Blazing Swan Event Survival Guide

2024

Blazing Swan Incorporated
PO Box 6, Kulin, WA 6365
Email: info@blazingswan.com.au
Website: www.blazingswan.com.au

CONTENTS

Welcome to Country                                                                        Page 4

About Blazing Swan                                                                        Page 5

        A SHORT HISTORY        

        WHAT IS BLAZING SWAN, AND WHAT IT’S NOT

        WHAT DO YOU DO AT A BLAZING SWAN EVENT

        WHAT WILL YOU FIND AT A BLAZING SWAN EVENT

The 11 Principles & our Statement of Inclusion and Tolerance                        Page 7

        THE 11 PRINCIPLES

        OUR STATEMENT OF INCLUSION AND TOLERANCE

Prepare to Blaze                                                                        Page 9

        YOU

        LIFE SUSTENANCE

        SHELTER

        NECESSITIES

        MOBILE PHONES

        ENTERTAINMENTS & GIFTS

        CLOTHES AND BEDDING

        FOOTWEAR

        COMFORTS

        DON’T BRING

        IF YOU BRING… YOU’LL ALSO NEED…

Getting to Blaze                                                                        Page 12

        TRANSPORT OPTIONS

        HIRE CARS, CAMPERS AND TRUCKS

        DIRECTIONS

        GET THERE ALIVE

        DRIVE NICELY

        FUEL AND CARBON OFFSETS

        KULIN

        PLAN TO ARRIVE NOT BEFORE AND NOT AFTER

        THE TICKET GATE

        THE GREETERS GATE

        THE TRAFFIC CHECKPOINTS AND PARKING AT YOUR CAMPSITE

        LEAVING THE EVENT EARLY (AND COMING BACK AGAIN)

        PARK AND SET UP YOUR CAMP

        DO’S AND DON’TS IN THE GENERAL CAMPING AREA

Blaze basics                                                                                Page 15

        THE WTF GUIDE

        ICE

        PORTALOOS

        SHOWERS

        PHOTOGRAPHY

        DRONES & OTHER BANNED OR RESTRICTED THINGS

        CHILDREN

        MUTANT VEHICLES

Blaze volunteers and contractors                                                        Page 17

        RANGERS

        CONSENT

        MOOP TROUPE

        MEDICAL AND AMBULANCE

        FIRE BRIGADE

        EVENT MAINTENANCE AND MANAGEMENT

        SECURITY CONTRACTORS AND POLICE

        ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES

Security, Health and Safety                                                                Page 19

        STAY SECURE

        STAY HEALTHY

        CONSENT, CONSENT, CONSENT!

        HAZARDS & PRESENTATIONS

        FIRST AID

        MEDICAL AND AMBULANCE SERVICES

        FIRE AND OTHER EMERGENCIES, AND EVACUATION

Environmental sustainability                                                        Page 22

        LEAVE NO TRACE

        MATTER OUT OF PLACE - MOOP

        GREY WATER

        BIOSECURITY

        POOP & PEE

Get away and stay in touch                                                                Page 24

        DEPARTURE

        ADJUSTMENT

        STAY IN TOUCH

        KEEP BLAZING WITH US

        VOLUNTEER WITH US

        BECOME A MEMBER OF THE BLAZING SWAN ASSOCIATION

Glossary                                                                                Page 26

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land which hosts our Event, the Njaki Njaki Noongar people. We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this region.

60,000 to 40,000 years ago the first people settled this country which became the home of the Njaki Njaki. When European explorers rode through here 160 years ago it was the Njaki Njaki ancestors who welcomed them and showed them the waterholes at the base of the rocks. This is still Njaki Njaki country. Their stories are woven in the landscape, and it is their language that gave the names ‘Jilakin’ and ‘Kulin’ to the lake and the town.

Each year we gather at the Bush Race Track beside Jilakin Lake on land made available to us by the Lucchesi family who came here generations ago and we thank them for hosting us here.

We drive through Kulin, the community who support us, who built the roads and the facilities we see around us. and we thank them for their welcome.

We watch the moon and sun rise up over these billion year old rocks beside the remains of a river that flowed past here 40 million years ago. This is Old Country that was here long before us, and will be here long after us.

The Blazing Swan principle of Radical Inclusion says, “We welcome the stranger.” This transformative idea is central to our Event and our community.  We are reminded that in this Country we are the strangers who have been welcomed.  When we welcome the stranger, we are passing on a gift that has been given us, and we are sharing a special place that has been shared with us.

About Blazing Swan

A SHORT HISTORY

Blazing Swan was set up by a group of Australians who had visited Burning Man in the USA. In 2013 they created the first Blazing Swan Event. Over the years we have been supported and grown with the help of Burning Man in the USA, our volunteers and event participants each year, and the welcoming Kulin community.

Blazing Swan is an experiment in temporary community and art, influenced by Blazing Swan’s 11 principles of Radical Inclusion, Gifting, Decommodification, Radical Self-reliance, Radical Self-expression, Communal Effort, Civic Responsibility, Leaving No Trace, Participation, Immediacy and Consent.

WHAT IS BLAZING SWAN, AND WHAT IT’S NOT

Blazing Swan (or just Blaze) is the name of the annual arts event held at Kulin, while Blazing Swan Incorporated is the name of the Not-for-profit Association that produces the event.  Each year the Association Members elect a Committee which undertakes the day to day management of the Association.  The Committee in turn appoints 60 volunteers to undertake year round work for the Association, and up to 400 volunteers to assist with the Event.

Blazing Swan is also a community that includes our Members, all of our volunteers, all of our event participants, and all of the people who are sympathetic to the aims of our Association and the principles of Blazing Swan and Burning Man.  This community is renewed and strengthened each year through its participation in the Blazing Swan Event.

Blazing Swan is not a rave.  You won’t see advertising and there’s nothing for sale.  You won’t find any tolerance for disrespect or violations of consent, or for anything that harms our environment or each other.  

Blaze is a ticketed event. No ticket, no entry, no exceptions.  All the details are on the website and please read the Event Attendance and Ticket Terms & Conditions  There are no single day tickets (except Kulin residents!) and no discounts if you turn up late.  Beware scams!  Use our official ticket vendor and ticket reseller.  Check our website for details.

WHAT DO YOU DO AT A BLAZING SWAN EVENT?

⚫ Participate.  At Blazing Swan you are not an attendee or a spectator, you a participant

⚫ Be Radically Expressive.  Be your most unique self, be your most impressive

⚫ Share. Your effort, your joy, your compassion, your strength, your vulnerability and your best self

⚫ Be Open. Receive without complication, welcome change

⚫ Live the Blazing Swan 11 Principles and Values and our Statement of Inclusion and Tolerance.

