Mountain Holler
Volume 3, Issue 6
View Online @ www.transformus.com/news/
April, 2008
I told you March was in like a lamb and out like a lion!! Wish my ability at choosing lottery numbers was as prophetic as that sentence. In case you haven’t been paying attention, there’s been quite a storm up the Holler of late…lots of lightning and thunder…but I believe that the rains we experienced at last weekend’s Work/Play Weekend and Town Hall Meeting were cleansing and another green, vibrant, Transformus event will be the end result, and we will all grow from this experience!
Bruce Bender aka Uncle Jonah has resigned from Transformus, LLC. Our thanks to him for his dedication and passion to this event and community. Bruce has received a BRAF grant to take his art project, “Ketchup” to the Playa this summer. This project looks amazing, Bruce! We look forward to participating with you in July and in the years to come. Thank you again for all the time and energy you have given to Transformus and the Bamboozler.
Thanks also to our Web Team, Ben and Jace and all other cyber/techno programming Mysterians…who have really stepped up to get the invite situation rectified and continue to work on Transformus website pages and programming as we move beyond the void left with our former Web Team Lead’s sudden and dramatic departure…you know who you are, Sam, Jenn, and others. Please forgive me if I forgot to mention you by name! You have ALL OUR THANKS!
In this issue:
The Minutes from the Town Hall Meeting at Deerfields on April 12th.
A Transformus Virgin’s View of the Work Play Weekend.
Invites and What Each of You Need To Do as We Move Forward with the Invite Process.
Theme Camp Registration
Area Meet-n-Greets Coming to a Community Near You!
Words to Ya Mutha! from DTR
April w/p weekend & town hall meeting minutes
About 75 Mysterians came home to Deerfields last weekend for a Work/Play weekend and Town Hall Meeting. Thanks to all that came and helped rebuild the Upper Lake Stage, clear and burn brush and other deadfall, and another couple of projects above and beyond what the landowners had identified for us to help with…a job well done!
Saturday night we gathered in a circle and all announced our presence and participation within this community. It was a time to ask questions, and I hope you all found the answers to those concerns, or at least the process to getting those answers has begun.
Much thanks to Bex, the BM Regional Network Administrator and Danielle, the Regional Contact for Atlanta, who came to sit in on and moderate the BOD Meeting and the ensuing Town Hall Meeting. As a matter of public disclosure, a formal complaint against Transformus has been lodged with Burning Man, and part of the reason Bex came was to begin the investigation process necessitated by that complaint. As part of the Regional Network of BM events, we welcome the opportunity to meet with her. Thanks also to Rebecca Cobb who took the minutes of the Town Hall Meeting that are posted here. Minutes from the BOD Meeting will be forthcoming.
We came together, worked together, and then we burned the “Drama Llama” and played like only Burners can!!
Transformus Town Hall Meeting April 12, 2008, Deerfields
Attending: Transformus, LLC Board of Directors (Miss Kitten was not in attendance,) and numerous community members.
The meeting began at approximately 6pm, and was moderated by Danielle Potheau (Atlanta Regional Contact for Burning Man, and 2007 Transformus Effigy co-creator) and Bex Workman (Burning Man Regional Administrator).
Danielle began the meeting with an introduction regarding the style of meeting, and the use of the "talking stick" format. She encouraged personal questions or comments, rather than comments such as "I heard..."
Wordplay (BOD) then made an introduction on behalf of the Board, and discussed hearing clearly from the community that the Board needs to work on their communication with the community involved with Transformus. Wordplay spoke briefly about the sacredness of space that is Deerfields, and requested that everyone pass around a sage bunch and introduce themselves.
(As a funny note, it was at this time that Vespa offered the use of a flamethrower to light the sage bunch that Wordplay wanted to pass around.)
(Introductions of the community omitted.)
After the introductions were all done, Wordplay called for questions from the community, and Bex and Danielle began to form a queue. Questioners were asked to state their name. In some cases, this was not done. Please note that these are not quotes from participants below. They are summaries of what was stated.
Question, by Amelia: Can I pay now for my tickets? Answer, by Board, generally: No, not this weekend.
Question, by Rubble: What's up with the website? Answer, by Vespa (BOD): The 2007 site is back up now. We are working hard to fix everything. Answer, by Waterfall: The 2008 site was taken down by the person who built it, and I had no access to it at that time. Answer, by Vespa: By the first of the week, we hope to have new codes to those who paid for tickets already. The following week, the Board is going to ask for contact info from all of the people who got tickets but have not yet paid. The 2007 financials will be posted next week. Answer, by Waterfall: If you want to have stuff added to the website, please contact me to have it done.
Someone from the audience: We need to be told not to worry. The Board should tell us on the website that they are working on things, and that it will all be okay, and that we should not worry. Reassure the community. Hearing no news is bad. A, by Vespa: We wanted to get your (community) input before we fixed the site.
Q, by Man in Audience: What is the chance of those of us who didn't get tickets, getting tickets now? A, by Vespa: Last minute tickets turn up. Q, by Man in Audience: So you are going to release more tickets? A, by Vespa: No. I have nothing more that is positive to say about this.
(There was some brief discussion among all about the fact that things sell out, and that last minute tickets always turn up.)
In response to the earlier statement regarding reassurance, DTR said that there was reassurance on the website already.
Q, by Man in Audience: Who is on the Board? (Board members raised their hands) Will we have Transformus this year? A, by the Board: YES!
Q, by Unga Bunga John: How many pairs of boots hit the ground in Deerfields last year for Transformus? A, by Debra (BOD): 1,360 wristbands were given out.
Q, by Unga Bunga: How many people were IN the event, versus how many tickets were sold? A, by Debra: 1,360, plus the people on Deerfields' guest list.
Q, by Unga Bunga: We paid the land owners for 1,360 participants? So that is the amount listed for ticket sales last year on the Afterburn report?
(Discussion of amounts for ticket sales reported in Afterburn not matching number of tickets sold. Amounts in minutes approximated.) 1,360 should result in $27k. How did we get to the $73,540 shown as money spent on land? Math is finite, and it should all add up. There is a discrepancy in the Afterburn report. When will an updated and corrected Afterburn report be available?
A, by Debra: I have kept the money and the books for Transformus for years. I am not perfect and I am not an accountant. I didn't use a spreadsheet in the past. I have requested, every year, for help from the community with this. Now, Vespa is doing the financials, and he is using a spreadsheet. Please, review everything I have! We have been working to fix all the numbers, where there were errors, which were not intentional errors! I have made mistakes with ticket count numbers, with tax and postage in the past. I have all of the records. I understand that I have made mistakes, and Vespa and I have been working to correct them all, as we review all the old records. Anyone who wants to help fix these issues, please step up! Nothing has been destroyed -I have it all with me!
Q, by Unga Bunga: How many tickets, at what level, were sold? A, by Wordplay: Second tier ticketing got messed up, so I don't know. (Explained ticket issue from last year, regarding Board not being able to cut off ticket sales quickly enough.) A, by Debra: I didn't come prepared with that information, but I can get it for you.
