New Board Members and SOAK*2020 Producers Announcement
The SOAK*2020 leadership team is growing! It will now include three new Producers, rounding out a team of five total Producers for this years event. We are pleased to welcome them along with four new members of Precipitation Northwest's Board of Directors. We are excited to have such qualified and enthusiastic individuals joining the SOAK and Precipitation NW teams!
Your returning SOAK*2020 executive producers are HugBoss (Tacy Brotherton) and Pablovex (Paul Lewis). New to the SOAK production team is associate producer Koala (Jenny Rodriguez), plus assistant producers Golddust (Revé Oviedo) and One Eye (Jeannie Rodriguez).
Returning to the Precipitation Northwest board of directors are Harry Nedley, Ryan Krellwitz, Ariel Rigney, Danielle Parks, and Dale Lucht. New to the board this year are Molly Harpel, Alexander LaVake, Kristin Stankiewicz, and Preet Gujral. For a list of bios and photos of all our board members, please visit our Board of Directors page.
In the fall of 2019, the Precipitation NW board began soliciting and interviewing for new board member positions, and with the help of returning SOAK producers we also began interviewing for SOAK Producer positions. With the leadership team established we are now ready to kick off the 2020 event; the first big step is the Leads Retreat with the 2020 Leads Team.
Interested in volunteering for SOAK*2020? There is still time to get involved! Be sure to keep a lookout for SOAK volunteer signups in the coming months. There will also be an opportunity to meet the entire leadership team at the annual Town Hall meeting on March 1, and the entire Board of Directors later in the year at the Annual General Assembly.
We would like to thank Adrian Thomas-Eikmann (aka Cucumber) and Sarah Honeycutt for their service to the community as Board Members, both of whom retired from the Precipitation Northwest board of directors as of December 31, 2019. As a founding board member Cucumber has been instrumental in getting Precipitation Northwest where we are today, helping launch Safety Northwest and implementing the Conduct Review Panel, among numerous other behind the scenes contributions that will continue to benefit the community. We look forward to working with him as he steps down from the board and continues to service the community in other critical ways, and wish him the best!
A big thanks is also in order to Honeybee who stepped down as Producer after many years of SOAK production, volunteerism, leadership, passion and enthusiasm. She has played a critical role in helping to grow the SOAK event year over year, and help the event improve in professionalism and sustainability. We’re grateful to her for her hard work, and look forward to continuing to work with her on future projects.
MBS Design Submissions
SOAK*2020 needs your help!
The MBS (Major Burnable Structure) Team is seeking designs from the community for the 2020 Major Burnable Structure (you know, the big thing we assemble to burn to the ground on Saturday night). This is an opportunity for YOU to tell us your idea about what to make and how to make it.
But am I Qualified??
The only qualification is the willingness to provide your ideas and the ability to communicate them - no building, design, or leadership experience is necessary to participate.
All ideas will be reviewed by the SOAK Operations Team (which includes SOAK Producers, the Precipitation Northwest board, and our Burning Man Regional Contacts). Once accepted, you will work closely with the MBS Team to help guide and bring your idea to life.
Ok I’m Ready, How Do I Apply?
If you are interested in applying, please follow the instructions on the SOAK website to submit your ideas.
The deadline to submit your ideas is December 15th, 2019.
We can't wait to see what you're going to create!
eadym,3D Renditions of SOAK*2019 MBS done by Sam Smith
Seeking SOAK*2020 Producers (Application deadline: 10/31)
SOAK*2019 - photo by Ate21
We are looking for new people to join our volunteer SOAK*2020 Producer team! We have a variety of positions open from Executive Producers to Production Managers. Job descriptions and qualifications for all positions are the same and we will offer roles to individuals based on what their unique strengths are and/or where their passions lay.
To apply, please read the SOAK*2020 Producer Role description completely and then fill out this application form.
Applications will be accepted through October 30, 2019.
For additional information about SOAK, please feel free to check out the SOAK*2019 website or view the SOAK page on our website.
If you have questions, please send an email to: board@precipitationnw.org
BurnOut 2019 is coming 11/2
Mark your calendars: BurnOut 2019 is coming to downtown Portland on Saturday, November 2nd!
Join us for a night of art, performance, dance, and a whole lot of music!
This two-part event will feature an all-ages art in the park day party at Director Park, plus a 21+ evening of music, dancing, and community at Pythian Studios.
If you are returning from the playa, didn’t go, miss or are curious about the burner community, or just need to connect and share some love, make this your decompression event. This is the official Burning Man sanctioned decompression in the Portland metro area.
Event Date: Saturday, 11/2
Location: Downtown Portland (Director Park & Pythian Studios)
Time: 3pm - 4am
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/burnout-2019-tickets-76517663391
All Ages 3pm-10pm // 21+ after 10pm
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/514812965745234/
Questions? Contact event producers Beacon and Andrew by emailing producers@burnoutpdx.com.
Seeking New Board Members (Application deadline: 10/19)
Will you join us? Deadline to apply or nominate someone is Saturday, 10/19!
Precipitation Northwest is seeking new board members to join our enthusiastic and skilled nonprofit board of directors!
As board members we provide leadership, oversight, and strategic direction to SOAK, BurnOut and all other activities managed by our organization.
Do you have a passion for community engagement, facilitating leadership opportunities and/or interactive art and events? Do you have experience in leadership, accounting or nonprofit legal regulations? Or maybe you have other skills you believe our nonprofit organization could benefit from?
Any community members who think they might be a good fit are encouraged to apply. Please be sure to read the position description and familiarize yourself with the organization’s mission statement before doing so.
Read the Position Description here.
Anyone can apply by simply filling out this form.
Alternatively, if you have someone in mind who you think might be a good fit, you can recommend them by filling out this form.
The deadline to apply or nominate someone is October 19, 2019. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to board@precipitationnw.org.
Post-Event Report: Safety Northwest
Photo Credit: Krissy Sorensen
In April of 2019, we sponsored the first Safety Northwest safety training weekend.
Announced at Town Hall 2019, Safety Northwest was a new event sponsored by Precipitation Northwest.
The event was a weekend retreat about safety & emergency response in festival settings.
While this first year will focus only on coordinating efforts for SOAK*2019 Safety Teams (Fire Safety, Fire Conclave Safety, Medical, Rangers, and Sanctuary), individual members of the community were encouraged to participate. SOAK volunteers and a few folks from neighboring regionals who have attended SOAK were invited. We hope to hold this event again in the future, and to expand invitations to include volunteers from all northwest regionals and festivals.
This event was an opportunity for individuals to gather, become acquainted, and train in a facilitated setting.
Held at the Tygh Valley Fairgrounds, 50 people attended to learn. It was organized by Producers Tacy (aka Hugboss) & David (aka Battalion4).
The venue was fantastic, giving us ample space and a beautiful backdrop for the weekend’s activities. The weekend opened with a Friday night social potluck, and continued Saturday with basic radio training and Incident Command System (ICS) basics. Specific immersion trainings were held on Saturday as well, which included Fire Safety, Rangers, Medical, and Sanctuary. Sunday brought together all teams for a hands-on practice ICS event, where multiple incidents overlapped and challenged all participants to demonstrate what they had learned.
After the event, Producers received positive feedback, and general interest for more opportunities to enhance radio skills and practice ICS on simulated emergencies that are likely to emerge at large volunteer-run gatherings.
In 2020, the Producers plan to invite additional teams from SOAK and other events that have influence on ICS application. We appreciated having participants from Idaho Decompression and SHIFT festival learning on site with us!
For more information about this year or next year’s event, please contact board@precipitationnw.org.
New Burner Barn Announcement: We're Moving!
Bird’s eye view of the new Burner Barn (thanks for creating this image, KosherBacon!)
We have exciting news: The Burner Barn is moving! We love our community of volunteers and know that we have outgrown the old Burner Barn. Precipitation Northwest has signed a new lease at a bigger and better location in order to give us more room to grow and serve the community better. The new location of the Burner Barn is a space in the Pickle Factory, which is located in North Portland near the Kenton neighborhood at 866 N Columbia Blvd.
FAQs:
When the move is happening? We will be moving into the new space the first two weeks of July 2019.
What’s new? Indoor plumbing, bathrooms, a shared kitchen with other Pickle Factory residents, WAY more build space, and a new home for Precipitation Northwest.
What’s the same? All of the best things from the old Burner Barn: SOAK and BurnOut physical assets will be stored here, our SOAK Major Burnable Structure (MBS) crew will be able to work and build there (bonus: they can now be inside and out of the rain!), volunteer meetings for SOAK and BurnOut can be hosted here, and other groups can hold meetings here as needed too.
When will the new Burner Barn be accessible for community meetings and workshops? We anticipate being able to host meetings and workshops for the community starting at the beginning of August 2019.
How can I access the Burner Barn? I have more questions! Please contact our Burner Barn Manager Kosher Bacon at burnerbarn@precipitationnw.org with any additional questions you may have.
SOAK*2019 Artist & Civic Provisions Awardees
We are pleased to announce this year’s Artist & Civic Provisions awardees! The following update was written by Sepia, our SOAK*2019 Artist Provisions Administrator about the process. It was shared on Portland Announce and we’re resharing here on our website. Thank you to Sepia, our passionate group of TAG volunteers, and our community of talented and created artists for participating in this program!
Please make sure to check out the beautiful slideshow of the funding recipients by clicking below:
“Hive minds have been synced! Congratulations to 16 art projects and 19 civic projects awarded funding by the SOAK*2019 Talented And Gifted Peer Review team!
How do SOAK Provisions work? Once applications are collected into a slideshow, a committee of volunteer peers called Talented And Gifted gather to review proposals and vote on awards. The committee is open to volunteers through the same channels as other SOAK volunteer opportunities.
SOAK*2019 Civic Provisions (New this year!)
TAG ran our first Civic Provisions process this year. TAG chose to add $130 from art provisions. Total dispersed for civics: $1,130 to 19 applicants. Fire, camp signage/decor, community-need projects funded:
Bear Naked Tramp Studio
Best Butt
Black Rock Gladiators
BROTHel Camp
Campbiguous
CSB
Fiery Flowers and Zen Garden
Fleetwood Mac & Cheese
Krampusberg
Letter of the Day
Over F*ckin’ Rated
Radiant Chaos
SPACE POTTY
Tectonic
Tiki Camp
uASS Local #2
Universal Eggsperience
Yall's Camp
Yellow Bikes
SOAK*2019 Artist Provisions
This year, the budget of Artist Provisions was $6,870. All funds are intended to fund art projects directly. The Artist Provisions Administrator guides the funding process, and provides a philosophical and historical, non-voting perspective. The committee makes final funding suggestions based on guidelines like interactivity, creativity, safety, reliability, skill, uniqueness, and in consideration of how the project aligns with the Ten Principles or theme.
The following works of art are funded, in part, by Precipitation Northwest & anonymous Donor-Participants!
The 2019 Awarded Art Projects are: (Click here to see the full slideshow, with photos!)
PROJECT: The Janky Arcades by Dave Halbeck aka Schooner (Repair+update)
Artist Statement: Compulsion, Obsession, and Enthusiasm. I want video gaming to be social, and spontaneous, appealing to all ages.
PROJECT: Alternity by Roy Trammell aka TheWiz (Repair)
Artist Statement: I create art to make the world a more interesting place, and to bring meaning and purpose to my life.
PROJECT: Dimensional Dreams by Becca Priddy aka Shiny (New)
Artist Statement: Art is an outlet for many people, and I'm lucky to be able to put my art into physical form. Art has been very therapeutic for me, helping me focus my anxiety and depression. This year I am creating a piece, with other artists, to help share places of calm and peace. I have a very difficult day job, so building a project based around mindfulness and relaxation is pretty awesome.
PROJECT: Drippin Disco by Alexander Griffith aka Xander Thumper & Amy Thompson (New)
Artist Statement: I am a full time Fiber Artist by day. When my GF and I lived in San Diego years ago we made several large scale disco balls for Youtopia. I think the last one was in 2015. They were highly well received.
PROJECT: Sequinfluence by Kristen Dunn aka Trashfence (New)
Artist Statement: I make art to deepen my connection with myself and the world around me. I make art to reflect how I see the world and what I want to see in the world. I make art to briefly decorate the void.