WHAT WILL YOU FIND AT A BLAZING SWAN EVENT?

Nothing you entirely expected.   Art, dance, music, participative performance, healing, challenges, gifts, spaces, games, parades, stories, song, mutant vehicles, collaborations, relaxation and old and new friends.  Whether you’re coming for the first time or the latest of many times no sight or sound or experience will be entirely the same from year to year.  

You’ll find traditions.  Watching the sunset and sunrise from Cave Rock, our Temple and Effigy Burns, our Welcome Home from our Greeters and hundreds of others small and large traditions that started on a whimsy and continue with affection.

You’ll find art works.  If you post photos of the art in Social Media please take the time to acknowledge the artist’s name - you can find their details in the WTF Guide. Unless you are invited to do so by the Artist, don’t touch, climb on, decorate or remove any part of their Artwork. The largest piece of Art - the Blazing Swan Effigy - is traditionally burnt on the Saturday evening following a spectacular fire twirling performance and fireworks display.  Blazing Swan volunteers and the Fire Brigade will maintain a strict boundary around the fire and let people know when it is safe to approach.

You’ll find the Temple.  It’s a quiet and beautiful space for reflection and remembering. Everyone is welcome to leave a message or a memento that will, with the Temple, be burned to ash on the Sunday evening during a silent ceremony. Blazing Swan volunteers and the Fire Brigade will maintain a strict boundary around the fire and let people know when it is safe to approach.

You’ll meet Theme Camps, or even be part of one - groups of participants with a common vision who have joined together in the spirit of COMMUNAL EFFORT to bring their gift to the Event.  You’ll meet our volunteers, and you may become one, who give their time to make many of the things around you possible.  Most of all you’ll meet people like and unlike you you’ve never met before.  Some - we know - will become life-long friends.

You will find extremes of weather - hot and cold, dust and flooding, gale force winds, iron-hard ground and mud. It’s a rare Event that we don’t have them all.

You’ll find a beautiful country and vistas.  You can climb the rocks within the Event site, but please keep to the existing paths and don’t disturb any vegetation or rocks or collect any firewood off the ground.  Even the seemingly bare rock surfaces are home to a rich micro-flora and fauna that is unique to these outcrops.  Driving and camping in any of the bushland adjacent to the Event site is absolutely forbidden. Tread softly on this ground, it’s a special place.

The 11 Principles & our Statement of Inclusion and Tolerance

THE 11 PRINCIPLES

Radical Inclusion

Anyone may be a part of Blazing Swan. We welcome and respect the stranger. No pre-requisites exist for participation in our community. Every person in our community is a valued member.

Gifting

Blazing Swan is devoted to acts of gifting: giving freely, without expectations of return or exchange. The value of a gift is unconditional. A gift is anything given in this spirit, whether it is a physical item, a service or performance, or something less tangible, such as friendship or companionship. Everyone has gifts to give.

Decommodification

In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.

Radical Self-reliance

Blazing Swan encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on their inner resources.

Radical Self-expression

Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.

Civic Responsibility

We value civil society. Community members who organise events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavour to communicate civic responsibility to participants.  They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state and federal laws.

Communal Effort

Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. Volunteers are the life force of our community. We strive to produce, promote, and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.

Leaving No Trace

Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.

Participation

Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart and create connection.

Immediacy

Be Here Now. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner-selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world. Be aware of yourself, of others, of your surroundings and your place in our community and the world. No idea can substitute for this experience.

Consent

Respect the autonomy of the individual: every person has the right to make decisions about their own body, property, and personal space. What you see as a gift might be a curse if it is unwelcome (or unwanted), so when giving a gift, entering someone’s personal space, taking a photo or video, or using someone’s property, ask permission first. Only proceed if there is consent between all parties.

Do not ever assume that you have consent based upon what a person is wearing or how they are acting. Consent must be mutual, definite, and given consciously, and persons are free to change their mind at any time. Remember that consent for one act does not imply consent for all acts, and consent given once does not mean that you have consent every time. No always means no.

OUR VALUES

Respect.  Care.  Fairness.  Integrity.  Honesty.


OUR STATEMENT OF INCLUSION AND TOLERANCE

Blazing Swan Incorporated is committed to providing our volunteers, contractors and Event participants with an equal opportunity to be part of a safe community and Event. We believe in the inherent dignity, worth, unique attributes and human rights of all individuals. We respect people of all ethnicities, ages, abilities, appearances and gender identities and orientations - and all beliefs that share this respectful outlook

We require our volunteers, contractors and Event participants to show this respect to everyone in this  community at all times, in person and online. We ask all members of our community to support and defend people who are being discriminated against or persecuted for reasons of their ethnicity, age, abilities, appearance, gender identity or orientation, or for their respectful beliefs.

Prepare to  Blaze

Nothing entirely prepares you for Blaze.   Even so, you should prepare.  For most of us the Event takes place 275 kilometres from home, it occurs over an Easter weekend when stores are shut, and it occurs on a site with minimal water and facilities.  In the spirit of RADICAL SELF RELIANCE you should bring what you need, or partner with others in the spirit of COMMUNAL EFFORT to bring what you need together.   And in the spirit of LEAVE NO TRACE you should take it all away with you afterwards.  This all takes planning - so let’s talk about that.

YOU

Bring your authentic self.  A sense of adventure and a sense of humour and wonder and fun. Also bring plenty of tolerance, patience and kindness.  Make time for others - and time for yourself.

LIFE SUSTENANCE

Blaze serves to remind us what it takes to be alive.  You will need to bring water, at least 4 litres per person per day, and good sustaining food.  Bring drinking water frozen in containers and you can pre-order ice for pickup daily on site.  Plan your meals so that you make the most of fresh food early in the Event, and save those things that don’t need to be chilled till last.  If you are transporting gas bottles look up the safety guidelines on the internet - while you’re there check out the videos of exploding vehicles.

Bring any medications with you and keep them secure.  The nearest pharmacy is about 60 kilometres away, and it’s probably shut.  If you have an Epipen bring it, and make sure some fellow camper knows how to use it. If you have any life threatening medical conditions or allergies, make sure you have a Medic-Alert bracelet or necklace on you at all times - it’s also a good idea to say “Hi” to the Medical Team at the start just to give them a heads-up if required.