A, Stan Devi (BOD): We still had to pay Pay Pal fees on all the transactions that happened last year, regardless of if those ticket sales ended up being valid or not. A, Wordplay: We had to pay Pay Pal fees on all the messed up tickets.
Q, by Unga Bunga: So that is what is listed as the overage refund on the Afterburn report? A, by Debra: Some people bought 20 tickets. I had to refund money to every person who did that via Pay Pal. I had to cut them all checks, because they were not supposed to be able to purchase that many tickets. A, by Word Play: (described mail in process last year, for tier three ticketing.)
Q, by Unga Bunga: If you put the numbers into a spreadsheet, it should equal out. A, by Debra: I know, we're working on it.
Q, by Unga Bunga: It is not your failure, it is a failure of process. More than one set of eyes working on this will help fix the issue. I should have asked last year when I looked at the Afterburn report. I didn't ask why the numbers were what they were. Why do we pay the taxes we pay? North Carolina private use tax is 5.5% for events. That would have worked out to $4k. Then the income tax, which shouldn't be more than the listed income. A, by Debra: We have an accountant to deal with our taxes.
Q, by Unga Bunga: The numbers don't match because we don't have hard numbers. That is why everyone is confused. It is natural to want to hide your numbers away, so you aren't critiqued on them all the time. Show us the numbers, so we know exactly what is going on. A, by Debra: We are putting out the call for help with this. We are working out all the errors. When we found errors, we were as freaked out as you are! A, by Vespa: I took this on in September. By Christmas, I knew there was a discrepancy. When I got the tax records, that backed up my understanding of the discrepancy, but I simply could not meet with Debra at that time.
Q, by Unga Bunga: I will help. I just put it all together and it didn't work out on the spreadsheet. I just need the correct info. Let's make it public. Even if it requires a log in to see all the information. A, by Debra: I welcome that. If we are making it private, how do you decide who can view it? Where do you draw the line?
Q, by Unga Bunga: Being a private LLC, you may need to amend your taxes. A, by KLo (BOD): No, the taxes are all okay. It's just our records that are messed up.
Q, by Unga Bunga: Then you need to fix the numbers for the community. Tell the community what is going on. A, by Debra: Absolutely. A, by Wordplay: Make Unga Bunga the head of the accounting page on the website!
Q, by Jen: How does one get on the Board? A, by Debra: Currently, it is through recommendations from other Board members. I want to open that up to the community. I'm only speaking for myself here.
A, by KLo: We are ready to get more community involvement with this, and we are looking into ways to do that. A, by Debra: We (Transformus) have doubled in size every year since the beginning. We are flying by the seat of our pants. At the Regional Summit, the Summit was opened to Board members from Regional events this year. There was a case study of Transformus. People were asking us how we did this (doubled in size each year). A, by Danielle: The world wants to copy Transformus because Transformus got it right.
Q, by Chw: I am proud of the Board. I am not looking for anyone personally here, but communication is number one. We ALL need to deal with it. No one knows what is going on, and people are getting antsy. We all go our separate ways in the winter. We hide behind our computer screens with big attitudes. A, by Stan Devi: Have you seen the website? Chw: Not in a week and a half. Stan Devi: How do we communicate better if people aren't looking at the website?
Q, by Chw: Why did the former website builder get our personal information? In the disclaimer on the site it says that personal information won't be used improperly. Why did you let it be taken? Is anything going to be done to fix this? A, by Danielle: What is most productive for the community? Not a lawsuit!
Q, by Chw: What prevents it from being stolen again? A, by Stan Devi: It's 2008. You put your information in a computer and it is gone. We can't prevent that. We cannot afford to sue him. If you feel like you have been wronged by him, sue him yourself. We could sue him, but then we could not afford to do Transformus. We would rather reach a resolution.
Q, by Tunna: Why are Board meetings private? A, by KLo: They aren't. We live in five states. Often it's tough for us all to meet. A, by Debra: We have 20 hour meetings! A, by Wordplay: There was discussion of having the Board meeting today on the stage. It was grueling today and there would have been too much going on for that. We are working toward having open Board meetings somehow.
Q, by Bubba John: Need clarification on one thing: Invite process. I get why we need structured ticket sales. Then tickets are sold individually. At what point do theme camp tickets come into play? A, by Stan Devi: Never. They will simply never get priority. Critical people to the event have to come first, such as DPW, gate, security medical. We have a small set of reserved tickets for personnel, in case we do not have enough volunteers from the community to step up. (The example of not having enough Ranger volunteers from the community was mentioned, and the reserve tickets went to the Flipside Rangers who helped fill these roles.)
Q, by Bubba John: Why are people in theme camps freaking out so much?
A, by Stan Devi: We have nothing to do with that kind of ticketing. The only reserved tickets are for people who get Ranger training and want to help out, if we still need Ranger shifts filled, etc. I've even fought for a ticketing process to benefit theme camps in the past. A, by KLo: We have to have team leads who show up. A, by Stan Devi: One thing we have faced is that there are no specific definitions of the 10 Principles. We have different definitions for "Radical Inclusion." We all come to the table with different ideas. Radical Inclusion is pivotal to our invite process. How do you decide on this process? You participate, so you get in? This year, we voted on several ideas, and we came to the conclusion that a completely random computer process was best. We thought it would be well received by the community, but instead we have heard no end to the bitching! A, by DTR: I have gotten so many phone calls from people, bitching about bringing so much to this event, and asking how we could exclude them? We have taken it completely out of our hands, so there was no favoritism! It isn't like we are choosing to deny a theme camp!
Q, by Bubba John: Let's put the past behind us. Negativity breeds negativity. Let's go to the list and post positive threads instead of negative ones!
Q, by Chw: I agree, let's stop the negativity. What is going on with tickets? A, by Stan Devi: We have contact information for the people who paid. Those who have not, we will need to have them contact us. A, by Vespa: We will post instructions on how to do this on the website, soon. We were quiet about this before, because we were trying to avoid having to do this. Look for more info this week.
(At this point, Word Play introduces John J, who said he appreciated all our hard work, and thanked everyone.)
Q, by person in audience: Who is the communication officer for the Board? A: Wordplay.
Q: I felt like something was going on. There were no responses at all from the Board. The last post from the Board was on the 26th. Maybe there should be some kind of information committee? A, by Stan Devi: Sign up! Transformus info squad! Sign up at tits@transformus.com Eric and Siryn signed up. Rocki asks that others contact her. There was a request for bi-weekly posts with information.
Q, by Gilbot: How can we get to a larger ticket cap? A, by Wordplay: Moving parking offsite has increased camping space. A, by Stan Devi: We need volunteers! Join a team!! Q, by someone in the audience: Can we put on the site where volunteers are needed? A, by Stan Devi: It's there under "get involved" (Edited to add: www.transformus. com/community/). Contact a team lead! A, by Rocki: There is always a need for volunteers, on every team!
A, by KLo: We are having our team leads post a list of their needs, and a schedule, so you can see what has not been filled yet and where you might be able to help. We are working on that this year.
