After Burn Report- 2019

Event Coordinator AfterBurn Report 2019

Gateway Burn 2019 (“Let the Games Begin”) was held from June 6 through June 9, 2019 at 219 Mildred Mile Ln, Belle, Missouri. This is the fourth consecutive year that Gateway was held at this site – Water Mountain. The venue is owned by two burners.

Tickets and Attendance
1. Original sales plan
  1. 300 tickets for initial sale.
    1. Required a percentage of the Safety positions be filled then more tickets would be released.
  2. 100 tickets released and the addition of more volunteer positions posted, once filled more tickets would be released.
  3. 100 tickets released once all safety volunteer shifts would be released.
2. Once again, we utilized BurnerTickets.com as our ticketing system.

We sold out. Gateway was originally capped at 500 ticket as we had been in previous years.
Total number sold- 535
1. 506 adult tickets
2. 39 free child tickets
How the Ticket Sales Happened
1. First sale of 300 tickets, sold out within 6 hours of the beginning of the sale. The sale was on Friday March 1st, and began at noon. A purchaser could get up to 4 tickets and as many child tickets as needed.
2. With such a demand for tickets and the speed in which they were sold there were some Department leads that did not have tickets. So a survey of the Department leads was taken and a special directed sale was offered to each of the leads. They could only purchase one ticket through this link and as many child tickets as needed. This sale was offered on March 21st and we had 12 tickets sold. Also the community expressed that they wished for alternate sale times which occured in the next 2 phases.
3. The second sale was for 100 tickets and participants were capped at 2 tickets per person and as many child tickets as were needed. These also sold out within a few hours of the opening up of the tickets. This sale was on April 27th at 6:30 pm.
4. The third sale was for 100 tickets and participants were capped at 2 tickets per person and as many child tickets as were needed. The sale started May 15th at 7 am.
Attendance:
1. Due to the call for massive storms in the region we did not have as many individuals attend this years burn.
  1. Adults- 390 waivers signed
  2. Children- 17 forms filled out
2. It rained heavily Wednesday night and many of our theme camps had lower numbers of camp mates then usual.
3. The weather after Wednesday evening was forecasted incorrectly and the remainder of the week was clear and the weather was very good and near perfect.
Theme/Effigy
1. Change in how chosen
  1. This year the effigy build team suggested that instead of choosing a theme and asking for effigy submissions for that specific theme, they would instead like to ask for effigy ideas and they would choose a theme based on what was submitted. This process began in September of 2018 and was widely accepted. Many ideas were submitted and they chose the theme based on those submission in late October/early November.
2. Theme Synopsis- Let The Games Begin.
  1. Games bring us together. Games make us laugh. Games make us yell and throw stuff. Games make us cheer in triumph. Games make us create. Games make us think. Games have been a part of the community since humans have existed. From two kids rolling a hoop down a dirt track, to two chess masters sitting across from one another in a hushed room, to a group of friends connected via internet playing Call of Duty, to a solitary person playing solitaire, games are a part of everyone’s world. What games do you enjoy? Who do you play with? Why do you play? Do you play to win? Do you play for the joy of playing? Is life just a game and us the pieces?
3. Effigy-
  1. Link to our webpage with pictures. https://gatewayburners.org/2019-let-the-games-begin/
  2. The effigy was a rook from the classic chess board game. It was designed in the form of a traditional Scotish keep. On the ground floor inside the rook was a table in the shape of a poker chip. On the outside there was a staircase that led to the 2nd floor. This floor was framed with a railing and had 2 panels that supported the ladder that led to the 3rd floor. This floor not only had panels on the outside with decorative vines, but panels on the inside that sported a dragon and her horde, all of which were painted on. Hovering above the 3rd floor was a massive, twenty-sided die attached with spider legs supports.
  3. On the outside of the effigy the build team had set at a distance a balista. (non-working) to make it look like large boards painted like playing cards had been shot at the effigy. These boards were then arranged as if they were sticking out the sides.
  4. They also created large wooden dominos, a set of 8s. These dominoes were used continuously by many who attended not only to play the classic game but also to build domino trains to knock down. Some participants took one home as a souvenir.
  5. At night, the effigy was illuminated in several places with multicolored lights. There was a button you could push at the top (third floor) that let a big ball of flame out of the top of the 20 sided die.
Art
1. The Gateway Art Support (GAS) team lead the grant reviews for this years event.
2. There was 3 reviews held between March and May.
  1. Round 1- due by Saturday, March 2nd. They were reviewed the following week and checks were sent out.
    1. 4 grant proposals were reviewed at this time.
  2. Round 1.5- Around May 1st, the team decided to do a review of all the grants sent in at that time; 10 grant proposals were discussed at this time.
  3. Round 2- due by Saturday, May 18th. The final 7 applications were reviewed.
3. There were a total of 21 art grants awarded this year before Gateway burn totalling $7,292.
4. Link to the 2019 Art grants, https://gatewayburners.org/2019-gateway-burn-art-grants/
5. Art did not stop there. Several individuals and camps brought their art with them. As a result of this, GAS team decided to keep track of these and had several leads write down art that was brought to the event that they considered worthy of note. They then chose a handful of those who had not asked for money from before hand and sent them a small check as a discretionary grant to encourage their art moving forward.
6. This is the most we have given out since 2010 when Gateway began. There was color everywhere. The clouds went away and the sun shone all though the burn. There was so much to see and do.
7. The most notable of the art grants went to the establishment of the Post office; a place where burners could send letters and postcards to different people and theme camps. Many people have commented how they truly enjoyed it.