SHELTER

It will rain and flood.  It will be freezing cold and baking hot.  Winds routinely reach 60 to 100 kilometres per hour.  Bring some shelter, and secure it to the ground with pegs or stakes three times longer and thicker than you’ve ever seen in your life.  And bring some kind of Thor’s hammer (and Thor) to bang them in with.  Bring a light rake to clear the area under and around your shelter.  Use only heavy duty gazebos, and secure them with star pickets alongside each leg. If it’s a tent, put it up at home to get familiar with it and check for missing pieces or damage.  You’ll probably pick a nice day to do that.  That will be nothing like you’ll find at Blaze, but enjoy the experience.  Label all your gear. And if you’re not camping savvy, check out how to be on the internet.

NECESSITIES

Photo ID and your ticket, on paper or on your phone as long as the screen’s not badly cracked.  Spare car keys - because things get lost (check your garbage).  Containers for your garbage, and for the grey water left over from washing dishes.  You take all of that back home.  Bring a mug or cup made from some indestructible substance that you can carry with you on a belt or lanyard  with your name on it.

Bring lights. LEDs are your friend. Wear them on your clothes, on your body, on your bike.  Look cool and beautiful while not getting run over by large vehicles in the middle of the night.  Use them in your tent, and on your ropes holding up your tent and bulky items around your Camp that you don’t want to trip over in the middle of the night.  Candles and tents get on like a house on fire.  Leave the candles at home.

Bring a small fire extinguisher - and a fire blanket if you’re cooking.  A first aid kit completes the picture. Keep them in your car when you’re not at the event and they’ll serve you well all year round.

A good first aid kit is one designed for vehicle use.  Add in some rehydration sachets, antiseptic cream, masks, NON-LATEX gloves, a couple of ‘space blankets’, a spare torch, some RAT kits and sunscreen and insect repellant and you have covered off most of your camping first aid requirements. 

MOBILE PHONES

If you bring your phone, put some contact details on your screensaver/locked image, or slip a note inside the case.  Even labeling it with your own phone number helps us identify whose phone it is.  Telstra has a signal that reaches the Event site, and that’s it.  Even then you might struggle to get a call through when our 1,000 plus phones are all trying to reach a single tower 15km away.  

ENTERTAINMENTS & GIFTS

Bring some entertainment to share at Blaze, or BE the entertainment you bring and share.  You might want to bring something with you to GIFT.  Don’t get too tied up in knots about this - it’s not an obligation.  Gifts are given and received here with absolutely no expectation of reward or return.  It’s something that’s hard to get your head around, but it’s a transformational idea.  Always bear in mind that the gift everyone brings to Blaze is their authentic self.  Maybe this will find an outlet in story-telling or singing or dancing or how you dress - or it might be expressed in listening, or applauding, or quiet companionship and companionable silence.  Our advice?  Be true, be kind, be safe and don’t make MOOP!

CLOTHES AND BEDDING

Kulin nights are cold.  Use layers of clothing, and make sure they’re labelled if they’re dear to you. Having a photo is helpful if you lose a jacket or a hat. Scout the Op Shops before you come and find something pre-loved that you won’t miss so much. A guide to themed clothing events will appear in our Social Media in the lead up to the event.

You’ll need a hat.  It keeps your head warm at night, and stops the sun baking your brain by day.  For bliss, bring lots of thick socks and a thick dressing gown.

FOOTWEAR

There ARE venomous snakes and scorpions (if you see them don’t hurt them, just call for help if they’re around people), but the real reason to wear footwear is the giant spiky Caltrop seed.  If things get muddy, and they often do, then a pair of gumboots (and thick socks) will keep your feet happy.

COMFORTS

The playa never sleeps, but if you’re trying to, bring your earplugs or noise cancelling headphones.  Bring your usual toiletries, but remember it’s only single ply paper in the portaloos please.  Bring insect repellent and sunscreen (and a hat!), hand sanitizer, lip balm, sanitary pads/tampons, condoms and lubricant and foot cream - everything you’ll need for a week away from home (and shops).   Once again, have a look on the internet for guides to how to survive and thrive in the wild and at Burning Man type events.

DON’T BRING

Wrapping or packaging.  If it’s new - whatever it is - unwrap it at home.  Glass bottles, cups or glass anything are ‘out’.  Don’t bring weapons, explosives, fireworks, unauthorised animals, illegal drugs, dried plants with seeds or live plants of any type, unauthorised lasers or drones, or styrofoam.  Unless you are a performance artist in Theme Camps, do not bring feathers, glitter or confetti.  The ground we camp on is used at other times of year to grow barley and the value of the crop (and our value to the farmer) isn’t enhanced by bits and pieces we’ve left behind.  Follow our Principle, “Leave no trace”.

IF YOU DO BRING… YOU’LL ALSO NEED…

If you bring a bicycle because they’re fun to ride you’ll need something to illuminate it at night, and you’ll need something to protect the tyres from the massive spiked Caltrop Seeds found in thousands across the event site.  How you go about making your tyres puncture-proof is up to you, but we recommend doing a call out on Social Media to hear the latest advice from the community.  Unlike some other Burns around the world, you don’t NEED a bicycle to get around the Blazing Swan Event site.  But it can be fun.

If you use a mobility aid we recommend getting in touch with the Blazing Swan Accessibility Team before the Event to discuss options and arrangements.

Getting to Blaze

TRANSPORT OPTIONS

The GE2 bus service runs from Perth to Kulin on Thursdays and Sundays, and back on Tuesdays.  Consider carpooling!  Blazing Swan sets up a car pooling group in Social Media each year.  If you are at Blaze and have a ride to share, or need a ride, leave a note on Centre Kiosk’s rideshare board.

HIRE CARS, CAMPERS AND TRUCKS

Remember that it’s also the Easter holidays and you’d better book early.  Check the windscreens for existing damage and have that noted on the hire contract.  Small cracks and chips can lead to the windscreen shattering when exposed to a cold Kulin night.  If in doubt, cover the glass with a blanket.  

DIRECTIONS

Check your internet or phone.  Mobile phone and data coverage isn’t continuous on these roads, so work out where you’re going before you set out.  Once you reach Kulin PLEASE DRIVE SLOWLY and look for the signs pointing to Blazing Swan on the Tin Horse Highway.  If you get to Holt Rock (and many have) you’ve gone way too far.  The event site access road is about 14.5 km east of Kulin.

GET THERE ALIVE

Check your lights, tyres, brakes, oil, etc a month BEFORE Easter.  That will give you time to book your car in for a service if it needs it. If you are towing a trailer check the internet for how to load it safely.  Secure your loads and don’t overload your vehicle.  Avoid driving at night, dusk or dawn. There’s roos on all these roads.  As soon as you see one kangaroo cross the road, slow down. There’s usually another following. If you want to stay alive DON’T. EVER. SWERVE.  You’ll live through a head-on with a roo (stay straight and brake) while sounding your horn.  And maybe the roo will too.  If you swerve, your car’ll roll and you’ll die.