PROJECT: Brain Storm by Sarah Vitak aka Dingo Starrr (Repair)
Artist Statement: I am a maker, scientist, science communicator, and artist. I delight in the intersection of art, science, and human interaction. I love sharing the joy and wonder of science with people and in particular I like bringing that joy through non-traditional means. As an artist I love creating experiences. I want someone to be completely immersed by my art and feel like they are walking into a different world. I design my art to facilitate connections between people, encourage play, and spark curiosity.
PROJECT: Temple of the Five by Frank Broyles, Calvin Bryen & Temple Crew 523 (New)
Artist Statement: I've burnt a lot of stuff at SOAK. 3 temples, a tree (that we built), thunderbridge...My favorite thing is to convince people to spend months building something and then setting it on fire in front of them.
PROJECT: Community Bloom by Donald Heer aka Mega and Martin Held (New)
Artist Statement: SO this is my first time doing art for an event that is not tied to my theme camp. I'm pretty excited about getting to spend all of my time on something that while others will get to enjoy it, I have full control over. I really hope to make something that intrigues people and can act to bring them together for even a few minutes. I want to make something that has maximum impact while being reliable and low resource cost.
PROJECT: Lightning Cube by Colin Barringer aka Dr. Responsible & Mike MacHenry, Melissa Barringer, David Besley, Sarah Vitak (New)
Artist Statement: My purpose in life is to bring people joy and solve problems for them through the medium of engineering. My source of greatest joy is to collaborate in the construction of art with others, particularly if said art requires solving complicated or interesting engineering problems. Making art is also an opportunity to meet people who may be interested in working with me, inspired by me, or simply interested in the output of what I'm doing.
PROJECT: Night Flowers by Chance Corbeil aka Chance Ci (New)
Artist Statement: I’m an artist making magical spaces and sculptures that breath, fly, swim, and constantly change. Flowing colorful light moves through my art and environments, always fresh and new. I want art to feel alive. Transforming spaces with light and art can influence us to explore and discover what makes that space special. We take time to be in the moment and participate. I want to make more magical spaces with our community for us to explore.
PROJECT: We Have Hives by Courtney Sherwood aka Space Cadet (New)
Artist Statement: My approach to art is generally rooted in puns and a sense of mischievousness aimed at provoking consternation, amusement or groans.
PROJECT: Labyrinth of The Mind by Shawn Estell AKA pinky, Holly Heredia aka Redirect & Tristan Roberson (New)
Artist Statement: I’m a professional artist of 15 years who works with public art installation and the performing arts all my career. I love to work with community and have the work I do be interactive and open to anyone of any age or cultural background.
PROJECT: Synapse by Rachel Glaves aka Capra (New)
Artist Statement: I explore creating the feeling of altered "inside" spaces; the feeling of entering and existing in a changed, magical dimension where different rules apply. I aim to create emotional reactions to and within those spaces using a variety of senses.
PROJECT: The Chromosphere by Christopher Condrat (Repair)
Artist Statement: I'm attracted to, and try to create, interactive art because it enables the audience to participate in the art, becoming a part of it. I feel interactive art is at its best when it involves interaction not only with the piece, but between participants, creating a shared experience.
PROJECT: Portal by Chance Corbeil aka Chance Ci & Chris Pitzer aka Chrispy (Update)
Artist Statement: Art is about the joy of making. It's about exploring ideas and about using materials in new and novel ways. It's a way we come together with our close friends to spend time working together - the work that ties us together. It's about dreaming for a world that's better and more beautiful and working to make it happen. <3
PROJECT: Bag of Ice by Michelle Bobo aka Bobo & Jesse Banks (New)
Artist Statement: The inspiration for this project is to add a layer of art and experience around ice sales at SOAK. Buying ice at Burning Man generally involves a wait process, but it also involves music and dancing and the participatory experience of meeting new people as you move through the line. SOAK rarely has a line, but it also lacks this shared element of fun and participation. I wish to change that!
Slideshow of funding recipients: https://spark.adobe.com/page/MD1LpdleLCtlJ/
I wish to thank the 24 voting-members of this year’s peer review team! Way to step up to support the arts and your fellow burners! Thanks for your participation & HeArt!
Hive Five,
Sepia”