Our camp would not work without all campers' participation. Everyone in camp is expected to be involved in some capacity. Many campers choose to do daily camp duty shifts. But other opportunities are available to those who have certain skill sets or who can arrive before or stay after the Burn.
To find out more about camp involvement opportunities, contact:
Each camper is expected to join a team. Camp Duty Shifts and individual responsibilities will be organized pre-Playa by the lead within each specific team.
Rootpile Team Opportunities:
Communications Team--This team is made up of people who will work pre-Burn to share the mission of Rootpile to the Burner and Bluegrass communities to create awareness of our camp, the activites we provide on-Playa, and our various fundraisers.
Rootpile DPW Team--(Department of Public Works) DPW team is one of the most important teams at Rootpile. DPW is made up of people with skills in carpentry, electricity, plumbing, mechanics, and engineering. DPW keeps Rootpile running. Team members should be highly-motivated, skillful people who appreciate the opportunity to work on camp infrastructure. Team members will be provided with projects, tools, materials, and leadership.
Build Team--Build team gives people an opportunity to arrive early on Playa to assist in building our camp infrastructure. Build week is a very exciting part of Burning Man. While we are very busy building our own camp, being on Playa early also gives people the opportunity to see the city come together. The team effort required helps build relationships within our camp and gives our builders a great sense of satisfaction in seeing our camp come together.
Build week begins a week before Burning Man officially opens, and special Work Access Passes (WAPs) are necessary for each person attending Build. Most of Build crew will need to arrive on Monday and be ready to start work on Tuesday. Temporary air-conditioned quarters will be immediately available for Build crew personal, until they have had time to put together their personal lodging. Food and water will be made available to the Build crew. It is possible that some of Build crew, depending on their duties, projects, or teams may arrive later in Build Week. DATES OF BUILD WEEK: Monday, Aug. 19 thru Saturday, Aug. 24
Teardown Team--The Teardown of Rootpile camp starts Sunday, Temple Burn Day, but in actuality Teardown begins the first day of Build. What this means is, as we build camp and enjoy the Burn, and go on about our activities related to running the camp, we should be planning for a quick and organized Teardown. When Teardown begins, the party ends. On Sunday, Temple Burn Day, everyone still in camp is expected to help with Teardown. But early Monday morning Teardown begins in earnest. The Teardown crew is expected to work safely, quickly, and sober. We typically finish Teardown mid-day Wednesday. Teardown crew members that work until Wednesday's final MOOP sweep are invited to the Teardown party in Reno with free rooms, food, and drink for Wednesday and Thursday nights.DATES OF TEARDOWN: Sunday, Sept. 1 thru Wednesday, Sept. 4
Art Car Support Team--Art cars, sometimes also called Mutant Vehicles, are a very important part of Burning Man. Art cars are meant to be visual art and are expected to provide interactive, entertaining experiences on the Playa. Our art cars provide a platform for us to play live and recorded Bluegrass music to provide entertainment and promote our camp, and also provide a way for people to be transported around the Playa. The art car support team gives mechanically and artistically-inclined people the opportunity to have a preexisting project to work on. This team will likely begin working on our art cars in Gerlach, NV, even before the start of Build Week, or at a minimum, at the beginning of Build Week. This is so that all the mechanical and artistic issues can be ironed out and finished by the time DMV inspections occur on the Saturday before gate opens. The art car support team is a very important team, and only people with a heavy commitment to the mission of preparing our art cars and keeping them running for the entire Burn should join this team.
Art Car Driver Team--During the Burn we will need several sober and responsible persons who would be interested in being art car drivers. Art car driver shifts will typically be about two hours long.
Breakfast Team--Rootpile provides a daily breakfast for all of our campers. This meal typically consists of a Southern flavor, eggs, bacon, sausage, country ham, biscuits, etc. Breakfast team is made up of people doing various chores, including dining hall setup, food prep, cooking, serving, and cleanup. The time frame for breakfast team duties is 9am to 12:30pm. But team members will be organized into shifts of two hours per day, rather than the entire morning. The breakfast team lead will organize the breakfast team duties in advance. The kitchen lead will be responsible for overall management of the kitchen for all food offerings.