Yawning?  Pull over at the next rest stop and take 30.  Better to arrive late than not arrive at all.  Fatigue kills far more people on country roads than speed.  Wheatbelt roads have been chewed up by giant grain trucks.  Watch for potholes and eroded road line marking and edges - DO NOT rely on the lane detection gizmo in your car to tell you where the edge of the road is.  Travel time from Perth to Kulin is between 3.5 to 4 hours.

Remember it’s Easter. There’ll be thousands of people on the roads.  There’ll also be double demerit points, and a huge police presence everywhere.  Note that is Western Australia it is an offence to drive with a blood alcohol level of more than 0.5, or with any detectable trace of illegal drugs.

DRIVE NICELY

Long before you get to Kulin everyone in every town you pass through will know where you’re headed. We’ll never shake off our reputation as hippies (and why would we want to?), but we should try NOT to be the cause every year of tales of amazement and dismay at our reckless driving behaviours.  Drive nicely.

FUEL AND CARBON OFFSETS

If your vehicle is electric or runs on LPG check out availability before you set out.  Kulin itself has a self service ULP and Diesel 24 hour facility that accepts credit cards.  Offsetting your carbon tyre-print for a return journey from Perth costs between $5 and $10.  There are a couple of revegetation and rehabilitation organisations that operate in the Wheatbelt - you can find them on the internet.

KULIN

Be nice to Kulin!  DON’T fill their bins up with your rubbish. DO shop  at their IGA grocery store around the corner from the Hotel, open 6:30am to 5:30pm weekdays, and closed on Easter Friday and Monday.  Drop into the community owned Hotel for your take away requirements.  You can pre-order supplies from IGA and the hotel.  There may be a cafe open, and there’s a Mitre 10 hardware store.  Check out the Shire of Kulin website for details of the local attractions.  Sadly, the famous water slide is usually closed by the time Blaze comes around each year.

PLAN TO ARRIVE NOT BEFORE AND NOT AFTER…

The Event opens to the public at noon on Wednesday prior to the Easter Weekend.  If you arrive AFTER the standard Gate entry hours (see the Website) you’ll be required to park your vehicle just inside the event boundary gates and walk in with your gear to the Camping Area.  Come back and pick up your vehicle in the morning.  Don’t rush to get here!   If you need to take an extra day or two before you can get out to Blaze take your time.  You’ll still have a great time at Blaze.  Avoid driving at night, and DO NOT PARK ON THE TIN HORSE HIGHWAY OVERNIGHT !

THE TICKET GATE

Your destination, the Bush Race Track, will be clearly signposted at the turn-off just under 15km outside Kulin. Observe the speed limits.  Read the Event Entry and Ticket Terms & Conditions on the website before you get there.  A number of things will get you turned back from the gate, your ticket cancelled and a life ban from the Event.  It is a condition of entry that Gate crew may search your vehicles for prohibited items or animals, or anyone attempting to enter the event without a ticket.  For your safety please remain in your vehicle unless you are asked to step outside.

There are no tickets for sale at the Gate.  If your ticket is ‘on’ your phone make sure the screen isn’t cracked.  If it is, print out the ticket before you leave home.  Gate crew will issue you with a wristband that you must wear as long as you are at the Event.  Under 18’s get a special wristband.  If they swap it with an adult wristband to try and get served alcohol they, and their parents and any siblings may be expelled from the event and given a life ban.  

THE GREETERS GATE

Just inside the event boundary fence you’ll find the Greeters Gate.  Leave your vehicle beside the road there and prepare to be greeted. No greeting experience is ever the same, all we can say is go with the flow of it.  If you’re not a hugger - and that’s fine - just let people know up front.

THE TRAFFIC CHECKPOINTS AND PARKING AT YOUR CAMPSITE

Cars and pedestrians are a dangerous mix.  Our Tutu Traffic Crew will direct you to your camping area. If you have a Theme Camp Traffic Pass, have it ready to show them. Drive within the 8kph limit.  

LEAVING THE EVENT EARLY (AND COMING  BACK AGAIN)

If you need to get away before Monday or do a run back to Perth or Kulin, let the Traffic Crew know when you first come in through their Checkpoints.  They might suggest you leave your vehicle near the gate to make it easier to come and go.  If, during the event, you leave and reenter the site with your vehicle there is a standard $20 fee, which may be waived where there are medical or other exceptional reasons.  If you need to leave early contact the Event Managers (via the Rangers) and let them know.  Don’t just drive out without checking out first.

PARK AND SET UP YOUR CAMP

When you’ve found your camping location park your vehicle either in its permanent location, or at least well off the road.  If you leave your vehicle parked unattended and blocking our roads we will move it.  If you are driving through an already crowded area of tents use a ‘spotter’, someone walking beside your vehicle. Park your vehicle so it’s easy to drive out again, especially if you are leaving earlier than the people around you.  ONCE you park your vehicle you should NOT move it again until you leave the Event.  You are NOT permitted to use your vehicle to drive around the Event site during the event.

If there is a slope, park across the slope and leave the area in front and behind the vehicle clear of tents.  Leave a manual vehicle in gear, or an automatic in park mode, firmly apply your parking brake and put a chock on at least two wheels.  If you have a caravan or camper trailer, chock two of those wheels as well.  If you know your vehicle drips oil, put a large piece of weighted cardboard under it.

If you set up a tent or marquee use the most massive pegs or stakes you can find (and hammer for the rock hard ground).  Cap the ends of any pegs or stakes, and ensure that guy ropes don’t extend into roadways.  Put some lights on the ropes so you can see them at night.  If you are camping in the Theme Camps area be aware that electrical and water services may be located underground and seek advice from your Theme Camp Lead before you puncture something or explode yourself.

DO’S AND DON’TS IN THE GENERAL CAMPING AREA

• DO NOT encroach on or block the roads
• No open fires. No burn barrels.
• Gas Cookers are ok, but must be located at least 3m away from tents or awnings
• There is no power laid on in the General Camping Area
• If you have children the Southern end of the Oval is usually quieter
• If you have a generator DO NOT let the exhaust face a tent, and consider your neighbours
• DO NOT pour ANY waste water on the ground, do not bury your waste.  Take it ALL home.
• DO introduce yourself to your neighbours

If you’ve been approved to camp in the Theme Camps area, read the Theme Camps Survival Guide and follow the directions and advice of your Theme Camp Lead.

