ideas on how to make it a safe event? Send us an email! 

Theme announcement:
It was joked that two-thirds of the voters will not be pleased with the final choice. Out of the six options, all of the votes cast their ways mainly in four ways with “Phoenix Rising” winning the vote with 25.8%. The Comic relief winner (and potential sticker idea) is “Dumpsters & Dragons” with a solid 29.6%.

Volunteer callout:

Are other leads doing things wrong? Do you have ideas to improve a team that you have volunteered for in the past? We need you this year! This is a community event. If you want it, you gotta step up and make it happen. Lead, volunteer, build some art, build a stage. Get involved if you want it to continue. 

We need volunteers for: 

  • Volunteer Coordinator co-Lead
  • Ticketing Lead (s)
  • Ranger  Lead Mentees
  • Fire Safety
  • Onsite Inspections
  • Perimeter co-Lead
  • Ignition Lead
  • Effigy
  • Temple
  • DPW co-Lead
  • Gate co-Lead
  • Parking co-Lead
  • Art Grant Lead
  • Ceremony Lead
  • Communications Co-Lead
  • WWW Lead
  • Center Camp Leads

Tickets: 

Online Tickets will go on-sale on March 11 for $200 plus fees. There are about 600 tickets available, and Yes, 2020 hardcopy tickets are still 100% valid - Do not lose them! We have a new vendor for online tickets, but the blasted ticketing fees are still around $8 or so. Low Income Tickets are being renamed the Limited Income Ticket program. The program is being tweaked still and details will be announced in the coming weeks. The summary though, is that we have more LI tickets available, we are making them more accessible with more options for proof of income. We are also working with an uninvolved (non-burner) third party for validation, and for community discretion.

Ticket art call out! 

We will only be selling the online tickets from here on, so this Art will be displayed online (Freezerburn.org, Freezer Burn Facebook) and during the Ticket purchase. The WWW will also ONLY be digital this year (probably a good time to announce that). Now that we have a theme, we need the Art!! Submit art from now until March 8th.

Question Period:

We had asked our participants to keep their questions brief, constructive and concise, and to respect the amount of time we had available. If individuals had a longer or a more in-depth question, we asked them to please email us. freezerburnproducer@gmail.com

  1. Q: As a new Freezer Burn attendee how do I go about volunteering? 

A: The best way to get involved is to go to the https://www.freezerburn.org/volunteer/ webpage. Here you will find a list of the different teams, and the sign up form. 

  1. Q: What is What Where When? 

A: The What? Where? When? is the list of events happening during the event.

  1. Q: Can we volunteer for positions if we’re not sure we’re going to be in attendance?

A: Yes, put in the time you can while in that position and if you cannot make it you have at least helped make the event happen. 

  1. Q: Are 2020 tickets still valid? 

A: Yes, Hardcopy 2020 tickets are still valid. 

  1. Q: What's the total attendance?

A: We're capping at about 1100, due to increasing availability of Limited Income tickets.

  1. Q: Will there still be an adult only area? 

A: There will be if you bring one ;). Yes, there have been camps that have expressed interest in returning. These camp locations will be adequately placed so as to not hinder the experience of other participants. 

  1. Q: Will the online tickets site be through the freerburn website?

A: Yes

  1. Q: Will there be any live ticket sales

A: No, at this time there are no live ticket sales planned. 

  1. Q: Can you please repeat the ticket art deadline? 

A: With the exciting announcement of our 2022 theme: Phoenix Rising, we have established the Ticket Art deadline for March 8th.

  1. Q: Will there be a vaccine requirement?

A: We are following the Alberta (as well as our neighboring province) health guidelines closely and will abide by guidelines established by our regional health program, taking into consideration what British Columbia and Saskatchewan do as well. 

  1. Q: Do you have a sanctuary lead?

A: We do currently have Sanctuary Leads, but always welcome more volunteers.

  1. Q: I'm interested in helping but not taking on a lead role, before or during the burn, who should I talk to?

A: Have a look at https://www.freezerburn.org/volunteer/ webpage for the descriptions of the teams. Typically LNT is the best team to be part of for post-event roles. 

  1. Q: When is theme camp registration open this year?

A: Date needs to further be established with the Team Lead, but it is currently set for the middle of April. 

  1. Q: When do we suspect the first issue of the polar bear speaks?

A: Not sure at this time. 

  1. Q: how are lost hard copies being addressed to ensure those participants are not left out? Do we know how many people have reported lost hard copies?

A: Hard copy tickets are like cash money: handy, but if they are gone, then it is a personal tragedy. We do not yet know how many people have misplaced tickets. 

  1. Q: What is the online ticket limit? 

A: You may purchase a maximum of 2 tickets from the entire ticket pool.

  1. Q: How do I get the emails?

A: To subscribe to the Regional Burning Man “alberta-list” email list, send a blank email to: alberta-list+subscribe@burningman.org. You will receive a confirmation email back in response. 

