Woosday Returns!
Precipitation Northwest is thrilled to share, from our Woosday Friends:
Woosday has returned! Not in meatspace but online (for now).
Still the same awesome Tuesday post-happy hour 7-10pm time.
This upcoming February 9th is the next episode. Bring yourself and household to your screens! We haven’t seen your faces in a long long time!
Why the delay? Well....nothing else has captured our imaginations as an enduring replacement and why not? Cucumber, starfish and TomCat were doing recon in March 2020 for a new place to host and then LOCKDOWN happened. So here we are, almost a year later. We are starved for a common tribe space to commiserate and collaborate. Community is important. Let’s rekindle that Woosday vibe online while we can.
Join us here:
This is an official Portland Burners and is a recurring event. Current online service is Google Meet. It’s as inclusive as we can possibly make it, limited to the technology and social/legal issues we have to currently contend with.
Some are pre-bonked; Be good or be gone! This can grow only with your participation and good faith.
Photo: Molly Harpel
Announcing New Board Members for 2021
We are pleased to announce three new members of Precipitation Northwest's Board of Directors. We are excited to have such qualified and enthusiastic individuals joining the PNW team!
Every fall, the Precipitation NW board interviews interested applicants for open board member positions. Board member terms are typically three years.
Returning to the Precipitation Northwest board of directors are Danielle Parks, Dale Lucht, Molly Harpel, Kristin Stankiewicz, and Alexander LaVake. New to the board this year are Heather Back, Michelle David, and Dina Moy. We encourage you to read more about our board members! You can find their photos, bios, and committee involvement on our Board of Directors page.
We would like to thank Ariel Rigney, Harry Nedley, and Ryan Krellwitz, all who retired from the PNW board as of the end of 2020. Their hard work over the past several years built a strong foundation for Precipitation Northwest to continue to grow and thrive.
Photo: Adrian Thomas-Eikmann
SOAK*2021 Cancelled
Hello Community! We’d like to give you an update of what’s been going on with SOAK.
After much listening, many discussions, and careful consideration, we have made the painful, yet necessary decision to not build SOAK in 2021. We are sad to share this news as, now more than ever, human connection is really important. The disheartening reality of COVID-19 and a handful of factors went into making this difficult decision.
We’ve conferred with our Leads and Production Team, as well as the county, land owners and vendors, and have boiled it down to the following: we cannot apply for our Outdoor Mass Gathering (OMG) permit until Wasco County is in Phase 3 in which a vaccine or treatment is publicly available. In order for the county to have sufficient time to review and approve our permit before our event, as well as for us to have sufficient time to plan and coordinate SOAK, this would need to happen by January 1st, 2021. Of course planning and paperwork are not the only reasons for the months of lead time on the cut off date. It will take time for a vaccine/treatment to become widely available and for herd immunity to provide the level of protection needed to keep a couple thousand physically friendly people safe - and for us to learn the appropriate ways to handle creating a safe event in that environment. We were holding on to a strand of hope that the current circumstances would change by January. We know we’re still a few weeks away, but at this point in time, we can say with 99.99% certainty that Wasco County will not be in phase 3 in the beginning of the new year. The well-being of our participants, volunteers, our Wasco County neighbors, and public health and safety is our top priority. Safety remains in first place.
The following are some ways you can get involved and connect with our community:
Learner Barn Program: Sign up for a workshop to develop & foster your creative skills for use at festivals, events, and sharing with our communities. If you'd like to teach a class, help produce the Learner Barn program, or make a contribution to Precipitation Northwest, we'd love to hear from you! More information about the program can be found at www.learnerbarn.com.
Develop events with the help of PNW: If you have an idea for an event or program, this is a chance for you to partner with Precipitation Northwest and bring your idea to life! PNW can provide help and support for your event in a variety of ways. To submit an idea, fill out this form and the PNW Board will review your proposal and be in touch. Please feel free to contact PNW at any time at info@precipitationnw.org.
Who knows what the future holds? What we do know is that we are all SOAK - we are multifaceted, multi-talented, innovative, creative, adaptable, weirdos! Keep burning bright!
Much Love & Virtual Dancing Hugs,
SOAK Production Team & Precipitation Northwest Board of Directors
Photo: TJ Baxter 2019
Updates from Learn(Burn)er Barn
Thank you to all those who have participated and shared your skills for Precipitation Northwest's Learner Barn workshop series!
You may have caught the announcement a few weeks ago about Multnomah County's climbing Covid-19 infection rates. We cancelled in-person workshops from Nov 18th - Dec 18th to keep everyone safe, and will re-assess whether meeting up at the Burner Barn again soon is appropriate in accordance with all local guidelines. As a reminder, any workshops conducted in-person are limited to 10 people, and social distancing and masks are required.
Fortunately, we were prepared for this and are happy to continue the series virtually! Here are the details for our next workshops:
Beginning Sewing - Create Your Own Utility Belt
Date: December 3rd
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Your house! Streaming links will be provided to all those who sign up.
Signup Link: HERE.
