Camping with the Turtles - Orientation 2025

Actual Orientation

This year we are at 7:00 & Ellison, at the heart of the queerborhood. Nearest portos are between C & D
We are in a hub called Rainbow Village. The other camps are:
- Gender Blender
- Camp Beaverton
- 8-bit bunny
- Slightly Conscious
- Queertirement

Queer Camps At Burning Man

Gayflower training film

Turtle Responsibilities

Strike (starts noon Sunday, break for temple burn. Nobody leaves until camp is moop sweeped, expected 3pm Monday)
Shifts (newbies who miss shifts: sponsor must fill in). Missing shifts is really the only reason turtles have been kicked out.
Daily lunch-time meeting at noon in camp
Carry a moop bag (bring one that clips to your belt or something)
Use your cubby. Don't leave your shit lying around dining room.
Don't let me find a table full of shit that people left out "in case anyone else wants it" like sunscreen and 240 volt adapters and half a can of green beans. It will be covered by dust in 30 minutes and then definitely nobody will want it. Put it the fuck away.

Turtle Spirit

Electrical

If you want to plug something in in your tent bring an outdoor-rated 25' extension cord. No heaters, air conditioners, cooking, hair dryers.

Amenities you can find in the Empire Fort and borrow

Water

In the kitchen, water costs $5 per gallon. FIVE DOLLARS. Be extremely stingy in how you use water to clean dishes. (This is why we burn our plates)
Don't fill canteens with ice water - use the canteen filling station

Trash

Kitchen, bar, and build team will generate some trash which can go in the truck and dropped off at the Reno dump on Tuesday.
YOU and only YOU are responsible for:
- your own trash
- moop you found and picked up
- wrappers for snacks someone gave you, even turtle snacks
- cans for beers someone gave you, even at the turtle bar
- the little plastic insert used to keep the battery fresh on a fairy light that you just pulled out, i saw you!
This is going back home with you
- Have a couple of trash bags for it. It won't be too much.
- Bring it back to SF. Don't leave it in public trash cans in Reno. Reno people hate us enough as it is.
- There are burning man trash cans at the airport in Reno if you're flying out of there.
- There is no place for trash at Peik's lot where the food fort goes

Stuff that used to get ruined every year and cost us time and money to fix

Gayflower and food fort MUST be winterized before leaving playa.
There can be no food, shelf-stable or otherwise, or food trash, in any of the storage containers, or the food fort, or the empire fort, or the gayflower. This attracts mice which carry hantavirus and destroy our gear
- There is a dropoff for shelf-stable food to donate in Nixon
- Or, drop it off at Colexodus for restoration / dpw volunteers to eat
- Otherwise it goes in the trash truck

Legal

Smoking pot is illegal and easy for law enforcement to detect, especially at big art cars and sound camps
ZIP UP YOUR GODDAMN TENT
Don't give drugs to someone you met on playa - there are undercover narcs who look like real burners and going to jail in Lovelock sucks
Sex & erections can't be visible from the street. Gently move those into the kink fort.

Jetpack's list of things I never see anyone do to make their burn more excellent

Get light for your tent. USB battery pack + USB tent light near the entrance
Have a go bag ready with everything you need to survive 24 hours outside of camp (hot, cold, snacks, water, goggles and dust mask)
On arrival, expect to step off the bus into a whiteout. Have goggles and dust mask in easy reach. Bring a snack and lots of water for the bus as it can encounter severe delays.
When working, wear gloves to avoid painful chapped hands all week