Blaze basics

THE WTF GUIDE

Your guide to the ‘what, where and when’ of the Blazing Swan Event is the “Where’s The Fun” guide.  Inside you’ll find

• Descriptions of all the Theme Camps and Art Works and where to find them
• Descriptions of all the activities, workshops and performances and where and when to join them
• Where to find all the other things, including emergency equipment, toilets, Event Headquarters, the Medical Centre and the Emergency Exits and Muster Points

You will find the latest copy of the WTF Guide on our Website.  It might be the one we wrote for last year’s Blazing Swan Event, or the one we’re writing for the upcoming Event.  In either case it will contain all the most up to date information that will fill in any gaps in the Survival Guide

ICE

We believe that being able to bring - and keep - your food fresh is important to everyone’s health and enjoyment of the Event.  Ice can be pre-purchased and will be available for pick up at designated times onsite each day.

PORTALOOS

We have a mix of permanent and temporary toilets located around the site. They’re serviced daily, but if one’s faulty pass a message on to our Event Management team.  Use ONLY single ply toilet paper, and ABSOLUTELY NO wet wipes, sanitary products or waste water from your camp.  You’ll be taking all those home with you.  There are disabled accessible toilets on site.

SHOWERS

There are cold showers on site.  We recommend saving water (because it is very limited) by starting with a very quick wet down.  Turn the water off and lather up, and then have a quick rinse.  If you’re using wet wipes make sure you take them home with you.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Each year Blazing Swan approves a group of photographers with identifiable lanyards to take ‘official’ photos of the Event. They are required to obtain your consent if you feature in any photo they take. We expect you to follow the same protocol . If you feel that any photographer is being intrusive and not respecting the rule about obtaining consent, we recommend that you ask them politely to stop and delete any photos they might have already taken. If that doesn’t work, you can report this to a Ranger, the Consent Crew, or a Consent Ally.

DRONES & OTHER BANNED OR RESTRICTED THINGS

Only pre-approved Drones and Lasers are allowed on site.  Open fires and fire barrels are strictly banned in the General Camping Area, and only operated elsewhere where pre-approval has been obtained.  Fire Tribe Theme Camp invites any fire performers to come and use their space - please don’t practice outside of that area. Only pre-approved Assistance Animals are allowed on site - don’t bring your pets.  It’s a condition of entry that all ticket holders must have read and understood the Event Attendance and Ticket Terms & Conditions.  There are things that can lead to expulsion from the event.

CHILDREN

Children are very welcome at the Event, and Theme Camps are encouraged to offer Child specific spaces and activities.  During the Event children must be under the effective supervision of their parent or legal guardian at all times and there is no child care facility on site.   Lost children will trigger the lost child protocol which will involve shutting down the entire site until the child is found.  Children will be given a distinctive wristband which must be worn at all times, and all Theme Camps are under strict instructions not to allow children to consume alcohol.  All ticket holders must acknowledge that they have read and understood the Event Attendance and Ticket Terms & Conditions.  We STRONGLY recommend you pay particular attention to clauses which relate to children and expulsion from the event.

MUTANT VEHICLES

Mutant Vehicles are something in between an Artwork and a Theme Camp on wheels, and at the same time something quite unique.  Mutant Vehicles can ONLY be operated by people licensed by Blazing Swan and must remain within the speed limit.   Some mutant vehicles can carry passengers who should wait for the vehicle to come to a complete halt before they get on or off.  Passengers on a mutant vehicle must ALWAYS obey the instructions of the vehicle operator and crew.

LOST & FOUND

You can hand in found ‘lost’ items at our Centre Kiosk - and hopefully also find your lost items there.  Help us by labelling the gear you want to keep, and especially any valuables.  Stick a label on the back of your phone - ideally with someone else’s phone number.  But even your own phone number is useful when it comes to identifying who owns what.  A photo of your valuable clothing or favourite mug is invaluable when it comes to getting people’s gear back to them. .  

Blaze volunteers and contractors

GATE CREW

The Gate Crew checks-in your ticket and you and your gear.  Please be super-patient here.  Have your ticket ready and please follow all the instructions the Gate Crew gives you.  Stay in your vehicle.

GREETERS

The Greeters Gate is where you switch on your Blaze.  Our Greeters Crew are there to help you across the threshold, welcoming home new and old Blazers. You’ll be brought up to speed on the latest news and introduced again - or afresh - to the 11 Principles along with other words of wisdom and encouragement.  Go with the flow at the Greeters Gate, every welcome is unique.  If you’re not a hugger let the Greeters know.  As the Greeters will tell you, we’re all about consent at Blazing Swan.

TRAFFIC CREW

The Legends of Traffic help safely guide vehicles into the event and campgrounds and give participants handy tips on safe camping and vehicle parking.  You will encounter at least one traffic checkpoint (possibly two or more) as you make your way to your campsite.  Please drive slowly and be prepared to stop at each checkpoint.  Let the traffic crew on duty know where you're headed and listen to their advice on how to get there safely. If you have a Theme Camp pass please be prepared to show it to the Traffic Crew, but otherwise leave it on your dashboard for the duration of the Event.

RANGERS

The Jilakin Rock Rangers are Blazing Swan volunteers who can help you find solutions to problems that you can’t immediately resolve yourself. Rangers help preserve community welfare, safety and quality of experience and uphold the 11 Principles of Blazing Swan. Empathic surfers on the edge of chaos, Rangers rise out of the dust when needed and recede when things can be left on their own. Available 24/7 to support our community, Ranger HQ will be clearly marked on the map in the current WTF Guide.

CONSENT

Need support for a Consent-related matter? Find our khaki clad Jilakin Rock Rangers or pink shirted Consent Crew. Also look out for Blaze's consent allies, who can be spotted wearing sexy pink lanyards.

Consent Crew (Education & Culture)
You’ll find the Consent Crew roaming around Jilakin Rock City and providing info on Consent to those who ask. They are a friendly bunch with a penchant for pink, who are helping foster a culture of Consent at the event and beyond.

Consent Allies

Supporting the Consent Crew are our Consent Allies, who offer a friendly face to participants who might need one. A temporary human "safety house" who can help you seek help from the Consent Crew or a Ranger if you need one.

Consent Response

Should the need arise, our Consent Response team is available to provide victim advocacy and support.

MOOP TROUPE

When they’re not ensuring that you have left the site absolutely spotless when you leave, the MOOP Troupe will be out and about dispensing advice on how to have a MOOP-free fun time.