Supper Team--Rootpile provides a nightly Southern-flavored meal for all our campers. Supper team members will be responsible for dining hall setup, food prep, cooking, serving, and cleanup. The supper team will be led by the supper team lead and meals will be planned and cooked by Chef, with assistance of the supper team. The time frame for supper team duties is 5:30 to 9:30pm, but team members will be organized into shifts of two hours per day, rather than the entire evening. The kitchen lead will be responsible for overall management of the kitchen for all food offerings.
Concert Food and Drink Support Team--Rootpile provides live music, food, and drink for our guests on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings, as well as an open jam with pinto beans mid-day Wednesday and Saturday. This team will organize the concert area, and cook/serve the food and moonshine for these interactive events. The team lead will organize the camp duty shifts necessary to accomplish this mission.
Musician Team--The musician team is made up of professional, semi-professional, and amateur musicians who are capable of playing Bluegrass music. The musician team will teach workshops, facilitate jamming, and perform on stage. Musicians are expected to bring their own instruments and may possibly be provided with air-conditioned lodging in camp. Some musician scholarships might be available, depending on the circumstances.
Music Workshop Support Team--(Not necessary to be a musician) Rootpile provides daily workshops on instruments that we provide. The musician team teaches the workshops, but the workshop support team will assist in setting up the classrooms, directing guests to the different workshops, and distributing the instruments and putting them away after the workshops.
Daily MOOP Sweep Team--This team will perform a daily MOOP sweep of the entire camp and will be on the lookout for LNT problems, such as oil leaks, water leaks, or other MOOPiness. Tools, collections vessels, and team leadership will be provided. A MOOP-free camp will insure that we stay in good standing with placement and are invited back next year.
Shower Clean Team--Rootpile provides two showers for the benefit of our campers. Campers are expected to maintain the cleanliness and orderliness of the showers, but the shower clean team will clean the showers daily. Cleaning supplies, leadership, and extra shower tokens will be provided to the shower clean team members.
Waste Team--Rootpile camp members are expected to haul out their own personal trash, but there are some things we can deal with on-Playa to reduce the amount of personal trash needing to be taken out. Campers should ALWAYS Pre-cycle everything they bring to Playa, such as packaging. Glass is not recyclable on Playa, but aluminum cans and compost can be disposed of on Playa. Burnables can be burned in our burn barrels. Waste team will facilitate in the disposal of these items and will enjoy the benefit of being able to yell at people doing stupid things, like putting aluminum cans into the compost bins.
Art Team--Requires Wednesday of Build Week arrival. Rootpile is not only a music and food camp but is also an art project. To accomplish our mission of representing Southern culture we have developed a large quantity of Hillbilly art and visual art installations and signage. This team will be responsible for the placement of all of our art, developing new art, and repairing/updating existing art. The art team can ask for assistance from skilled persons from other teams if necessary.
Sound Team--Live and recorded music is an important part of the mission of Rootpile. The sound team will work to install and manage the recorded sound aspect of camp and will also be made up of professional sound persons for mixing our live performances. At least some of sound team must arrive Wednesday of Build Week to prepare our sound systems. Experience in the mixing of live, acoustic music is a must.
Stage Crew--Live performances are a very important part of the Rootpile mission. A crew of stagehands and stage managers will be organized to properly manage and maintain our stage. At least some of stage crew must be able to arrive on Wednesday or Thursday of Build Week.
COMS Team--Rootpile will have a radio network so that our artcars, camp members, and base camp can communicate with each other by radio. COMS Team members should be well-versed in radio technology or radio dispatch. HAM radio experience would be a plus. COMs Team will organize, install, and work with Rootpile campers in proper radio etiquette.
Hydration Team--Proper hydration is very important to attendees in the desert at Burning Man. Our dining hall will have large liquid containers for water, electrolytes, and sweet tea. This team will be responsible for making sure that these containers stay filled at all times. This team will have no set shifts, but will be expected to monitor the levels of these containers frequently.
To find out more about volunteer opportunities, contact:
