Pump Up the Vols! 

Ahhhhh… Can you believe we are but weeks away?! It’s going to be here before you know it.

As ever there are lots of little logistical things that we’re going be asking of you in the coming weeks and especially giving you more and more opportunity to get involved.

Remember, at Nest there are only participants. There are no observers. We don’t sit on the sidelines. Even the shyest of Nestlings are no wall flowers. We all get involved. And if you aren’t already contributing directly to the event, here’s your chance!! Newlings, Oldies and everyone in between. All are welcome to share their gifts.

Now, you might be noticing a theme over the last few editions of Nest News and that is intentional. We want yo to see and experience the amount of work, the detail that goes in to the magic – all year round – gifted to you all by our Core Team. it’s not the fairies who come and do it for you. Setting up our Home, in our Glade ready for you all to arrive and Nest the heck out of Spring takes a very lot of effort.

Last week we heard from our lovely Edge of Chaos Leader, Sam. This week we have Amanda Connolly, our Chief Cat Herder to impart how you can get more involved!

And if you haven’t yet signed up for membership, remember we are limiting Memberships this year. if you want one, you need to get it NOW!

Contents for this week 

• London Commune
• Vol me up right nice!

Community 

So your Nestly involvement might start this Saturday with our next London COMMUNITY MEETING!!!

Details are rrrrlllyyy simple: Queen of Hoxton, 14 April 2018 at 14:00!

If you’re not a Facebook fan and aren’t on the group or Community Meeting event page, you can email our Community Ambassador Queen Nina Thunder to RSVP.

And now… over to Amanda!

~ Siren ~

Recruiting!!! 

Hey hey, lovely Nestlings! So it’s just under 10 weeks until we are back in our spiritual home, sharing love, laughs and whatever else floats your Nestling boats (or not, depending on the Edge of Chaos!) in what will obviously be our best year yet.
This is all entirely dependent on having folks that add to our collective experience. This is what we really need right now.

As is always the way with community events such as ours, we have some very busy people amongst our key contributors and some of our leads have needed to take a step back. So this means we have some holes we need to plug (calm down, Camp Crumpet!!). with the support of our lovely core team for you of course.

We’re now entering the critical run up to Nest and Volunteers are needed now more than ever. If you have some time on your hands over the next 10 weeks and realise it’s about time you did that participation stuff that we are always droning on about, take a look at our list of needs and drop us a line at Vols@burningnest.org.uk to get involved (well its rude not to right!).

• DPW co lead
• Ranger lead
• Co Ambassador for our Community Folks
• Greeter Lead
• Volunteer Lounge lead
• Info booth lead
• Procurement lead
• Theme Camp Liaison
• Glamorous Assistant of Getting Shit Done (administrative support)

CHAOS!! (or not)

Hello my lovelies, and welcome to the sunshine!  Aren’t we all glad it’s back? We’ve got a special comms from our Edge of Chaos leader Sam today, but a couple of things here before you go…

Now, because of the Health and Safety aspect to Nest on our new site we are limiting Memberships this year. And now, we only have 130 left!!! if you haven’t got yours, you need to get it NOW!

Starting with the Edge of Chaos team below, we are also starting to ramp up for Volunteering, so if there’s something you would like to do, or want to find out more, you can via the website. 

And that’s it from your Siren. I’ll hand over to Sam!

Remember if you misplace this email, you can find everything on the Nest News page of the Nest website. We also stay in touch through the Burning Nest Facebook group.

Contents for this week 

• Pay attention, you’re at the Edge of Chaos

Sam

All of the themes!

As promised from last week’s mail-out, we’re ramping up your news bulletins in the final stretch to Nest.

In addition to our next site visit on Sunday, there are a few key things following on from last week, so pay close attention!

Remember if you misplace this email, you can find everything on the Nest News page of the Nest website. We also stay in touch through the Burning Nest Facebook group.

Contents for this week 

• Site-tastic
• Art Dates
• You’re cabin me on
• Memebership-iddy-do-dah 

Site Visit #2 

Following the success of the visits in late February, we’re hosting another crew and community site visit on Sunday 25 March.

This is a fantastic opportunity to meet the Nestlings, get a few key people from your theme camp, your installation and your free camping crew together to scope out the site. Some of the core team (Leads from DPW, Edge of Chaos, Community Embassy) will be joining us, so you can ask questions as you go.

