SOAK*2020 Leads Retreat Weekend
Last week (February 1-3), the SOAK*2020 Producers and Leads met for their annual Leads Retreat. This event happens every year and is considered the official kickoff to the year’s SOAK event.
The Leads Retreat is a chance for this year’s event Producers and Department Leads to gather and prepare for the upcoming event and plan the weeks of hard work ahead. The Precipitation Northwest Board enjoys having the opportunity to attend this annual event, to meet new and returning leads, and to work alongside the Producers and Leads to kick off the SOAK event year.
The retreat was held for the 2nd time at Mount Hood Kiwanis Camp, and was attended by all 9 Precipitation NW board members, all 5 of the SOAK*2020 Producers, and the majority of the 39 Department Leads.
Friday night was an informal potluck, and Saturday was a full day of presentations and discussion about the upcoming year.
In addition to discussing things like resources and budgets, the day also included time for each department to review 2018’s After Burn Reports (ABRs), which are reports written by last year’s leads that summarize important learnings and recommendations for how to improve over last year.
The Precipitation Northwest board once again presented 2 different sessions - one on Saturday morning generally about our organization and activities, and one session on Saturday afternoon all about finances. This session specifically covered how the Producers and Department Leads work together to propose both individual department budgets, as well as an overall event budget request to the board.
A special thanks to KosherBacon who volunteered his time to prepare and organize meals for the team over the entire weekend, and also manages the Burner Barn and keeps SOAK event materials safe and organized. Thank you to Battalion4 who in addition to being a SOAK*2020 Department lead, but who is also taking a lead role in producing Safety Northwest.
Overall, Precipitation Northwest left the weekend excited about this year, and overwhelmed with gratitude for the hard work and dedication displayed by everyone who help makes SOAK happen each year.
For more SOAK*2020 event information, visit www.soakpdx.com and join the Facebook event https://www.facebook.com/events/954212661616854/
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.