On-Site Volunteer Opportunities

Signup here: https://signup.com/go/RKXEhDZ
Deadline: Sunday, Oct 6th

Conclave 

Conclave fire spinners get to entertain their friends, their camp and the whole burn! Strut your stuff and show us your moves as you spin fire around the Effigy before we light it. Signing up in advance of the event is not required but encouraged, so that we can get an idea of who wants to spin and be sure to allocate enough time and fuel for everyone.

Conclave fire spinners and safeties must be sober and wear natural fibers. 

White gas and fuel dumps will be provided, but bring your own breathing fuel (weather permitting).

Gate

Gate volunteers make sure that every participant has a ticket in order to enter the event. You’ll be checking IDs against a list of valid tickets and passes and giving wrist bands to people on the list. While you will be talking to humans, that doesn’t mean you have to be part of the Sunshine Squad – people going through Gate, while friendly, are usually focused on getting into the Burn, so goal-focused burners should feel comfortable signing up for this role. Gate volunteers work 2-hour shifts while the Gate is open, and Shift Leads work 4-hour shifts. 

Green Your Burn

Green Your Burn camp will be collecting recyclables this year and we need your help! Participants are encouraged to drop off empty aluminum cans for redemption, food scraps for composting, empty propane canisters for recycling, and vapes and e-cigs for recycling. Volunteers will help educate participants on what is acceptable and why, what we will be doing with the materials, and sorting materials on site. 

Greeters 

Volunteering with Greeters involves welcoming incoming Burners on their way into the event. You’ll provide a friendly face as well as valuable information for the newly arrived about where to park their car, how to find their campsite, the deets on volunteering, and the importance of the Ten Principles of Burning Man. While it does involve a significant amount of contact and engagement with other humans, volunteering with Greeters does not require being the peppiest person in Peppington! We’re looking for normal friendly people, not Stepford Burners. Greeters volunteers work 2-hour shifts while the Gate is open, and Shift Leads work 4-hour shifts. 

Leave No Trace 

Volunteering with Leave No Trace involves picking up MOOP (Matter Out Of Place), with a focus on high traffic public spaces within the burn. While all burners take responsibility for MOOP, they can’t catch everything. You’ll be provided with MOOP bags and a trash picker (a kind of long-armed arcade-claw, to keep you from having to bend over too much). While shifts are flexible and we do not expect volunteers to take the whole afternoon, we do ask that you dedicate at least 2 hours to this task.

Lighting

Help light up our cosmic city! This year we are seeking volunteers to help illuminate our new path lamps and turn them off in the morning. This is a great way to see the whole Burn, spending an hour of your time strolling the property tending to our new lamps! If you can turn on a light bulb, you can do this shift!

Overnight Fire Patrol

Patrol the event to check for unattended fires and extinguish them. Familiarity with operation of fire extinguishers recommended. Fire patrol shifts are 2 hours. 

Parking

Parking volunteers direct vehicle traffic to ensure an orderly parking process for burners entering and exiting the event. You’ll help people park their cars so that they avoid parking anyone in (including themselves) and maximize the most efficient use of our designated parking spaces. Parking volunteers work 2-hour shifts while the Gate is open and during Exodus, and Shift Leads work 4-hour shifts. 

Perimeter 

When art gets burned, we set up a burn perimeter: a space around the art that is free of any observers. Volunteers with this department establish and maintain the burn perimeter, to keep the community safe while they enjoy the art. You’ll stand between the art and the crowd, making sure that people don’t cross the perimeter and get too close to the fire. In the extremely rare event that someone chooses to cross the perimeter and doesn’t willingly return outside of it, volunteers in this role work to stop them as quickly as possible and escort them away from the area. Perimeter shifts are generally 3 hours long, depending on the size and scale of the art burn. 

Rangers

Rangers are Burners, who volunteer as a non-confrontational community resource, to assist other participants in burning their best burn, and trying to help them solve their own problems. Rangers are not cops, not security, and not in charge. Volunteers signed up for “R-12” are the Ranger of the Day/Night and work from 10 to 10. Volunteers signed up for “Khaki” are the primary Ranger on-duty, responsible for sending and receiving any radio calls to the Rangers and organizing shift changes. Volunteers signed up for “Dirt Ranger” walk the event during high-energy hours, available to assist when needed. Khaki shifts are 8 hours, while Dirt Ranger shifts are 4 hours.

Space Shuttle

To ensure that all burners can get where they’re going, there will be a Shuttles to transport folks around the Known Universe. Shuttle crew MUST BE SOBER before their shift begins and throughout the entire shift. 

Traffic Control

Do you have a love for keeping things in order that would rival that of a border collie? Do you prefer your playa without the appearance of a parking lot? Do you just like telling people where to go for some reason? Hey, we don’t judge. We need you! Traffic Control consists of those who help keep traffic flowing in the right direction, people who round up stragglers who need to get their butts and their vehicles to parking, and the leads that keep the team together.

Volunteer Recruiting

Inviting Burners to take volunteer shifts is a vital contribution to the success of our Burn!

Most folks are eager to take a shift and asking them is a favor that saves them the time of figuring out how to sign up on their own! Lead shifts (4 hrs) will be at the Volunteer Table(s) on site, and 2-hr shifts will be either at the table or roving with a sign up sheet. Feel free to dress flamboyantly if you like. The Volunteering tent will be bright and fun, with places to chill and activities to participate in.