Pro tip: this is also a good event to bring new folks who you think would make banging good Nestlings. If you would like to come, do RSVP via the Facebook Event Page ordrop Sam an email.

Art Dates Updates 

We’ve extended the deadline for the Temple and Effigy design. This is to ensure that everyone who has expressed an interest has sufficient time to get these to the Nest Art Team. If you’ve already submitted something and want to resubmit, or submit another idea, or your first idea – you’ve now got til 29 March. You can submit via this handy online form!  

Art Grant Second Cycle
Second cycle for Art Grants up to £800 is open and submission deadline is 25 April. All detail can be found on the Nest website. 

We now also have a Nest Arts Tech Wiki! It’s a wondrous place full of advice and resources relating to making art for Nest.  It is a work in progress, but will be added to by our Artist Tech Support Lead, as well as anybody who has information to add that they think will help out Nestlings bringing art. Get involved!

Cabinicious! 

Now we turn our attention to your home during the Burn, Theme Cabins! So what is a Theme Cabin? According to Burning Man it’s a ‘camp site that artistically represents an idea ro concept and is designed to create an interactive experience for participants’. At Nest we believe they’re an opportunity for experimentation and community living, for you to channel your radical self-expression, in particular how Cabins might tie into our theme: Portals of the Multiverse!

Last week we promised all you Cabin Leads that we would be opening Theme Camp registration very soon. And here it is!Do try to get as much of this info to us as soon as possible. It will help us allocate you the spot that you want in the Glade and support you with everything you’ll need, like power.

We can also help by giving you a shout out on Nest news to attract any prospective Cabin-mates and visitors who might want to join in with your special cabin experience. Nothing like getting everyone excited for what will be in our Nest!

Before you fill out the form, do make sure you read up on Theme Cabins on the Burning Nest website.

Memberships! 

Finally, another quick round up on memberships. We are delighted that we have now had almost three quarters of our membership allocation purchased and so many Nestlings, old and new will be participating in what might be the Best Nest Yet.

We do have to restrict numbers for insurance purposes, so if you’re still on the (trash)fence about coming, better make a decision soon – and remember you can transfer your ticket to anyone that has a Burner Bio when the transfer window opens on 2 April.

I mean, who would want to miss out?!

Don’t forget if you delete this by accident, ALL the info will be on the NEST NEWS page on the Burning Nest website and keep checking back to get the most up to date info there at any moment.

HAPPY FRIDAY! 

~ Siren ~

Nest Central

It’s finally Spring!!!  

YAY! The blossoms are coming out on the trees and the daffodils are poking their jolly yellow heads into the murky sunshine. Thank the Goddess!  This can only mean one thing, however… this is the season for NEST! Can you believe it’s less than four months away…?!

If you haven’t got your shit together yet, don’t worry – there’s still time and this week’s Nest News will give you all you need to know about sorting your Membership and transfers.  We’ve also got a special write up from Paul from DPW on what we’re planning for the site!

Remember if you misplace this email, you can find everything on the Nest News page of the Nest website. We also stay in touch through the Burning Nest Facebook group, where in due course you’ll be able to find info on things like THEME CABINS!

Contents for this week 

• Shipping times
• Site-tastic

Date data 

As we approach show time, there are a lot of dates to be aware of, including key Membership purchase dates and transfer window.

The easiest way is to list everything in one handy breakdown over the next couple of months.

Further information and other key dates will be released closer to the Nest, but for the time being this is what you need to know, in chronological order:

Art Collaboration Workshop 
17 March in London. Full details available on the Facebook Event. Any enquiries, or if you want to share your stories of making art at Burns, or to RSVP, drop an email to the Mysterious Mr Jones nsoudry@gmail.com

Temple and Effigy Design 
Deadline via this handy online form: 19 March

Key Membership Dates
Early Bird Membership Purchase CLOSES Sunday 1 April (if there are any left by end of March!). Early Bird will automatically switch to Standard No Bird on Monday 2 April, so if you want an Early Bird, you need to move quickly.

For those of us who are feeling flush this spring, please consider gifting a little extra and become one of our Starship or Flagship Members. At £135 and £150 respectively, these memberships still give incredible value for what it is to be at Nest and you get the FREE BONUS PRIZE of that lovely warm glow, knowing that your contributions will really make a huge co-creating difference to Nest.

Membership Transfer Window 
This OPENS 10am Monday 2 April to transfer your membership to someone else on a self-service basis. Your transferee MUST have a Burner Bio. You will not be able to transfer your membership without both of you having one, so get yourselves organised now!