A, by Rebecca: Can everyone please remember that everyone involved in creating a burn is a volunteer. Team leads are volunteers. Board members are volunteers. We all have lives outside of working on burn events, and sometimes things take a little longer than you might want. Life does not stop so we can work on our burns. Getting volunteers for teams is the number one challenge for every burn. If you see something needs to be done, get involved! Step up and help out!
Q, by Tunna: Please notice that the people who have caused all the trouble are not here. (The comment was made, "Except Unga Bunga!" And everyone shared a laugh.)
A, by Wordplay: Unga Bunga, the lack of response was my lack of knowledge. I was trying.
Q, by Rocki: Do we still have a list of all the people who signed up to volunteer for things, when they were submitting ticket requests? A, by Debra: No. A, by Rocki: Then this needs to be collected. A, by KLo: We are hoping to recollect this information soon. A, by Debra: On the site, each team will have a link to contact that team lead.
Q, by Rocki: People might be waiting to hear from someone, and not know why they haven't been contacted to help out yet. A, by KLo: Let's get information out there to people and have people start to contact team leads if they are interested in helping out.
Q, by Rocki: Can you give an estimated date for hearing more about tickets? A, by Debra: Next week. A, by Wordplay: Part of the problem is that we have burner names for people, and not their real names, and this is causing an issue for us as we attempt to contact people.
Q, by Rocki: When will we hear more about increasing community involvement? (Note by Rebecca: I did not catch this answer, as the meeting was coming to a close and there was lots of mumbling by this point.)
Q, by Unga Bunga: So the LLC has no current plan to take action against Mustang? A, by Stan Devi: It is not cut and dry, but we hope to solve this through communication, rather than litigation. A, by Wordplay: We will not seek legal action against him.
Q, by Unga Bunga: So there are no current open legal declarations against him? A, by Stan Devi: No.
Q, by Unga Bunga: There are 150 tickets that are for key personnel, which were not given out in the random selection process. How many will be available then, after all the ticket process is done? How many will come available? A, by Stan Devi: The previous webmaster did not post about this correctly initially. 150 tickets are reserved for key infrastructure, if volunteers do not step up. We are hoping to have teams filled and to know how many extra tickets there are by June at the latest.
Q, by Unga Bunga: So is the cap 1,350? A, by Stan Devi: No, the cap is 1,500. If by June, all necessarily positions are filled, we will open up the other tickets.
Q, by someone in the audience: What part did you ask Mustang to remove? A, by Stan Devi: Mistakes on the explanation regarding the distribution of tickets.
(Information was then reiterated about what to do if you have received an invitation, but not yet paid. Please get in touch with the LLC (LLC@transformus.com) and give them your contact information if you got a confirmation that you got invitations, but you have not yet paid for your invitations. Check the website, which the Board hopes will be updated by the 23rd, for more information. You will need to pay by the 5th of May.)
Q, by Unga Bunga: Why did the Board not publicly discuss that Mustang's posted information was incorrect? A, by Stan Devi: We were still looking at this to try to decide when to release the other tickets. We had a lot of stuff going on at that point, and it was just an oversight -sorry.
Q, by Unga Bunga: There was a full month with no correction. Why did you not correct this information in that time? A, by Wordplay: We needed to meet in order to decide if we were going to just go with what Mustang had posted, or to do what we had originally intended to do with the tickets.
Q, by Unga Bunga: Why didn't you give the correct information to the community in that whole month? A, by Stan Devi: I don't know.
Q, by Unga Bunga: There was a failure in the process. A, by Rebecca: I have a request that we just admit and understand that the communication was not great, and that everyone will do better in the future. (Everyone agrees, and the meeting moves on.)
Q, by Eli: We know the Board has been working. We just need to hear from you what you're doing. We appreciate everything you do, but it helps to know what it is you are doing. Let's party! Sign up for stuff! Volunteer!
Q, by Foxglove: Board, thank you. Let's take from this experience that something has to be done. Step up and help. WE need to make it happen.
Danielle: I want to talk about process of communication. There are official processes, such as messages from the LLC at Transformus, and the Mountain Holler. There are unofficial processes, such as Tribe, the Transformus list, etc. There are also Burning Man regional announce lists. Let's honor the various ways of communication. If you have a question for the Board, email then directly!
Q, by Tunna: Everyone please clean up after your selves!
Q, by Paul: Do we need to resign up for tickets? A, by DTR: No, ticket sign ups are closed.
Meeting adjourned, sometime around 9:30pm.
voice & viewpoint from a virgin – dutch a.k.a. “treat”
It's a long and winding road, and you don't have any idea what you'll find at the end of it. Yeah, that could be a metaphor for life but in my case it describes exactly where I was...on a winding mountain road that got narrower and narrower until the pavement ended and the dirt road got narrower and it started to feel a little like the Road to Nowhere -- with no human in sight.
Yes, it was the road to Deerfields; a place I'd never been near in my life. What would I find there? I tried not to think too much about it. I knew this Transformus thing was a regional burn, and I'd volunteered for the "work/play" weekend to help out preparing the site...but what did that mean? I'd always suspected regionals might be just pale imitations of the real thing that covered (or uncovered) all the details but missed the true spirit. And who would I meet there? A bunch of pathetic semi-redneck burner wanna-bees? (Hey, I'd read that "Southern version of the 10 principles" on the website and believe me it was NOT encouraging. I still cringe.) I'd checked out Tribe and the list too...would I find rival factions in pitched combat with machetes and flame cannons? Would I regret leaving the Kevlar at home?
Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little. But my real fear: that as a newbie and a stranger that I'd be shunted aside and mostly ignored while the clique had lots of fun together. That's what happens in Reality Camp usually isn't it? I'd survive for sure but I'd wind up regretting not staying home to catch the Mr. Magoo re-run marathon on the cartoon channel.
What I found was a couple of tents among the apple trees, and five people standing in the middle of a white-gravel road talking to one another, looking oddly like some scene from a movie. Would it be a horror show? I parked, walked up, and said Hi.
I'm sorry, but I have no drama to report (or make up) at this point (no matter how tempting that is). Everyone there was friendly and accepting, introducing themselves as John Jay, Wordplay, Snakechaser, Gizmo and Bex. I had no idea who I was talking to, but everyone was generous with their time and attention. No one told me to go camp somewhere and not bother them. I felt immediately at ease and accepted. No red necks in sight, and no Kevlar needed.
This was Friday afternoon, and more people arrived gradually. Being a lamplighter in the desert I tended to hang out with the small Moonshiners contingent much of the time, but I tried to meet everyone I could and without exception you were all great...you know who you are...I wish I could name every name (and I think I remember most of them!) but I've got to limit my words here or the editor will spank me.
We (and it was "we" now) worked hard and played hard all weekend. I won't get into details (and some of them are admittedly a bit fuzzy around the edges, especially anything after the "town hall" meeting Saturday night. Ahem. But in truth, somewhere during that group encounter session is where I realized this *was* a burn and you Mysterians are burners because what I saw and heard and experienced there was *real*. It wasn't perfect, nor always pretty, but it was honest and caring and yet despite the sometimes brutal honesty it was always respectful. Respect carries a lot of weight in my book.
