Illustration of me

Balsa Man!

Dec 19 2022

a diminute effigy for a reduced community!

2009 Balsa Man Update
Go to the new Balsa Man website for info on the 2009 burn!

Balsa Man Build Camp Riverton, is hosting Balsa Man, a celebration for all campers who this year forwent the dusty desert and decided to remain here in the foggy Bay Area. The Balsa Man KCrew, Colin, Nifer, and Supervisor Ghastly, have been hard at work building the diminutive Man. The X-acto blades are slicing, the dremels are whirring, the glue is sticking, and the whiskey is pouring! Photos of the ongoing build process are available in the Balsa Man Build flickr set.

Soon he will stand on his own and we invite you the community this Saturday 30th at sunset (around 8pm) to watch us burn Balsa Man in his full lilliputian 3 foot glory! It is a celebration of small transformation through fire.

Balsa Man may not be big enough to help you forget all your cares, but he can help overcome the small ones. In fact, we invite you to write down any petty grievances, minor troubles, or picayune worries that you have on a small slip of paper to be placed at the base of The Balsa Man before the burn.

However, if we really want this to be a successful Balsa Man burn we need some help from you the Balsa Man community! If you can help with any of the below items please leave a comment or write me an email.

  • Photo and video documentation — nothing exists these days without evidence and the Balsa Man KCrew will be too busy to snap away so please come with your cameras!
  • Build volunteers (maybe) — we may have need of a couple build volunteers depending on how the build goes this week. If so, we will issue a callout on twitter
  • If you have anything else you would like to add for the Balsa Man let me know — but make sure it is to scale! (matchstick poi spinning, miniature art cars, or small figurines of Larry Harvey, Crimson Rose, Paul Addis, etc.)
  • This is a leave no trace event, and we appreciate your help sweeping for moop after the burn.
  • Remember unlike the Playa, the Bay Area has few wandering art cars and it’s a bit of a haul to walk, so please plan ahead if you will be in need of a designated driver.

Join us and make Balsa Man a tiny burn to remember!

NEW UPDATE: More info and news – Balsa Man news: community, we need you!

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