  1. Q: Is Newtown the New Oldtown and Old Town the new town

We will let the residents sort that out. 

  1. Q: Did we determine the effigy build locations (which will be done where)?

A: The Burn locations will most likely be in the same locations as previous year, but could change at the discretion of the build team and Freezer Burn Fire Art Safety Team (FB-FAST)

  1. Q: Seems like it might be wise to do a call-out asking people who bought the old hard copy tickets whether they still have them, or they lost them. might at least get a sense of how many of them are still out there

A: This is a great idea, and yes, we will try and find out.

  1. Q: Will there be a lead meeting? in person?

A: Yes, once we have a larger pool of Team leads, we will have a Leads meeting. It will most likely be an online meeting. 

  1. Q: So if you sell the 600 tickets .. and all the 200ish hard copies from 2020 the total will be 800 to the event ?

A: We are selling roughly 600 tickets online. There are roughly 400 hardcopy tickets still out there. We have increased the number of low income tickets as well, so our maximum cap will be 1100 tickets total. 

  1. Q: Do we have confirmation on Locations

Yes, the location of the event has been confirmed. Same location. 

  1. Q: Is there a change to the free entry age?

A: No, Children 12 years of age and under are free but must be registered. Add their names when you buy your ticket or send us an email to register the kids under 13 

  1. Q: we have a massive gap in age (13-16) which in the past has been discussed to ensure we are more inclusive for this age range

A: One way to make this event more inclusive to all age ranges is through the Art. Make it easy to engage and participate with,  no matter the age, the skill, etc. 

  1. Q: have Mutant vehicle requirements changed?

A: No, Mutant vehicle requirements have not changed. All motorized vehicles (including mobility carts and scooters, one-wheels, electric & gas powered bikes, etc). This is to create accountability for the owner. 

  1. Q: Is there an accessibility team/discussion?

A: This is a great idea, and we agree with you that this has a strong inclusion component. In the past, many participants have stepped up to make this easier, and the production team has been known to cart individuals from point a to b as needed. 

  1. Q: Can anyone make interactive art?

A: Yes! Do it!!

  1. Q: Are there job descriptions for the lead positions in each area? 

A: Currently no, but this is a great idea to have on our https://www.freezerburn.org/volunteer/ webpage.

  1. Q: Is there a blueprint of lead responsibilities from previous years?

A: Each team has very specific, ever changing responsibilities. The best idea would be to talk to producers who can set up discussions with previous year leads (or mentors). 

  1. Q: When will the list of needed Team lead positions be posted? 

A: Within the next couple days we will post a list of all the Lead positions we are looking to fill to the www.freezerburn.org webpage. 

  1. Q: March 8th is the deadline for? 

A: Ticket art! The Theme for 2022 is Phoenix Rising.

  1. Q: estimated time commitment for art grant lead?

A: Please send an email to artgrantsfreezerburn@gmail.com for more information. 

  1. Q: What are onsite inspections?

A: Onsite inspections generally refer to Art (more specifically burnable art) and Mutant Vehicles. All art is inspected for safety, Burnable Art is inspected for safety by the FB-FAST team, and Mutant vehicles are inspected at the DMV to ensure they are safe for use. 

  1. Q: This may be too early to ask, but will there be ranger re-training since it’s been so long since the last event?

A: Yes, we are hoping to have at least one good training. Training may happen online. 

  1. Q: What does gate co lead entail?

A: While gate is fun, it is all business; they take tickets and give out wristbands but the leads help set up the teams (shifts are about 2-3 hours) and they handle all emergent items, like someone not having a certain photo id. 

  1. Q: Training videos?

A: With the diversity of teams and responsibilities, there are a limited number of training videos for the lead positions, and only for certain teams. 

  1. Q: volunteer commitment is 8 hours? 

A: Volunteer commitment varies, some teams like greeter are 4 hours, Rangers can be 4 or 6. Placement for example works pre-event and on-site straight until the land is staked out and ready for camps. 

  1. Q: Is there a Site Restoration lead?

A: That would be the LNT lead, and we may be looking for a Lead or Co-lead. 

  1. Q: DPW?

A: DPW stands for Department of Public works. They handle things like site restoration, and maintenance on the generators, lamps, etc. 

  1. Q: When do tickets go on sale again and is there a set time? 

A: 2022 Ticket Sales open March 11, 7pm MST.

  1. Q: So it's still happening even though covid is still a thing? 

A: Fingers crossed. but yes, we are planning for it going forward. The current plan is for Freezer Burn 2022 to take place as an in-person event. Our production team has been discussing different ideas to help our participants navigate this topic onsite, and we have a couple ideas that we could employ. In the end though, It is up to every participant to do their own risk assessment prior to the event.

Published on
Kyle Maclean