Community Meeting
Our next London Community meeting is scheduled for 14 April. Formal event info is available on Facebook, but for you anti-social media peeps, we will confirm timings and address in the next Nest News.

Art Grant Second Cycle
Second cycle for Art Grants up to £800 is open and submission deadline is 25 April. All detail can be found on the Nest website. 

Starting this week and continuing over the next three months, we will have guest spots from each of our Community Leaders so you can all see how bloody hard we work at this and maybe decide that you’d quite like to get involved yourselves. Oh yes, volunteering will start in earnest soon, Nestlings!

So, I’m handing over to Paul now who has a lovely write up on the site following the Community visit – please pay attention, Cabin Leads, as you will need this info to complete your Theme Cabin registration, which will be opening VERY SOON. Make sure you get all your little ducks in a row for that!

Sunny love

~ Siren ~

Ex-site-ing! 

Hello everyone! I’m Paul Phare and i’m your lead for the Department of Public Works (DPW) at Nest this year.

DPW is all about providing infrastructure for the festival, including power, lighting, water, waste disposal (LNT).  We also co-ordinate Build and Strike.  2018 is the second year I’ve been involved in this role, though this year will be the fifth Nest I’ve attended.

Two weekends ago, myself and the DPW team attended the Community site visit along with a lot of Nest participants, co-creators, Cabin Leads and other assorted Nestlings.

The DPW team includes Nathan (co-DPW lead), Mason (Build Lead), Xavier (Workshop Lead), Stuart (Mapping) and Charlie (Lighting Lead).  We were also joined for the visit by Tara my faithful Border Collie.  We stayed in Bristol on the Friday night and drove to site verrryyy early on Saturday morning, which some of us managed better than others, judging by this cheeky pic.

I think we can all agree, the site is absolutely stunning and the weather couldn’t have been better for the visit.  In many ways it’s very similar to the last site, with a big house, lakes and forest, but what makes this site better is that it lends itself naturally to Cabin placement.

One of the issues we had last year was circulation around the festival whereas this year it seems more obvious where things should go.  After a good wander around the site we headed back to join the Community Meeting that was being held in Bristol and reported back to everyone there.  Since the site visit Stuart has put together a very good map for us which is a useful tool in helping fine tune the placement of Cabins and help us organise the kit we need to put on an amazing festival at this exciting new location. We will be sharing this with everyone as soon as we can so you can really start to visualise this year’s Nest.

Now, over to you Nestlings: it would really help our huge task if the Cabin leads could fill out the camp registration forms within the next few weeks. What we need to know especially, and things you can start to plan for now:

– How much space you need; even a rough estimate would be great.
– What your electrical need will be – if you’re planning to be raving all night, or have spectacular light displays – we need to know as early as possible to support you.

Very pleased to be back on the Leads team and look forward to working with all the Cabin teams and DPW volunteers this year!

Paul

Don’t forget if you delete this by accident, ALL the info will be on the NEST NEWS page on the Burning Nest website and keep checking back to get the most up to date info there at any moment.

Nest Central

I was so sorry to miss the community site visit at the weekend, but i hear it all went down very well! The weather may be affecting various services but I’m staying cosy warm to bring you this installment of Nest News!

So, I’ve had a few people asking about how we communicate and keep everyone updated. Turns out we need to spread the word that all Nest comms are included on the Nest Website!! Which means if you miss any of the emails or you delete one by mistake, you can find them on the Nest News page.

Make sure you navigate your way there whenever you need to keep up to date on all things Nest. We also stay in touch through the Burning Nest Facebook group and soon will be getting you all excited on Twitter too! Ooooh!

Contents for this week – a particular focus for all you arty types:

• Effigy me!
• Granting you
• Collaboration station
• Transfer window

I’m a Burning effigy…! 

Yes yes, i’m a secret Robbie Williams fan… 

However, this one is about all you master carpenter and creators, because applications are now OPEN for Temple and Effigy designs!! You can apply via this handy online form Please get them into us by 19 March and be a phenomenally key part of what will be the best Nest yet.

Cycle Two for Art Grants!

Where else do you have the freedom to totally let your self-expression run wild, like you do in our Glade? Nowhere!! –Oh, wait…!!

Ummm… anyway, as well the Temple and Effigy, our second cycle for Art Grants are now open.

All detail can be found on the Nest website and please be sure to get your applications in by 25 April for grants of up to £800.