Beginning in December, we'll be offering Materials Packs at cost for people who want to participate in workshops but are unable to physically acquire project supplies at retail stores. For more information on this, please contact our production team when they confirm your registration for each workshop.
Later this month, we have shifted the in-person CnC router workshop to take place online, so feel free to mark your calendar:
Intro to Maslow CnC Router
Date: December 17th
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Your house!
Signup Link: Will be posted the week of the workshop on LearnerBarn.com and the Learner Barn Facebook Page
and to come…….
Intro to Woodworking
Date: December 30th
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: TBD (see covid spike announcement above)
Intro to Maslow CnC Router Part 2
Date: January 7th
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: TBD (see covid spike announcement above)
We are so glad to be able to continue to create with you. If you'd like to teach a class, help produce the Learner Barn program, or make a contribution to Precipitation Northwest, we'd love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact us any time at board@precipitationnw.org.
NOW SEEKING NEW BOARD MEMBERS (deadline 11/30/2020)!
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 other events and programs managed by our organization. With the uncertainty of large gatherings in 2021, we aim to support our community's emerging creative ideas in changing times.
Do you or someone you know have a passion for community engagement, facilitating leadership opportunities and interactive art and events? Do you have experience in accounting or nonprofit legal regulations? Do you get excited about grant writing and development? Or maybe you have other skills you believe our organization would 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.
Please apply by filling out this form.
The deadline to apply is November 30, 2020. Interviews will be on a rolling schedule. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to board@precipitationnw.org.
Introducing the Learner Barn!
Introducing Precipitation Northwest's premiere workshop series: the Leaner Barn! At, the Burner Barn, of course! This new program focuses on developing and fostering creative skills for use at festivals, events, and sharing with our communities. Workshops will address technical skill sets used for artwork such as wood projects, LED project's, costuming, fire, robotics, other mediums and growing.
Classes are starting every other week; being held on Thursday nights from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. Each workshop will be hosted by a member of the Learner Barn team and feature an expert instructor on the topic.
(Note: with current health policies, classroom space is limited to 10 participants.)
An amazing first round of classes are as follows:
• Intro to Burner Barn policies, usage, and tools.
• Intro to sewing, costumes and design.
• Intro to SketchUP design.
• Maslow CnC router operation, programming and functionality.
• Intro to woodworking.
• Intro to LED lighting.
Check out our website at www.learnerbarn.com for more information and follow the Learner Barn Facebook page, which will have our schedule and links to each workshop’s event. Sign ups required!
Come join us and learn a new craft or advance a craft you already know. Or just come and explore how others do their crafts!
Ideas? Questions? Contact Beacon at beacon@burnoutpdx.com.
The Burner Barn’s Learner Barn (now with masks).
PDX Burner Barn Rebirth!
Precipitation Northwest is happy to announce the rebirth of the PDX Burner Barn in its new home with fresh ideas. The PDX Burner Barn is now offering itself as a center for community activities, camp meetings, interactive classes, fun gatherings and a place to allow your creative side to project.
Do you have a Skillset, Hobby or Talent that you would like to share with the Local Burner Community?
The PDX Burner Barn can help you project your vision. Share your story at the Burner Barn using all the tools gifted for communal use. Teach a class in person or with the virtual streaming rig. Have a camp meeting in the conference area, lounging on the couches or relaxed in the hammock. How about putting on a movie night for your camp on the 75’’ telecommunications rig?
Do you have a project you would like to build but do not have the space requirements at home?
The PDX Burner Barn is here for you. There is a 22x22 workshop with tools and gadgets for communal use. There are skilled stafflings who are able to help you learn how to use tools you may have never used. The PDX Burner Barn has available storage for projects and tools should you need a little more room than your hobby closet.
Project Space Application Here.
Contact us here: burner.barn@precipitationnw.org
*Please note our COVID-19 Policies:
Masks and physical distancing (6ft between humans) are mandatory.
The space is limited to 10 people at a time in accordance with local guidelines.
When appropriate, activities like workshops will be live-streamed to accommodate those participating from home. Please be advised that this means you may be on camera if you choose to attend in person.
Fundraiser for the Tygh Valley Rural Fire Protection District
The community of Tygh Valley has graciously hosted the SOAK Regional Burning Man event since 2015. The Tygh Valley Rural Fire Protection District (TVRFPD) has been particularly generous in sending out a Fire Engine and volunteer firefighters to augment SOAK’s fire safety team; providing an extra measure of safety for everybody present.
In past years, the SOAK community has expressed their appreciation by making a donation to the TVRFPD, and this has been a helpful boost to their limited budget. You may have previously attended one of the fundraising cookouts held in Portland, or made a donation when buying ice at the SOAK event. This year we aren’t able to gather together as we would like, but we want to remember our friends in Tygh Valley just the same. They have been there for us in the past, and we recognize that just because the SOAK event isn’t happening this year, that the local communities' need for fire response is undiminished.
If your finances allow you to do so, please consider joining others in our burner community to show our appreciation to the community of Tygh Valley by making a donation to their Volunteer Fire Department.
Tygh Valley Rural Fire Protection District