BurnOut 2020 Survey Results and Cancellation
Unfortunately, with saddened hearts, we are cancelling BurnOut 2020 that was originally planned for fall this year. This decision was made by Precipitation Northwest.
Following the success of 2019’s BurnOut event, we started the new year enthusiastic about bringing the event back again in fall of 2020. We were thrilled to share the news of Beacon returning as this year’s Executive Producer at our annual Town Hall in mid-February.
We began work on this event earlier than ever before, and collectively held our breath as COVID caused us to cancel SOAK*2020. We watched as other art and community groups cancelled events as well. We hoped that Oregon’s state shutdowns would contain the spread, and moved forward with Beacon to plan a fall gathering with cautious optimism, making sure to prioritize safety and civic responsibility throughout the process.
To make sure we took into consideration the community’s opinions, we collected community feedback through an event survey shared to our website and Facebook page, the Portland Burners facebook group, and the Portland Announce email list maintained by our Regional Contacts. The survey went live on all channels on July 7th. Questions were open ended, designed to help the leadership determine the appetite for a public art gathering and a private decompression party, preferred size and times, interest in volunteering and participating, and how to prepare for and uphold public safety.
In the one week that the survey was open, we received over 120 responses. 20% indicated they would attend, 25% would not. The rest said maybe, depending on details of the safety plan, size/density, and the progression of COVID and personal matters. We appreciate all of the details, suggestions and constructive criticism our community shared. We especially thank all who expressed interest in volunteering as this event could not happen without you. Your feedback was essential for our discussion at the July 14th board meeting.
The survey was closed on July 13th, and discussed at our July 14th board meeting with the whole board and with Beacon. We considered not only the survey results, but also the most recent data regarding the spread of the virus in Oregon. Unfortunately, reported cases in Oregon and Washington are on the rise and state officials have given us an uncertain outlook for the fall flu season.
We considered the health and safety of our volunteers, participants and our civic obligation to minimize community spread. We also weighed the risk of cancellation by authorities, increased production cost, and community members having limited funds and bandwidth to organize and participate fully as our lives have gotten increasingly complex.
Ultimately, while we are saddened by the decision, we believe that this is the best for both our community and for the future of our organization.
We would like to publicly thank Beacon for his hard work and his support through a difficult situation. He worked hard to plan an amazing event for our community, knowing that cancellation was a real possibility from the beginning. We hope to bring BurnOut back in fall of 2021, and we will keep the community updated with event updates via our website and Facebook.
With your help we will continue to envision how our community can gather and support each other and the arts, both physically and digitally. If you are interested in producing or collaborating an event (in person or digital), please begin the conversation by submitting your ideas for an event or program through our website or by emailing our programming committee directly at programs@precipitationnw.org.
Feel free to reach out to board@precipitationnw.org with additional questions you may have about this decision.