Inspirational Collaboration Workshopational! 

If you have ever wanted to make art for a burn but not known where to start.. If you think you don’t have the skills, or find the idea a little scary or intimidating…  If you have a project you want to make but need collaborators… If you’d like to join an existing project, or meet other people and come up with something completely new…

This is the event for you!

We’ll play some games and get creative. We’ll imagine what art can be, from the massive to the tiny, from the physical to the conceptual and beyond. We’ll have new ideas, build confidence and create collaborations. And we’ll be inspired by some great art from burns gone by.

The Workshop Sensational will be held on 17 March in London. Full details available on the Facebook Event. Any enquiries, or if you want to share your stories of making art at Burns, or to RSVP, drop an email to the Mysterious Mr Jones nsoudry@gmail.com

Last but not least… 

I can’t possibly get through a mail to you without mentioning memberships or badgering you to get one if you haven’t already! So here it is. There are a few key points… Pay close attention.

Our Low Income Low Wealth membership applications are open and we’re very pleased to have received applications! We’ve got some super new guidance on these special memberships, so make sure you read up before you apply. We’ve also got our other memberships available – those specifically for carers, support people and other key folk as part of our Inclusion and Accessibility programme. Take a look at the dedicated site page for all info on how to apply.

For everyone else who is privileged enough to opt for our regular memberships, more very important info. Super Early Bird memberships have gone and we’re now into the next tier of Early Bird. They are VERY limited. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. And in fact, once we release the next tier at the beginning of April, ALL memberships will automatically turn into No Bird, which are the most expensive. You have a month. Get yours quick!

Now, transfers… When we switch to No Bird at the beginning of April, we will open the Transfer Window. Think of it like the Premier League of Membership Transfer… If you need to transfer your ticket to anyone, for a gift or to off load your purchase you will be able to manage this yourself via Self-Transfer, provided you BOTH have a fully completed Burner Bio

Memberships Recap:

• Accessibility and Inclusion applications are OPEN
• Low Income applications are OPEN
• No Bird tier (the most expensive) will be switched on at start of April
• You only have a month left to get a discounted Membership
• Transfers will be available from beginning of April

Hurrah for 2018!!

It’s finally here! Hope you’ve seen the start of the New Year off with a bang and now your Dry/Vegan/Dull January is out of the way, we can start to hatch some plans for MAX FUN!

The nights are getting longer and Spring feels like it might be on its way, so that can only mean one thing:

We officially have less than six months til Burning Nest!

New for Nest news this week:

• Feedback on the Community Meeting
• Deadlines approaching
• The Glade
• Low Income Memberships

Commune

The Community Meeting seems so long ago now, but we were delighted with how many people came and contributed and gave feedback. Thank you so much to all those who came in person and those who interacted online.

It was wonderful to see everyone engaging with the new style of Nest and, in particular, our move into an open space instead of the purpose built cabins in Wales.  And rather beautifully, the collective decision was made that to honour where Nest began, so we will still refer to our camps as Cabins, while instead of a playa – for want of sand, really – Nest will sit in a Glade.

Which brings me nicely on to…

Art Grants!

As you should all know from previous announcements, you’ve got just over a week to go to apply for grants over £800. Deadline is 8 February, so get your finishing touches done and ready to send in!

We’ve put some videos and photos in a cloud folder for all those applying, to give you a sense of space and terrain for your events, installations and Theme Cabins. Our person who organises these things, Paul, will be in charge of Cabin planning based on your applications, so the more detail and information you can include on the application the better.

Don’t forget, our theme for 2018 is Portals of the Multiverse…

Not Just Geography

The visit to the Glade in December went very well. Even though it was drizzly and cold, we really started to get a sense of how epic our new Home is. Some pictures have been released and they’re littered through this copy of Nest News so you can get excited too!

More excitement for you with community site visit! It’s open to everyone who would like to come and see the Glade for themselves.

Date for Community Visit to the Glade is 25 February.

Please look out for Nina’s announcements on the Burning Nest Facebook Group where we will be coordinating cars and drivers and attendees.

Last but certainly not least

As you may have seen from the Burning Nest group, we’re delighted to now have Low Income/Low Wealth and other subsidised memberships available for application, so please navigate to the Memberships Page on the Nest website, where you will find all the relevant information on criteria and how to apply.