At night there was fire, and storms, and cold, and the warmth of companionship. It all runs together quite nicely. I left in a completely different frame of mind than I entered. Yes, Transformus is the real thing. And yes, I was completely accepted into the community without reservation. And yes, I'm proud to join you crazy freaks. (Even if, even if, you keep that "southern 10 principles" on the website. I still cringe.)
You've got me now. For better or perverse.
INVITES AND WHAT DO I DO NOW ??!!
Greetings Mysterians!
As most of you are now aware, we have had some fairly widespread issues with our website, and specifically with our invite/ticket page. We need all your help to facilitate the repair of this system. We have the data of who was approved at this stage, and who is still pending. We also have PayPal receipts and data for those who have already paid for their invites. What we need is your contact information and other numbers to help us proceed.
If you have paid already you should have just gotten an email from us with your new gate codes. Any old gate codes you had are NO LONGER VALID. If you paid via PayPal or with a Money Order previously, do not re-register. If you do not yet have e-invite codes, contact vespa@transformus.com
If you have not paid OR were not accepted in the first round please go to www.transformus.com/invites/ and click on the link to register - filling out this form will give us the information we need to match you to your original request.
Please provide on this form:
Your full name and snail mail address
Your email address that the request was made from and to which you want e-invite codes returned to.
The names for participants 1 and 2 (if applicable) as you entered them on the website request form, be it first name only, nickname, or playa name.
IMPORTANT DATES:
April 30th: Last day to send us your contact information if you have not paid or were not approved initially.
May 5th: Last day to pay for invites. Remember Cinco de Mayo!!!
May 6th: Emails will be sent out for the second round of invites to those who applied on the former website.
Again, we have your names and some of this information, Your providing us with all this info will verify you are who you say, that you are on our list, and fill in any info we may be missing, especially contact info. If you never checked the website before it all went away, do not worry, it may just take a little longer to get in touch with you.
Thanks for all of your assistance!!
Transformus BOD
theme camp registration UPDATE
We know you're all excited to get those theme camp registration forms in, and we are so looking forward to hearing about all the crazy-ass awesomeness that you're bringing to our beloved Mysteria this year.
You all know by know that the website exploded and shit-tastic drama has rained down upon us. Our web team is slaving away night and day and should have the registration page up by the beginning of next week. Should things get sticky and take a little longer, we'll let ya know. The latest that we'll get the registration form up is May 5th.
So, if you have further questions, join the theme camps discussion list at lists.transformus.com/listinf...rmus.com and ask away.
area meet-n-greets! coming soon to a LOCATION NEAR you!
ATLANTA MEET-n-GREET AT MUDFIRE STUDIOS ~ April 26th after 8 P.M.
We're gearing up for another spring party and looking forward to seeing everyone who can make it. Last year we had a bonfire, lots of fire dancing, raku pottery firing, and a massive potluck cookout. This year we're adding a sound system and DJ Blaise with some deep house, and a musical performance by the amazing Klimchak who plays a one man show with dozens of instruments and electronics. We'll have some clay kicking around for anyone that wants to play with clay too. And whatever else you want to do/bring/contribute/share! This is a big burner run/friendly arts facility so get creative and bring some friends; we've got plenty of room.
-Please arrive after 8 pm as the studio is open to our customers until 8
-We have a big grill, microwave, fridge, and plates/cutlery
-Bring something to grill, sides, dessert, etc
-BYOB
-Fire dancers/performers highly encouraged to share their gifts!
-If anyone wants to set up artwork or contribute any sort of performance, give us a holler, we'd love it
Erik and Luba
info@mudfire.com
MudFire Clayworks & Gallery
175 Laredo Dr, Decatur, GA 30030
404-377-8033
www.mudfire.com
Peace,
Erik & Luba
MAYHEM ~ EASTERN NC BURNISH CAMPING EVENT: MAY 16-18, 2008
Mayhem tickets on sale NOW. Limited number of tickets available
WHAT IS MAYHEM?
MAYHEM is A full-moon, weekend camping, music & fire event down on the
N. Carolina Coast
WHEN IS MAYHEM?
The weekend of May 16-18. 2008
WHERE IS MAYHEM?
Castle Hayne, NC, just outside of Wilmington, NC, along the Cape Fear River.
WHY IS MAYHEM?
Because Cape Sphere wants to throw a cool event, the way we know how!
The MAYHEM event, presented by Cape Sphere, is a burn- inspired 'Leave No Trace' event. Mayhem is not a Transformus, LLC sponsored event. It is designed as a fundraiser for Cape Sphere, this event attracts burners, and all proceeds will be reinvested to your future good times anywhere you visit a Cape Sphere environment.
WHATS HAPPENING?
MAYHEM features 3 music environment soundscapes, hookah dome, go-go dance poles,
bar, inflatable space dome, 3 trampolines, hoop jams, Live music, blackmail photo booth, fire performers, belly-dancers, live performances, and that's just what WE're bringing.
Oh yeah, we're burning a symbolic effigy-type structure Saturday night, too. It looks like a huge Y.
All the entertainment, arts & performance YOU bring will only make this event that much better! If you went to the debut of Mayhem last year, thanks! and you already know how special & unique this gathering is!
Specific Directions will be e-mailed upon ticket purchase with directions & details on this unique event. This is an intimate gathering, capped at 200 people Max. Please do not forward direction details to non-ticket holders, as ONLY verified ticket holders will be allowed access at the gate.
Online Sales End by May 1, 2008.
HERE IS THE LINK TO BUY TICKETS
BUY TIX ONLINE ~ www.brownpapertickets.com/event/31346
PHONE ORDERS ~ 1-800-838-3006 RE: event 31346
Or you can buy them at the Juggling Gypsy in Wilmington
(1612 Castle St. Wilmington, NC 28401) and other locations to come!
THIS EVENT IS 18 & UP.
Want to find out more about Cape Sphere?
Check us out here:
·Join us on tribe.net at www.tribes.tribe.net/capesphere
·or get on our yahoogroup at capesphere@yahoogroups.com
·or www.capesphere.com
Truly,
Bash
Cape Sphere NC, FL, & VA
A FINAL WORD FROM DAVE THE RAVE
As we all wait to come out of the cold in to the warm spring time air we all know that we have come across some bumps in our community this winter. I am here to shed some positive light to everyone in our community and to let each and everyone of you know that you are all AWESOME!! As Transformus draws closer and closer everyday I challenge all of you to spread positive vibes through out our community and to encourage Mysterians to volunteer for Transformus 08. As a BOD member and Regional Contact I am here to let you know that the entire BOD and Regional Contacts are here for you and our community. We are all in this together, and we can all come together to make this year the most magical one to date.
Positively Yours,
DTR
Transformus BOD
Co-RC SC
Volume 3, Issue 6
View Online @ www.transformus.com/news/
April, 2008
I told you March was in like a lamb and out like a lion!! Wish my ability at choosing lottery numbers was as prophetic as that sentence. In case you haven’t been paying attention, there’s been quite a storm up the Holler of late…lots of lightning and thunder…but I believe that the rains we experienced at last weekend’s Work/Play Weekend and Town Hall Meeting were cleansing and another green, vibrant, Transformus event will be the end result, and we will all grow from this experience!
Bruce Bender aka Uncle Jonah has resigned from Transformus, LLC. Our thanks to him for his dedication and passion to this event and community. Bruce has received a BRAF grant to take his art project, “Ketchup” to the Playa this summer. This project looks amazing, Bruce! We look forward to participating with you in July and in the years to come. Thank you again for all the time and energy you have given to Transformus and the Bamboozler.
Thanks also to our Web Team, Ben and Jace and all other cyber/techno programming Mysterians…who have really stepped up to get the invite situation rectified and continue to work on Transformus website pages and programming as we move beyond the void left with our former Web Team Lead’s sudden and dramatic departure…you know who you are, Sam, Jenn, and others. Please forgive me if I forgot to mention you by name! You have ALL OUR THANKS!
In this issue:
The Minutes from the Town Hall Meeting at Deerfields on April 12th.
A Transformus Virgin’s View of the Work Play Weekend.
Invites and What Each of You Need To Do as We Move Forward with the Invite Process.
Theme Camp Registration
Area Meet-n-Greets Coming to a Community Near You!
Words to Ya Mutha! from DTR
April w/p weekend & town hall meeting minutes
About 75 Mysterians came home to Deerfields last weekend for a Work/Play weekend and Town Hall Meeting. Thanks to all that came and helped rebuild the Upper Lake Stage, clear and burn brush and other deadfall, and another couple of projects above and beyond what the landowners had identified for us to help with…a job well done!
Saturday night we gathered in a circle and all announced our presence and participation within this community. It was a time to ask questions, and I hope you all found the answers to those concerns, or at least the process to getting those answers has begun.
Much thanks to Bex, the BM Regional Network Administrator and Danielle, the Regional Contact for Atlanta, who came to sit in on and moderate the BOD Meeting and the ensuing Town Hall Meeting. As a matter of public disclosure, a formal complaint against Transformus has been lodged with Burning Man, and part of the reason Bex came was to begin the investigation process necessitated by that complaint. As part of the Regional Network of BM events, we welcome the opportunity to meet with her. Thanks also to Rebecca Cobb who took the minutes of the Town Hall Meeting that are posted here. Minutes from the BOD Meeting will be forthcoming.
We came together, worked together, and then we burned the “Drama Llama” and played like only Burners can!!
Transformus Town Hall Meeting April 12, 2008, Deerfields
Attending: Transformus, LLC Board of Directors (Miss Kitten was not in attendance,) and numerous community members.
The meeting began at approximately 6pm, and was moderated by Danielle Potheau (Atlanta Regional Contact for Burning Man, and 2007 Transformus Effigy co-creator) and Bex Workman (Burning Man Regional Administrator).
Danielle began the meeting with an introduction regarding the style of meeting, and the use of the "talking stick" format. She encouraged personal questions or comments, rather than comments such as "I heard..."
Wordplay (BOD) then made an introduction on behalf of the Board, and discussed hearing clearly from the community that the Board needs to work on their communication with the community involved with Transformus. Wordplay spoke briefly about the sacredness of space that is Deerfields, and requested that everyone pass around a sage bunch and introduce themselves.
(As a funny note, it was at this time that Vespa offered the use of a flamethrower to light the sage bunch that Wordplay wanted to pass around.)
(Introductions of the community omitted.)
After the introductions were all done, Wordplay called for questions from the community, and Bex and Danielle began to form a queue. Questioners were asked to state their name. In some cases, this was not done. Please note that these are not quotes from participants below. They are summaries of what was stated.
Question, by Amelia: Can I pay now for my tickets? Answer, by Board, generally: No, not this weekend.
Question, by Rubble: What's up with the website? Answer, by Vespa (BOD): The 2007 site is back up now. We are working hard to fix everything. Answer, by Waterfall: The 2008 site was taken down by the person who built it, and I had no access to it at that time. Answer, by Vespa: By the first of the week, we hope to have new codes to those who paid for tickets already. The following week, the Board is going to ask for contact info from all of the people who got tickets but have not yet paid. The 2007 financials will be posted next week. Answer, by Waterfall: If you want to have stuff added to the website, please contact me to have it done.
Someone from the audience: We need to be told not to worry. The Board should tell us on the website that they are working on things, and that it will all be okay, and that we should not worry. Reassure the community. Hearing no news is bad. A, by Vespa: We wanted to get your (community) input before we fixed the site.
Q, by Man in Audience: What is the chance of those of us who didn't get tickets, getting tickets now? A, by Vespa: Last minute tickets turn up. Q, by Man in Audience: So you are going to release more tickets? A, by Vespa: No. I have nothing more that is positive to say about this.
(There was some brief discussion among all about the fact that things sell out, and that last minute tickets always turn up.)
In response to the earlier statement regarding reassurance, DTR said that there was reassurance on the website already.
Q, by Man in Audience: Who is on the Board? (Board members raised their hands) Will we have Transformus this year? A, by the Board: YES!
Q, by Unga Bunga John: How many pairs of boots hit the ground in Deerfields last year for Transformus? A, by Debra (BOD): 1,360 wristbands were given out.
Q, by Unga Bunga: How many people were IN the event, versus how many tickets were sold? A, by Debra: 1,360, plus the people on Deerfields' guest list.
Q, by Unga Bunga: We paid the land owners for 1,360 participants? So that is the amount listed for ticket sales last year on the Afterburn report?
(Discussion of amounts for ticket sales reported in Afterburn not matching number of tickets sold. Amounts in minutes approximated.) 1,360 should result in $27k. How did we get to the $73,540 shown as money spent on land? Math is finite, and it should all add up. There is a discrepancy in the Afterburn report. When will an updated and corrected Afterburn report be available?
A, by Debra: I have kept the money and the books for Transformus for years. I am not perfect and I am not an accountant. I didn't use a spreadsheet in the past. I have requested, every year, for help from the community with this. Now, Vespa is doing the financials, and he is using a spreadsheet. Please, review everything I have! We have been working to fix all the numbers, where there were errors, which were not intentional errors! I have made mistakes with ticket count numbers, with tax and postage in the past. I have all of the records. I understand that I have made mistakes, and Vespa and I have been working to correct them all, as we review all the old records. Anyone who wants to help fix these issues, please step up! Nothing has been destroyed -I have it all with me!
Q, by Unga Bunga: How many tickets, at what level, were sold? A, by Wordplay: Second tier ticketing got messed up, so I don't know. (Explained ticket issue from last year, regarding Board not being able to cut off ticket sales quickly enough.) A, by Debra: I didn't come prepared with that information, but I can get it for you.
A, Stan Devi (BOD): We still had to pay Pay Pal fees on all the transactions that happened last year, regardless of if those ticket sales ended up being valid or not. A, Wordplay: We had to pay Pay Pal fees on all the messed up tickets.
Q, by Unga Bunga: So that is what is listed as the overage refund on the Afterburn report? A, by Debra: Some people bought 20 tickets. I had to refund money to every person who did that via Pay Pal. I had to cut them all checks, because they were not supposed to be able to purchase that many tickets. A, by Word Play: (described mail in process last year, for tier three ticketing.)
Q, by Unga Bunga: If you put the numbers into a spreadsheet, it should equal out. A, by Debra: I know, we're working on it.
Q, by Unga Bunga: It is not your failure, it is a failure of process. More than one set of eyes working on this will help fix the issue. I should have asked last year when I looked at the Afterburn report. I didn't ask why the numbers were what they were. Why do we pay the taxes we pay? North Carolina private use tax is 5.5% for events. That would have worked out to $4k. Then the income tax, which shouldn't be more than the listed income. A, by Debra: We have an accountant to deal with our taxes.
Q, by Unga Bunga: The numbers don't match because we don't have hard numbers. That is why everyone is confused. It is natural to want to hide your numbers away, so you aren't critiqued on them all the time. Show us the numbers, so we know exactly what is going on. A, by Debra: We are putting out the call for help with this. We are working out all the errors. When we found errors, we were as freaked out as you are! A, by Vespa: I took this on in September. By Christmas, I knew there was a discrepancy. When I got the tax records, that backed up my understanding of the discrepancy, but I simply could not meet with Debra at that time.
Q, by Unga Bunga: I will help. I just put it all together and it didn't work out on the spreadsheet. I just need the correct info. Let's make it public. Even if it requires a log in to see all the information. A, by Debra: I welcome that. If we are making it private, how do you decide who can view it? Where do you draw the line?
Q, by Unga Bunga: Being a private LLC, you may need to amend your taxes. A, by KLo (BOD): No, the taxes are all okay. It's just our records that are messed up.
Q, by Unga Bunga: Then you need to fix the numbers for the community. Tell the community what is going on. A, by Debra: Absolutely. A, by Wordplay: Make Unga Bunga the head of the accounting page on the website!
Q, by Jen: How does one get on the Board? A, by Debra: Currently, it is through recommendations from other Board members. I want to open that up to the community. I'm only speaking for myself here.
A, by KLo: We are ready to get more community involvement with this, and we are looking into ways to do that. A, by Debra: We (Transformus) have doubled in size every year since the beginning. We are flying by the seat of our pants. At the Regional Summit, the Summit was opened to Board members from Regional events this year. There was a case study of Transformus. People were asking us how we did this (doubled in size each year). A, by Danielle: The world wants to copy Transformus because Transformus got it right.
Q, by Chw: I am proud of the Board. I am not looking for anyone personally here, but communication is number one. We ALL need to deal with it. No one knows what is going on, and people are getting antsy. We all go our separate ways in the winter. We hide behind our computer screens with big attitudes. A, by Stan Devi: Have you seen the website? Chw: Not in a week and a half. Stan Devi: How do we communicate better if people aren't looking at the website?
Q, by Chw: Why did the former website builder get our personal information? In the disclaimer on the site it says that personal information won't be used improperly. Why did you let it be taken? Is anything going to be done to fix this? A, by Danielle: What is most productive for the community? Not a lawsuit!
Q, by Chw: What prevents it from being stolen again? A, by Stan Devi: It's 2008. You put your information in a computer and it is gone. We can't prevent that. We cannot afford to sue him. If you feel like you have been wronged by him, sue him yourself. We could sue him, but then we could not afford to do Transformus. We would rather reach a resolution.
Q, by Tunna: Why are Board meetings private? A, by KLo: They aren't. We live in five states. Often it's tough for us all to meet. A, by Debra: We have 20 hour meetings! A, by Wordplay: There was discussion of having the Board meeting today on the stage. It was grueling today and there would have been too much going on for that. We are working toward having open Board meetings somehow.
Q, by Bubba John: Need clarification on one thing: Invite process. I get why we need structured ticket sales. Then tickets are sold individually. At what point do theme camp tickets come into play? A, by Stan Devi: Never. They will simply never get priority. Critical people to the event have to come first, such as DPW, gate, security medical. We have a small set of reserved tickets for personnel, in case we do not have enough volunteers from the community to step up. (The example of not having enough Ranger volunteers from the community was mentioned, and the reserve tickets went to the Flipside Rangers who helped fill these roles.)
Q, by Bubba John: Why are people in theme camps freaking out so much?
A, by Stan Devi: We have nothing to do with that kind of ticketing. The only reserved tickets are for people who get Ranger training and want to help out, if we still need Ranger shifts filled, etc. I've even fought for a ticketing process to benefit theme camps in the past. A, by KLo: We have to have team leads who show up. A, by Stan Devi: One thing we have faced is that there are no specific definitions of the 10 Principles. We have different definitions for "Radical Inclusion." We all come to the table with different ideas. Radical Inclusion is pivotal to our invite process. How do you decide on this process? You participate, so you get in? This year, we voted on several ideas, and we came to the conclusion that a completely random computer process was best. We thought it would be well received by the community, but instead we have heard no end to the bitching! A, by DTR: I have gotten so many phone calls from people, bitching about bringing so much to this event, and asking how we could exclude them? We have taken it completely out of our hands, so there was no favoritism! It isn't like we are choosing to deny a theme camp!
Q, by Bubba John: Let's put the past behind us. Negativity breeds negativity. Let's go to the list and post positive threads instead of negative ones!
Q, by Chw: I agree, let's stop the negativity. What is going on with tickets? A, by Stan Devi: We have contact information for the people who paid. Those who have not, we will need to have them contact us. A, by Vespa: We will post instructions on how to do this on the website, soon. We were quiet about this before, because we were trying to avoid having to do this. Look for more info this week.
(At this point, Word Play introduces John J, who said he appreciated all our hard work, and thanked everyone.)
Q, by person in audience: Who is the communication officer for the Board? A: Wordplay.
Q: I felt like something was going on. There were no responses at all from the Board. The last post from the Board was on the 26th. Maybe there should be some kind of information committee? A, by Stan Devi: Sign up! Transformus info squad! Sign up at tits@transformus.com Eric and Siryn signed up. Rocki asks that others contact her. There was a request for bi-weekly posts with information.
Q, by Gilbot: How can we get to a larger ticket cap? A, by Wordplay: Moving parking offsite has increased camping space. A, by Stan Devi: We need volunteers! Join a team!! Q, by someone in the audience: Can we put on the site where volunteers are needed? A, by Stan Devi: It's there under "get involved" (Edited to add: www.transformus. com/community/). Contact a team lead! A, by Rocki: There is always a need for volunteers, on every team!
A, by KLo: We are having our team leads post a list of their needs, and a schedule, so you can see what has not been filled yet and where you might be able to help. We are working on that this year.
A, by Rebecca: Can everyone please remember that everyone involved in creating a burn is a volunteer. Team leads are volunteers. Board members are volunteers. We all have lives outside of working on burn events, and sometimes things take a little longer than you might want. Life does not stop so we can work on our burns. Getting volunteers for teams is the number one challenge for every burn. If you see something needs to be done, get involved! Step up and help out!
Q, by Tunna: Please notice that the people who have caused all the trouble are not here. (The comment was made, "Except Unga Bunga!" And everyone shared a laugh.)
A, by Wordplay: Unga Bunga, the lack of response was my lack of knowledge. I was trying.
Q, by Rocki: Do we still have a list of all the people who signed up to volunteer for things, when they were submitting ticket requests? A, by Debra: No. A, by Rocki: Then this needs to be collected. A, by KLo: We are hoping to recollect this information soon. A, by Debra: On the site, each team will have a link to contact that team lead.
Q, by Rocki: People might be waiting to hear from someone, and not know why they haven't been contacted to help out yet. A, by KLo: Let's get information out there to people and have people start to contact team leads if they are interested in helping out.
Q, by Rocki: Can you give an estimated date for hearing more about tickets? A, by Debra: Next week. A, by Wordplay: Part of the problem is that we have burner names for people, and not their real names, and this is causing an issue for us as we attempt to contact people.
Q, by Rocki: When will we hear more about increasing community involvement? (Note by Rebecca: I did not catch this answer, as the meeting was coming to a close and there was lots of mumbling by this point.)
Q, by Unga Bunga: So the LLC has no current plan to take action against Mustang? A, by Stan Devi: It is not cut and dry, but we hope to solve this through communication, rather than litigation. A, by Wordplay: We will not seek legal action against him.
Q, by Unga Bunga: So there are no current open legal declarations against him? A, by Stan Devi: No.
Q, by Unga Bunga: There are 150 tickets that are for key personnel, which were not given out in the random selection process. How many will be available then, after all the ticket process is done? How many will come available? A, by Stan Devi: The previous webmaster did not post about this correctly initially. 150 tickets are reserved for key infrastructure, if volunteers do not step up. We are hoping to have teams filled and to know how many extra tickets there are by June at the latest.
Q, by Unga Bunga: So is the cap 1,350? A, by Stan Devi: No, the cap is 1,500. If by June, all necessarily positions are filled, we will open up the other tickets.
Q, by someone in the audience: What part did you ask Mustang to remove? A, by Stan Devi: Mistakes on the explanation regarding the distribution of tickets.
(Information was then reiterated about what to do if you have received an invitation, but not yet paid. Please get in touch with the LLC (LLC@transformus.com) and give them your contact information if you got a confirmation that you got invitations, but you have not yet paid for your invitations. Check the website, which the Board hopes will be updated by the 23rd, for more information. You will need to pay by the 5th of May.)
Q, by Unga Bunga: Why did the Board not publicly discuss that Mustang's posted information was incorrect? A, by Stan Devi: We were still looking at this to try to decide when to release the other tickets. We had a lot of stuff going on at that point, and it was just an oversight -sorry.
Q, by Unga Bunga: There was a full month with no correction. Why did you not correct this information in that time? A, by Wordplay: We needed to meet in order to decide if we were going to just go with what Mustang had posted, or to do what we had originally intended to do with the tickets.
Q, by Unga Bunga: Why didn't you give the correct information to the community in that whole month? A, by Stan Devi: I don't know.
Q, by Unga Bunga: There was a failure in the process. A, by Rebecca: I have a request that we just admit and understand that the communication was not great, and that everyone will do better in the future. (Everyone agrees, and the meeting moves on.)
Q, by Eli: We know the Board has been working. We just need to hear from you what you're doing. We appreciate everything you do, but it helps to know what it is you are doing. Let's party! Sign up for stuff! Volunteer!
Q, by Foxglove: Board, thank you. Let's take from this experience that something has to be done. Step up and help. WE need to make it happen.
Danielle: I want to talk about process of communication. There are official processes, such as messages from the LLC at Transformus, and the Mountain Holler. There are unofficial processes, such as Tribe, the Transformus list, etc. There are also Burning Man regional announce lists. Let's honor the various ways of communication. If you have a question for the Board, email then directly!
Q, by Tunna: Everyone please clean up after your selves!
Q, by Paul: Do we need to resign up for tickets? A, by DTR: No, ticket sign ups are closed.
Meeting adjourned, sometime around 9:30pm.
voice & viewpoint from a virgin – dutch a.k.a. “treat”
It's a long and winding road, and you don't have any idea what you'll find at the end of it. Yeah, that could be a metaphor for life but in my case it describes exactly where I was...on a winding mountain road that got narrower and narrower until the pavement ended and the dirt road got narrower and it started to feel a little like the Road to Nowhere -- with no human in sight.
Yes, it was the road to Deerfields; a place I'd never been near in my life. What would I find there? I tried not to think too much about it. I knew this Transformus thing was a regional burn, and I'd volunteered for the "work/play" weekend to help out preparing the site...but what did that mean? I'd always suspected regionals might be just pale imitations of the real thing that covered (or uncovered) all the details but missed the true spirit. And who would I meet there? A bunch of pathetic semi-redneck burner wanna-bees? (Hey, I'd read that "Southern version of the 10 principles" on the website and believe me it was NOT encouraging. I still cringe.) I'd checked out Tribe and the list too...would I find rival factions in pitched combat with machetes and flame cannons? Would I regret leaving the Kevlar at home?
Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little. But my real fear: that as a newbie and a stranger that I'd be shunted aside and mostly ignored while the clique had lots of fun together. That's what happens in Reality Camp usually isn't it? I'd survive for sure but I'd wind up regretting not staying home to catch the Mr. Magoo re-run marathon on the cartoon channel.
What I found was a couple of tents among the apple trees, and five people standing in the middle of a white-gravel road talking to one another, looking oddly like some scene from a movie. Would it be a horror show? I parked, walked up, and said Hi.
I'm sorry, but I have no drama to report (or make up) at this point (no matter how tempting that is). Everyone there was friendly and accepting, introducing themselves as John Jay, Wordplay, Snakechaser, Gizmo and Bex. I had no idea who I was talking to, but everyone was generous with their time and attention. No one told me to go camp somewhere and not bother them. I felt immediately at ease and accepted. No red necks in sight, and no Kevlar needed.
This was Friday afternoon, and more people arrived gradually. Being a lamplighter in the desert I tended to hang out with the small Moonshiners contingent much of the time, but I tried to meet everyone I could and without exception you were all great...you know who you are...I wish I could name every name (and I think I remember most of them!) but I've got to limit my words here or the editor will spank me.
We (and it was "we" now) worked hard and played hard all weekend. I won't get into details (and some of them are admittedly a bit fuzzy around the edges, especially anything after the "town hall" meeting Saturday night. Ahem. But in truth, somewhere during that group encounter session is where I realized this *was* a burn and you Mysterians are burners because what I saw and heard and experienced there was *real*. It wasn't perfect, nor always pretty, but it was honest and caring and yet despite the sometimes brutal honesty it was always respectful. Respect carries a lot of weight in my book.