BANDAGE BRIGADE, MEDICAL CONTRACTORS and AMBULANCE

We hope you don’t need them, but we’re all glad they’re there.  Fix up those things you can fix up yourself, bring the rest to our Medical Clinic.  There you’ll find professional level care provided by Critical Care Paramedics, Paramedics, Medics and Blazing Swan First Aid Volunteers (the Bandage Brigade). A doctor is on call for phone support 24/7.

In a medical emergency shout “Medical Emergency!” and call for support on a UHF Radio (Rangers and Theme Camps always have them) or dial 000 AND send a runner to the Medical Clinic.

St. John Ambulance will provide 24/7 support to move patients to hospital if needed, and we have the backup of the Royal Flying Doctor Service in the event of a critical emergency.  We recommend checking if you are covered for the cost of using a Western Australian ambulance.

FIRE CONTRACTORS

They’ll  be out and about dispensing advice on fire safety, checking that fire access roads are kept clear and - of course - responding to any emergencies.  If a fire breaks out, shout “Fire Fire Fire!” Call for support on a UHF radio or dial 000 or send a runner to find the nearest Ranger or Theme Camp with a radio.  Get other people involved in getting people out of tents and vehicles and AWAY from the fire. Start fighting the fire if you have equipment and training, and post someone on the nearest road(s) to direct the fire trucks when they arrive.

EVENT MAINTENANCE and MANAGEMENT

Event Headquarters will be clearly signposted and staffed 24 hours a day for the duration of the Event.  Event Headquarters are not a walk-up inquiry service, if you have questions you should check out the WTF Guide, and if you can’t find the answer there, check in with a Ranger, Centre Kiosk or a Theme Camp Manager.

SECURITY CONTRACTORS and POLICE

Crowd security contractors will be on site during the event, and police have free access to the site and will conduct patrols.  Blazing Swan has always maintained good relations with the local police, we want to keep it that way.

ACCESSIBILITY TEAM

Blazing Swan’s Accessibility Team works with people with disabilities and mobility issues to ensure that everybody at our Event has the opportunity to make it their best possible experience.  

DEPT of PUBLIC WORKS (DPW), and HOUSE

The DPW built this city. They also have a continuing role during the event making sure the water and the electricity flow and that things that are meant to be upright stay that way.  After the event they’re responsible for taking everything down and packing it all away.  The DPW are here first, here longest and here last.  Along with the House Crew who make sure the DPW, and all our volunteers are looked after.

ICE TEAM

The Ice Team are our most chilled volunteers. They’re the custodians of the Blazing Swan Ice Mountain and distribute it daily to Event participants who’ve put in a pre-order (see Website).  No sales on the Playa!

AND MANY INDIVIDUAL VOLUNTEERS - THANK YOU TO EVERYONE !

Security, Health and Safety

STAY SECURE

Blazing Swan has a zero tolerance approach to theft, assault and consent violations.  Anyone who steals from a person or assaults a person  or violates the consent of a person steals, assaults and violates ALL of us.

If you see it, call it out (loudly!) and point, report it to a Ranger, Theme Camp Manager or Event Headquarters.  Stop it in its tracks.  We will call the police and won’t hesitate to expel anyone from the Event found to be in violation of the Event Attendance Terms & Conditions.  We can and will apply lifetime bans.  We WILL call the police if a crime is suspected.

We recommend that you get to know your camping neighbours.  Lock your valuables and medication in your car and leave the key with someone reliable.  Record the details of your valuables and label them and your clothes.  If you see someone somewhere where they shouldn’t be or doing something they shouldn’t be doing, feel free to film or photograph them.  You aren’t required in those cases to get their consent!

STAY HEALTHY

Look after yourself.  Look after your friends and neighbours, and let them look after you.  The commonest cause of distress at the Event is heat, cold, lack of food, lack of hydration, and lack of sleep.  Once you reach the stage where you’re affected by any of these you probably aren’t going to be in a condition to know what’s going on or look after yourself - so make sure you all look out for each other.  Keep snacks handy in your camp, carry water with you, dress appropriately (for the weather!) and wear a hat when it’s hot and a beanie when it’s not.  Use earplugs to catch up on sleep whenever you can.

Look after your food prep space.  Food poisoning could wipe you out for days. Keep your food preparation spaces and eating utensils clean, and food scraps securely bagged ready to take home with you. Cook and freeze meals before you arrive, eat the fresh food first and save the cans of beans for Tuesday!

If you go the full distance you’re going to be at Blaze for six entire days.  If you’re partying hard and drinking alcohol, that's a lot of party and a lot of alcohol. Consider pacing yourself or taking a break - try and fit some sleep into your busy schedule, and some food and water.  When you’re out partying, take on board some food beforehand.  All Theme Camp venues offering alcohol are required to offer non-alcoholic refreshment as well, so don’t hesitate to ask.  

Remember the number one Burning Man piece of advice, “Piss Clear”.  If it’s clear, you’re drinking enough water.  If not, keep sipping on your water bottle.

SMOKING

A gentle reminder that smoking is prohibited in all public indoor spaces in Western Australia.  That’s any public space with a roof and enclosed on more than 50% of the sides.  People who run these spaces are entitled - in fact required - to ask you to stop smoking or leave.  Have your puff outside, and always remember wherever you are and whoever you are with, smoking and vaping is also an issue of consent. It’s just good manners to check with the person you’re with before you light up or spark up.

CONSENT, CONSENT, CONSENT!

CONSENT MATTERS! It is not only a Principle, but a rule and an absolute requirement of your attendance at this event. Remember, consent is not just about sex – It extends not only to people’s bodies, but their belongings & art. Consent is ALWAYS COHERENT & ENTHUSIASTIC. Consent can be revoked at ANY TIME. An intoxicated or altered individual cannot give consent. Don’t make assumptions about consent. If you don’t know – ask and what for a HELL YES! Speak up - Be an ally and say something or intervene if you witness something sketchy. Keep the conversation going and talk to your campmates about consent!

Need support? Find our khaki clad Jilakin Rock Rangers or pink shirted Consent Crew. Also look out for Blaze's consent allies, who can be spotted wearing sexy pink lanyards.

HAZARDS & PRESENTATIONS

Consider this list. Hot and cold weather, lightning, hail, flooding, dust, high winds, snakes, scorpions, millipedes, ants, bees, double-gees (caltrop), exhaustion, dehydration, hyperthermia, hypothermia, malnutrition, electrocution, fire, food poisoning, alcohol poisoning, broken glass, scalds, burns, sexually transmitted diseases, falls from height, drowning, unintended substance ingestion or overdose, vehicle accidents, gastric and respiratory disease, mental confusion, distress, disease, and sprains and broken limbs.

Be aware that a lot of these situations or conditions affect people’s judgement, so they may be relying on you to keep them alive, just as you’ll be counting on other people to do that for you.  Remember that anyone who is dazed and confused or non-responsive IS a medical emergency.  DO NOT leave them to ‘sleep it off’.  

FIRST AID

Even if Blazing Swan didn’t have a Principle called Radical Self Reliance we’d be encouraging everyone who comes in a vehicle to the Event to bring a first aid kit with them and know how to use it.  Any first aid kit which retails for around $40 would be satisfactory, but the ones in that price range designed for vehicles are excellent.  Keep it in your car year round.  Add in some rehydration sachets, antiseptic cream, masks, NON-LATEX gloves, a couple of ‘space blankets’ (around $4 each), a torch, some RAT tests and some sunscreen and insect repellant and you have covered off most of your camping first aid requirements.

First Aid is for treating minor wounds and ailments. It’s also for keeping someone alive until they can receive professional help.  If that’s what you’re doing, don’t forget to call for help, or arrange for someone to do that for you.  

MEDICAL AND AMBULANCE SERVICES

Blazing Swan has a mix of medical contractors, medical volunteers (the Bandage Brigade) and St John Ambulance volunteers onsite with their equipment during the event.  If you have a medical emergency you need to contact or get yourself to these people.  The Medical Clinic is always set up close to the building at the North end of the Racetrack/Oval.  Check the map in the WTF Guide.

In a medical emergency shout “Medical Emergency!” at the top of your voice and call for support on a UHF Radio (Rangers and Theme Camps always have them) or dial 000 AND send a runner to the Medical Clinic.   Shouting “Medic” really only works in the movies.

If you need to attend the Medical Clinic, or if you're unsure if you should attend the Medical Clinic, then you should attend the Medical Clinic.  They’d rather see you alive (sooner) than dead (later).

Ambulances are on standby to evacuate critically ill people to hospital.  This will usually be at your expense if you don’t have Ambulance cover.  Check your health fund or your Country Ambulance Service cover. 

FIRE AND OTHER EMERGENCIES, AND EVACUATION

When you set up camp, note the location of the nearest Event supplied fire extinguisher.  If you have your own fire extinguisher make sure that everyone in your camp knows where it is and how to operate it.  

If a fire breaks out, shout “Fire Fire Fire!” Call for support on a UHF radio or dial 000 or send a runner to find the nearest Ranger or Theme Camp with a radio.  Get other people involved in getting people out of tents and vehicles and AWAY from the fire. Start fighting the fire if you have equipment and training, and post someone on the nearest road(s) to direct the fire trucks when they arrive.

When moving people away from a fire check every tent and vehicle. Both during the night and day there may be people sleeping with earplugs or not in a position to respond.  Move people well away from the fire and keep them off the roads that might be used by emergency vehicles.  The priority is moving people out of danger - vehicles, tents and material goods can be replaced, lives can not.

IF an Event wide evacuation is called for any reason, follow the instructions of Blazing Swan volunteers and contractors and any Emergency Services personnel.  If you are asked to walk out, make sure you (and particularly children) have appropriate clothes and footwear.  Make note of the Emergency Muster areas on the map in the WTF Guide.  If you are asked to drive out, do not exceed the speed limit and obey the directions of Blazing Swan volunteers and contractors.  If you are driving out DO NOT park your vehicle on the Tin Horse Highway, keep moving until you reach Kulin, Corrigin or Lake Grace.  Check in with social media and ‘mark yourself safe’.

Environmental sustainability

LEAVE NO TRACE (LNT)

The Blazing Swan Principle of Leave No Trace says: “Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.”

Leave No Trace is about more more than just picking up litter. It is about:

• Leaving no trace in the forests by using sustainable & recycled products,
• Leaving no trace in the oceans by avoiding single-use plastic products,
• Leaving no trace in the atmosphere by reducing our carbon footprints,
• Leaving no trace on the ground by removing litter and leaving habitats undisturbed.

That’s all a big call, but it only requires these small steps:

• Care: Choose products with their waste potential in mind and extend the life of products and materials by using them wisely,
• Share: Borrow (and respect) what we can from others. Share what we can with others,
• Repair: Fix what we can, if we can do it safely,
• Reduce: Use only what we really need, and
• Return: Unwanted packaging to be recycled, and unwanted goods to the free or $ market.

MATTER OUT OF PLACE - MOOP

What is MOOP?  Anything we usually regard as garbage, rubbish or unwanted is MOOP.  A pile of rocks may not be trash, but if it doesn’t belong in that spot, It’s MOOP.  Feathers and seeds and plants are natural products - but if they’ve been brought in from somewhere else, they’re MOOP.

MOOP is just one part of the bigger picture of Environmental Sustainability, but it’s the one part that’s most in your face at Blaze. Don’t let MOOP happen - unwrap things before you bring them to Blaze, don’t drop rubbish on the ground and don’t let it blow away from your camp. Don’t bring things to the Event that leave MOOP behind.  Leave the fraying nylon canvas, artificial turf, boas, glitter, styrofoam and confetti at home.

If you see MOOP, pick it up. Contain it in a secure bin that won’t tip over.  If you smoke, carry a small tin to contain your butts. Don’t get hung up about whose MOOP it is - once it’s MOOP it belongs to everyone. But sure, educate your neighbour if they’re not up to speed with their anti-MOOP measures.  Every day, and at the end of the Event when you pack away your gear, have a MOOP sweep around where you’re based.  And when it’s all over, take ALL your MOOP, securely packed, ALL the way home with you.

GREY WATER

Grey water is water that has been used for cooking, washing, dishwashing or bathing and contains soap, detergent, food scraps or food residue.

Grey water is a special version of MOOP because it’s so tempting to believe it’s not.  Why not pour it on the ground or pour it down the toilets?  Don’t.  Altogether we make over 25,000 litres of grey water at Blaze.  Pouring that on the ground will create a stinking toxic mess.  And don’t even think about putting it down the toilets - we’re already trucking over 100,000 litres of sewage out to small town processing facilities all across the Wheatbelt that barely cope as it is.

Just like any MOOP, you take your grey water home with you.  Bring one or two empty 15/20 litre (ex-honey or ex-detergent) containers for each person in your group.  You can pick these up for free or a dollar or two on the internet. Bring a funnel as well and you’re set.  When you get home, dump the contents down your toilet, rinse the container and put them aside for next year.  