We are delighted to be able to offer Low Income/Low Wealth memberships. As a community it’s our job to support and include each other, because we believe that everyone deserves to come to Nest, regardless of income. We offer this membership on an honour basis, so please do consider whether you’re able to contribute full price to ensure that those who really need to take advantage of Low Income memberships, can.

As for everyone who fits into our standard membership bracket, there are a very very tiny number of Super Early Bird memberships left and we’re releasing our next tier of memberships in the next couple of weeks, so if you want a cheapy cheap one, you better get in there quick!

Right-o, I’m off to do a little Spring dance! See you all at the Glade Visit or at Burning Pub.

~ Siren ~

Cosy Nestlings!  

The nights have almost drawn all the way in and the Yuletide holidays are right around the corner… Our first Community Meeting for Nest 2018 is but hours away…

We’re going to be taking a break from our regular communications over the festive period so for our last proper Nest News of 2017 we’re going to leave a flavour of the season and reconnect us all with what it means to ‘Nest’.

Immediacy 

Our community is incredibly special. It’s built on the foundations of values and a set of principles we share with Burners from all corners of the world. We love how connected everyone is becoming through the facebook group – please visit to ask questions and keep in touch. It’s growing at a delightful rate, so to maintain your online safety and happiness we’ve created a set of guidelines to help you support each other in your interactions.

The other thing we’ve done is start putting all the Nest News pieces on our website, so you can refer to previous information and have everything in one place, whenever you need, immediately. Helpful, right…?

So, I’m a bit tardy with this weeks message; apologies for that. Life can get in the way and, as you know, Nest is run and created by volunteers. Which brings me nicely onto…

   …You.

Participation 

There’s lots of excitement about Nest itself already and in the New Year, we’ll be ramping up the encouragement for you all to collaborate, join in, participate and give of yourself to make this amazing event happen all over again. You’ve got a few weeks over the holidays in between mince pies to think about what that might look like.

Gifting

A lot of you have been asking about Gifting and transferring of memberships. We are pleased to announce a formal process for this is being hatched so you can manage direct transfers and gift membership.

All information will be with you as soon as it’s up and running. Please bear with us.

Our end of year traditions are synonymous with Gifting, something that we Burners inhabit naturally. So when you’re at Nest, what will you bring? Rather than MOOPy stuff, why not use this wintery break to warm your cockles with ideas of what your gift to Nest and everyone there will be. Art? Music? A camp? Workshops? Vegan bacon…? All of the above?!

Radical Self-Expression

And for you new to Burning Nest, or burning altogether, we’re radically inclusive so you will not be left out in the cold. Maybe you have some Self-Expression you want to create and contribute? Perhaps you are a Sculptor and you want to exhibit your work in a breathtaking setting? Are you the lead singer of an awesome new band and you need a free stage and a very appreciative, supportive audience? A daring choreographer, with a troupe of dancers and a penchant for fire? All are welcome and it doesn’t matter if you’ve not been before. We can’t wait to see what you’ll bring.

The incredible amount of funding raised through membership so far means we’re able to open applications for Art Grants of over £800 on 11 December. Deadline for application is 8 February. We will provide full guidance on the Art page of our website in preparation for the application start date. Get thinking now.

Radical Inclusion

Every single one of you is crucial to creating Nest; we simply cannot do it without each and every person. It is through inclusion that we will make Nest warmer and better and brighter than before.

We’re keen to share our community with a good amount of Newbie Nestlings for 2018. In particular we welcome families and we are always excited to have those who bring experiential brilliance, radical thinking and amazing hugs. So current Nestlings, do you have friends outside of our community who would love Nest as much as we do? Let’s welcome them! There are still a few Super Early Bird memberships left – the perfect way to entice new folks!

Communal Effort 

Our membership subscriptions have shown us that a lot of you are very keen for next year’s Nest. We’re so thrilled so many of you are coming to the Community Meeting in London TOMORROW and we’re even more thrilled that for the first time we have regional Community Meetings being scheduled and new Burning Pubs springing up around the country – Nest and our sister Burner events are truly becoming Home for everyone across the UK.

All of us at Nest Core are buzzing from the whole community’s early enthusiasm. We’ve got some incredible new Core Team and Event Support Team members and the organisation doesn’t rest just with us. It’s a tremendous privilege to be part of creating Nest and January will mark six months til we’re all in our Home again together. Our early Participation drive is very important – we haven’t actually got long left!

It’s time to start building our Nest once again. And that starts with all of you. <3

See you either in person or via live stream at the Community Meeting tomorrow!

Toasty love

~ Siren ~