At night there was fire, and storms, and cold, and the warmth of companionship. It all runs together quite nicely. I left in a completely different frame of mind than I entered. Yes, Transformus is the real thing. And yes, I was completely accepted into the community without reservation. And yes, I'm proud to join you crazy freaks. (Even if, even if, you keep that "southern 10 principles" on the website. I still cringe.)
You've got me now. For better or perverse.
INVITES AND WHAT DO I DO NOW ??!!
Greetings Mysterians!
As most of you are now aware, we have had some fairly widespread issues with our website, and specifically with our invite/ticket page. We need all your help to facilitate the repair of this system. We have the data of who was approved at this stage, and who is still pending. We also have PayPal receipts and data for those who have already paid for their invites. What we need is your contact information and other numbers to help us proceed.
If you have paid already you should have just gotten an email from us with your new gate codes. Any old gate codes you had are NO LONGER VALID. If you paid via PayPal or with a Money Order previously, do not re-register. If you do not yet have e-invite codes, contact vespa@transformus.com
If you have not paid OR were not accepted in the first round please go to www.transformus.com/invites/ and click on the link to register - filling out this form will give us the information we need to match you to your original request.
Please provide on this form:
Your full name and snail mail address
Your email address that the request was made from and to which you want e-invite codes returned to.
The names for participants 1 and 2 (if applicable) as you entered them on the website request form, be it first name only, nickname, or playa name.
IMPORTANT DATES:
April 30th: Last day to send us your contact information if you have not paid or were not approved initially.
May 5th: Last day to pay for invites. Remember Cinco de Mayo!!!
May 6th: Emails will be sent out for the second round of invites to those who applied on the former website.
Again, we have your names and some of this information, Your providing us with all this info will verify you are who you say, that you are on our list, and fill in any info we may be missing, especially contact info. If you never checked the website before it all went away, do not worry, it may just take a little longer to get in touch with you.
Thanks for all of your assistance!!
Transformus BOD
theme camp registration UPDATE
We know you're all excited to get those theme camp registration forms in, and we are so looking forward to hearing about all the crazy-ass awesomeness that you're bringing to our beloved Mysteria this year.
You all know by know that the website exploded and shit-tastic drama has rained down upon us. Our web team is slaving away night and day and should have the registration page up by the beginning of next week. Should things get sticky and take a little longer, we'll let ya know. The latest that we'll get the registration form up is May 5th.
So, if you have further questions, join the theme camps discussion list at lists.transformus.com/listinf...rmus.com and ask away.
area meet-n-greets! coming soon to a LOCATION NEAR you!
ATLANTA MEET-n-GREET AT MUDFIRE STUDIOS ~ April 26th after 8 P.M.
We're gearing up for another spring party and looking forward to seeing everyone who can make it. Last year we had a bonfire, lots of fire dancing, raku pottery firing, and a massive potluck cookout. This year we're adding a sound system and DJ Blaise with some deep house, and a musical performance by the amazing Klimchak who plays a one man show with dozens of instruments and electronics. We'll have some clay kicking around for anyone that wants to play with clay too. And whatever else you want to do/bring/contribute/share! This is a big burner run/friendly arts facility so get creative and bring some friends; we've got plenty of room.
-Please arrive after 8 pm as the studio is open to our customers until 8
-We have a big grill, microwave, fridge, and plates/cutlery
-Bring something to grill, sides, dessert, etc
-BYOB
-Fire dancers/performers highly encouraged to share their gifts!
-If anyone wants to set up artwork or contribute any sort of performance, give us a holler, we'd love it
Erik and Luba
info@mudfire.com
MudFire Clayworks & Gallery
175 Laredo Dr, Decatur, GA 30030
404-377-8033
www.mudfire.com
Peace,
Erik & Luba
MAYHEM ~ EASTERN NC BURNISH CAMPING EVENT: MAY 16-18, 2008
Mayhem tickets on sale NOW. Limited number of tickets available
WHAT IS MAYHEM?
MAYHEM is A full-moon, weekend camping, music & fire event down on the
N. Carolina Coast
WHEN IS MAYHEM?
The weekend of May 16-18. 2008
WHERE IS MAYHEM?
Castle Hayne, NC, just outside of Wilmington, NC, along the Cape Fear River.
WHY IS MAYHEM?
Because Cape Sphere wants to throw a cool event, the way we know how!
The MAYHEM event, presented by Cape Sphere, is a burn- inspired 'Leave No Trace' event. Mayhem is not a Transformus, LLC sponsored event. It is designed as a fundraiser for Cape Sphere, this event attracts burners, and all proceeds will be reinvested to your future good times anywhere you visit a Cape Sphere environment.
WHATS HAPPENING?
MAYHEM features 3 music environment soundscapes, hookah dome, go-go dance poles,
bar, inflatable space dome, 3 trampolines, hoop jams, Live music, blackmail photo booth, fire performers, belly-dancers, live performances, and that's just what WE're bringing.
Oh yeah, we're burning a symbolic effigy-type structure Saturday night, too. It looks like a huge Y.
All the entertainment, arts & performance YOU bring will only make this event that much better! If you went to the debut of Mayhem last year, thanks! and you already know how special & unique this gathering is!
Specific Directions will be e-mailed upon ticket purchase with directions & details on this unique event. This is an intimate gathering, capped at 200 people Max. Please do not forward direction details to non-ticket holders, as ONLY verified ticket holders will be allowed access at the gate.
Online Sales End by May 1, 2008.
HERE IS THE LINK TO BUY TICKETS
BUY TIX ONLINE ~ www.brownpapertickets.com/event/31346
PHONE ORDERS ~ 1-800-838-3006 RE: event 31346
Or you can buy them at the Juggling Gypsy in Wilmington
(1612 Castle St. Wilmington, NC 28401) and other locations to come!
THIS EVENT IS 18 & UP.
Want to find out more about Cape Sphere?
Check us out here:
·Join us on tribe.net at www.tribes.tribe.net/capesphere
·or get on our yahoogroup at capesphere@yahoogroups.com
·or www.capesphere.com
Truly,
Bash
Cape Sphere NC, FL, & VA
A FINAL WORD FROM DAVE THE RAVE
As we all wait to come out of the cold in to the warm spring time air we all know that we have come across some bumps in our community this winter. I am here to shed some positive light to everyone in our community and to let each and everyone of you know that you are all AWESOME!! As Transformus draws closer and closer everyday I challenge all of you to spread positive vibes through out our community and to encourage Mysterians to volunteer for Transformus 08. As a BOD member and Regional Contact I am here to let you know that the entire BOD and Regional Contacts are here for you and our community. We are all in this together, and we can all come together to make this year the most magical one to date.
Positively Yours,
DTR
Transformus BOD
Co-RC SC
posted by:
|
Atlanta
|
-
Re: Mountain Holler, Volume 3, Issue 6 - April, 2008
Mon, April 21, 2008 - 6:17 AMLand Rental was $35,690 not $73,540 as stated in the minutes.
v