BIOSECURITY

The Blazing Swan Event is held on a working cropping and livestock farm that is also located in an area of considerable ecological importance.  If you are coming from overseas ensure that any camping gear and footwear used while camping overseas is thoroughly cleaned of all dirt and seeds.  All participants at the Event site should avoid close contact with any native animal or livestock on or around the Event site, and feeding these animals is strictly forbidden.  Entry on to the farmland around the Event site is illegal, except in the case that an Emergency Evacuation is declared.

Please do not bring ANY live plants or dried plants with seed pods to the Event.  Do not bury your food scraps - you must take all food waste home with you and dispose of it there.

POOP & PEE

Just don’t do it, don’t even think about doing it, on the ground or in the bush.  Just don’t.  Our toilets are amazing.  Use them.  They’re regularly cleaned.  Do your bit to keep them clean and everyone has a good time.  If a toilet is faulty get word through to Event Headquarters (Rangers and Theme Camps have radios).  

Get away and stay in touch

DEPARTURE

The official close of the Event is noon on the Tuesday after Easter.  People starting work on Tuesday will begin departing Monday.  If you are driving out early please stay under the speed limit and look out for pedestrians who will have got used to having the roads to themselves.  Others will begin to pack down their camps on Monday getting ready for an early departure on Tuesday.  A MOOP sweep to clean up your camp area is an essential part of your pack down.

All participants should leave the site by Tuesday noon to allow the packdown to commence.  All of the advice about preparing to come to the Blaze holds good as you contemplate your departure, with these extra thoughts:

• Make sure that the designated driver is well-rested and fit to drive.
• Take time to secure and tie down your vehicle loads.
• Make sure the lids on your grey water containers are secure
• DO NOT dump your rubbish in Kulin.  If you see a skip bin there, or a street bin it’s not there for YOUR rubbish.
  

ADJUSTMENT

Blaze participants often report feeling exhausted and depressed for up to two to three weeks after the Event.  It has a name, the ‘Post Blaze Blues’.  The Blaze is an intense experience, and regular existence - especially if you’ve been unsatisfied with aspects of it - struggles to compare with it.  The best advice gathered over the years is for you to rest, after all, you’re likely exhausted after six days of partying.  Spend time with nature and spend time with people.  And if you have an impulse to make a change in your life, or try something new, explore that impulse in conversation with yourself and friends.

STAY IN TOUCH

Blazing Swan is not just an Event, or an Association.  It is a community that exists all around Western Australia all year round.  It’s a community that is part of a worldwide community. Check out these links and explore more of your local Burn and our neighbours

• The Blazing Swan website
• Kiwiburn website
• Afrikaburn website
• Modifyre (Queensland) website

KEEP BLAZING WITH US

The Blaze goes on.  The Recombobulation Event, an evening music/dance party is traditionally scheduled around the time the post-Blaze blues are biting deepest, along with an informal daytime beach picnic at Fremantle’s South Beach.  Keep an eye out also for Theme Camps running fundraisers. Bringing a Theme Camp to Blazing Swan each year can be a massive undertaking and you can support them while having a great time, catching up with friends and experiencing a bit of that Blaze magic.

VOLUNTEER WITH US

Blazing Swan recruits over 300 volunteers to help run the Event each year.  Behind the scenes there are around 60 volunteers who keep Blazing Swan running all year long.  The work they do includes planning next year’s Event, running smaller events during the year (a great opportunity to learn the ropes before stepping up into a senior role at the big event), and doing all the things that keep the Association and the community going.

People with expertise or an interest in design, administration, construction, technology, communications, writing or planning and ‘helping out’ are very welcome to make inquiries via the volunteer page on the Blazing Swan website.

BECOME A MEMBER OF THE BLAZING SWAN ASSOCIATION

Blazing Swan is a membership based not-for-profit Incorporated Association.  The Members give direction to the Association via resolutions at General Meetings. The Members elect some of their number to sit on a Committee that carries out the day to day running of the Association, with the support of 60 year round volunteers and over 300 more recruited for the Event each year.  

Applications for membership can be made to the Committee by persons who have a commitment to the principles and activities of Blazing Swan who have been nominated by an existing member.  An annual fee (currently $50 for adults) is payable.  Non-voting membership is also available to children aged 12 and over.  The membership application form is available on the Blazing Swan website.

Glossary

Having special words, even your own language, encourages group identity and secures group culture.   The Burner culture and community is no different to many others in this respect.  It’s important, however, to remember the principle of RADICAL INCLUSION - “We welcome the stranger”.  One way we make strangers is by keeping to ourselves something we know and they don’t. One way we turn strangers into friends is by sharing our knowledge, and our language.

Blazer / Burner: A member of our community.  Someone who might have been to our Event, or worked with us, or been a member of our Association, or just someone sympathetic to our ideals and activities.

Burgin: A first time attendee at the Blazing Swan Event.

DMT: Department of Mutant Transport. The volunteer team who are responsible for licensing Mutant Vehicles that operate at the Event, as well as licensing the people who are permitted to drive them.

DPW: Department of Public Works. The volunteer team that construct and maintain the facilities at the Event site.

Effigy, Swan or sometimes the Duck: The giant artwork which is burned (usually) on the Saturday evening.

Jilakin Rock City.  The physical manifestation of the Event and community.  The term encompasses all the roads and structures, services, people, activities that spring up for a few weeks at Jilakin Rock each Easter.  It’s a nod to the term, ‘Black Rock City’ used to describe the Burning Man event in Nevada.

Mutant Vehicle.  A mutant vehicle is something between an Artwork and a Theme Camp on wheels, and at the same time something quite unique.  

Playa: The Event or Event Site.  Not strictly geologically correct, but carried over from the Burning Man event which is held on a dry salt lake bed.

Playa Name: A personal alias you might adopt (or are given) at a Blaze or Burning Man event.

Sound Camp: A Theme Camp involved in music performance.  Generally located up near Cave Rock, facing the Lake.

Temple: An artwork/memorial usually burned on Sunday evening. Event participants are invited to visit the Temple for quiet contemplation, and to leave mementos or inscriptions that will be burned along with the Temple.  The Temple Burn is traditionally conducted in silence,

Theme Camp: A group of participants who come together to present a gift to the community, of performance, art, activity, sustenance or space - or any combination of these.  Theme Camps are supported by Blazing Swan Inc. and allocated space on the Event site to operate, but they are their own ‘thing’.  Each Theme Camp is required to have a Lead who is responsible for its members, its structures and operations, and for the safety of participants coming into their space.

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