Department Experiments
1. HQ!- we had a new department this year that was formed to be the hub for all other departments to gain information. They had someone manning HQ! 24/7. This department quickly became the thread that helped keep our event running. They coordinated volunteers, helped keep the radios charged and kept track of the various sign in books/binders.
2. Medics- with most of the items needed being bandaids or tick removal, HQ! took on the watch of the medic tent. They assisted with all the smaller mundane issues, like scrapes and bumps. This freed the medic to be able to move around the burn themselves and radio in hand in case they were ever needed in any specific place. This experiment actually worked out well. With HQ! Leads acting as the backup medic this allowed us to need less medically trained individuals to volunteer.
3. Junior Fluffer Lead- this year we had our first minor as a co-lead of a department. They stepped up to help with the Fluffer department. They did very well in assisting the Fluffer lead throughout the weekend.
Principles Office
1. The Principles Office is Gateway’s department for investigating threats to the safety of our community or violations of the Principles. Generally, the majority of their work involves consent violations, accidents, and education.
  1. A total of 5 incidents were reported to the PO. All were handled on site, with 2 participants being sanctioned in the Post Burn Conduct Committee. One incident was regarding a theft, and two were minor consent issues and education was provided to the participants accused. Multiple reports were received regarding 2 individuals, who were both sanctioned by the conduct committee. Only subsequent issues regarding one of the individuals required afterburn attention.
  2. Individual 1 was severely intoxicated and repeatedly violated camp and personal space, physical boundaries, and ignored many requests to cease his behavior. Two reports were made on site, and Austin was asked to leave the burn. He initially complied, then refused to leave unless in the custody of law enforcement. He threatened to harm himself, and EMS was called and he was removed. Eleven additional reports were made post burn regarding his behavior. He subsequently made threats against burners on facebook, and the situation escalated to local law enforcement, LE where Individual 1 was residing at the time (Salem, Oregon), and the FBI. At this time, the FBI has taken a report and made contact with Individual 1 . No other information is available at this time. A post burn conduct committee of 17 members of community and leadership convened on August 16, 2019 and decided the following:
  3. “Individual 1 will be banned from GWB events indefinitely, and for a minimum of 5 years. After 5 years he may petition the community for reentry. At that time, he must demonstrate steps taken in the default world that contribute to his rehabilitation and assure he is not a safety risk to the community. These steps must include and address mental health and substance use issues. Exact requirements for reentry and subsequent probation will be determined by the GWB Principles Office at Board of Directors at that time. Probation requirements may include having an active, responsible community member agree to sponsor and supervise attendance at GWB functions, volunteering requirements, or others as advised by PO and BOD.”
  4. Individual 2 was several intoxicated/altered, and a report was received that he grabbed a participants body and called her names. He was brought to the attention of the rangers and medics due to his erratic and combative behavior throughout the course of Friday night, and concerns regarding his level of intoxication. EMS was called twice. The first time they responded he refuse care, and the second he was too intoxicated to refuse treatment and was removed. Education attempts were made, and may continue should he express desire to participate. The post burn conduct committee decided the following:
  5. ” Individual 2 will be banned from GWB events for 1 year. After 1 year, he must contact the GWB Principles Office for education and probation requirements prior to attending any GWB event. At that time, exact requirements for probation will be determined by the GWB Principles Office at Board of Directors. Individual 2 will be prohibited from volunteering for any safety department. Additional probation requirements may include having an active, responsible community member agree to sponsor and supervise attendance at GWB functions, volunteering requirements, or others as advised by PO and BOD.”
Other Issues
1. Infrastructure
  1. Wednesday, June 5th, there was a bank of wind that rushed up the hillside. This destroyed one of the carposts that was set up at the gate. It also caused the collapse of two theme camps. Infrastructure did a marvelous job running around battening down the hatchets of all the large camps. They were very helpful in making sure no more structures were damaged. The camps that were taken down by the wind were rebuilt before the start of the event Thursday.
  2. Together the board of directors and the event coordinators discussed with the property owners what could be done in case of more bad weather. With the consent of the property owners Gateway Burners purchased material, gravel and hay, and then placed these materials along the road ways to help keep down the mud.
    1. Gravel was placed along the road to parking due to the potential mud risk because of the weather forecast.
    2. Hay/straw was distributed along the esplanade in several places.
    3. These worked out perfectly as the ground dried up due to no more rain for the rest of the even and the warmth of the June days.
2. Rv/ Camper Placement
  1. Like the previous year, there was a large number of people requesting space for either an RV or a large camper. Together the Event coordinators and the Placement team worked to set up specific places for them before the event happened.
  2. They traveled to the event site in February for a site inspection and to decide the best what to place RVs as they would arrive. They discussed the space and the number of RVs that could be accommodated.
  3. This system seemed to work very well until the event came to pass. Due to the weather and the possibility of an RV getting stuck, each RV had to be placed when it arrived. Some of the spots were too muddy for them to be placed.