2009 Camp Stella Layout

By group conscience, we are going with a flux capacitor configuration for our AA, Any A, and Family tents this year.

Those arriving first have been placed to protect our borders from encroachers.  The family tent goes up on Sunday.  Meeting tents and showers and solar lights can go up on Monday morning.  Kitchen stove will go up Monday night.  Bike parking will go up Tuesday morning.

Full Camp, Tuesday night.

Please familiarize yourself with the day-by-day plan (link below) so that you can see exactly how you fit into the layout.  This way, if you arrive in camp and nobody is in camp, you’ll be able to park and set up your tent in the right spot.

CampStellaLayout

Thanks!

Jefferson

PS – This includes everyone who has responded to my request for placement information.  Please write to the Yahoo Group if you are not included.

Work Day – Saturday 9/14

Steeeeeeelllllaaaaaaa!

Our last official gathering before departing for the playa is tomorrow, Saturday at 1:00 PM.

We will meet at my house at 1:00 PM.

3532 19th Street (Corner of 19th and Lapidge).

If you arrive late we may be unloading the crawl space. Entrance is on Lapidge.
If you arrive really late, we may be at the Mission Pool (on the other side of 19th) setting up:

* The Old Skool Stella “Family Tent” (on loan from Jayne)
* The Privacy Shower
* The Tandem Exhibition Shower
* The extra shade structure.

Seems like we’ll have lots of hands. I’ll bet we can knock this out in less than 2 hours.

See ya tomorrow!
Jefferson

August Planning Meeting

Thursday, August 13th, 7:00 – 9:00 PM

Crepevine

216 Church St
(between 15th St & Market St)
San Francisco, CA 94114

Agenda:

• Financial Report

Headcount

Truck Rental
Storage Facility
Car Ports
Cooking Fuel
Privacy Shower Tarp
New Solar Lights
Garden Stake Lights (Rechargeable Batteries)

Shower floors

• Hosting Meetings at Comfort and Joy
• Early Passes
• Whoopee Party (same time as Bunny Jam)
• Communal Meal
• Work Day

July Planning Meeting Minutes

The meeting was attended by:  Jefferson, Steve Paylor (who was visiting from Philadelphia), Max, Turtle, Kaboodle, Mojo, Sarah, Cuapi, Sprout, and Emo.

NEXT PLANNING MEETING

We started the meeting by setting the date for the next (and last) planning meeting.

Thursday, August 13th, 7:00 – 9:00 PM

216 Church St
(between 15th St & Market St)
San Francisco, CA 94114

WORK DAY

The last official Camp Stella event will be Saturday, August 15th from 1:00-5:00.  Location TBD.

HEADCOUNT

Kaboodle reported that we had 18 dues paid members and an additional 5 expressions of interest.  We made a decision to refund Eddies dues.  Dues are non-refundable, however, it’s Camp Stella policy that we may address refund requests on a case-by-case basis.  Because Eddie has attended several Camp Stella events and worked his ass off, we agreed unanimously that his dues should be refunded.  He has been a great help to the Camp.

Kaboodle agreed to remind the group that dues would increase to $125 on August 1st  (and he did).

RUMMAGE SALE REPORT

Sprout, who organized the fundraiser, reported that we brought in a total of $252 (before donating $25 to the Castro Country Club for the use of their space).  They also provided tables.

This is pretty good considering that there wasn’t really a lot of stuff to sell.  Next rummage sale should start at 9:00 AM rather than 8:00 AM.

Thanks to Sprout (organizer), Jason (made signs),  Steve Paylor, Kaboodle, and Max (also to Turtle and Jefferson for donating stuff even though they weren’t able to staff the sale).

FINANCIAL REPORT

According to our treasurer, thanks to the generous donation of $1.01 from Jefferson, our bank account is now $3,200 exactly.

LIGHTING INSIDE THE TENT

Emory volunteered to research solar lights for inside our tents.  Max recommended white LEDs.  The group hastily suggested a budget of $200-$300.

SOLAR GARDEN STAKE LIGHTS

Mojo volunteered to pick up our collection of solar powered garden stake lights, buy recharable batteries, get reimbursed from Kaboodle, install the new batteries (using a tiny screwdriver), properly dispose of the spent batteries), and leave the lights out in the sun to get them reved up.

On behalf of all of Stella, thank you Mojo!

TENTS

We discussed purchasing Daddy Don’s yurt.  In the end we determined that it was not large enough for our largest meetings, the Whoopee Party, family dinner, and any other larger gatherings.

Emory brought information about some Burner-friendly Geodesic domes, but after much discussion, we decided that we couldn’t afford them.  Our goal is to end the year with a surplus that will position us for the purchase next year.

In the end, we decided to buy 2 car ports.

STELLA GEAR TRUCK

After Jefferson reviewed the options, it was decided that we would make a reservation for a truck in El Cerrito at an independantly owned truck rental company.  They had the best pricing and will knowingly rent to Burners.

Jason has agreed to drive the truck and all of our gear out there.

“OPEN AA” AND “ANY A”

After an exhaustive discussion and a spirited debate, the group present voted to host Any A meetings (inclusive of anyone in any 12 step program).  The driver was that the majority present didn’t want meeting attendees to feel that they had to confine thier discussion “as it relates to alcoholism.”

Always a good sport, Jefferson championed the group concience and asked the group if they wouldn’t mind if he started an additional meeting, an Open AA meeting.  The group was enthusiastic.  There was some discussion about having it at a different time, but in the end, it was decided that they should both be held simutaneously.

SEXUAL ASSAULT LIASON

Steve Paylor agreed to be our Sexual Assault Liason and has forwarded information to our members from B.E.D. a sexual assualt prevention theme camp.

SERVICE POSITION RECAP

• Treasurer – Kaboodle
• Camp Registration – Sprout
• Signage – Daddy Don, Max
• Meeting Beverages / Snacks Co-Hosts – Mojo and Chaz
• New Member Liasons:  Turtle and Cuapi
• Whoopee Party Co-Hosts:  Kevin and Peter
• Communal Meal Coordinator:  Sarah
• Meeting Coordinators:  Any A =Cuapi,  AA = Jefferson
• Beautification Specialist:  Sprout  
• Post Burning Man Storage Coordinator:  Peter Griggs

June Planning Meeting Minutes

Thursday, June 25th, 7:00PM

Mojo, Eddie, Kaboodle, Chaz, Jason, Sprout, Jefferson

FINANCIAL REPORT

We now have 17 dues paid members and a balance of $2,845.99

Our projection is that we will aquire and additional $800 in dues and $700 at fund raisers.  This would bring our total to $4,345.99.

Expected expenses include:

• New tent (see below)
• Rental vehicle to get our gear out there
• Storage fees which will begin in August
• Cooking fuel
• Whoopee Party decorations, beverages and snacks.
• A new tarp for the privacy shower
• Lighting for inside the tent.
• Replacement rechargeable batteries for the solar lights.

NEW TENT

Thank you Steve for spending hours surfing, making phone calls, and sending emails to present tent options to the group.  After much thoughtful deliberation, we went with Steve’s #1 recommendation, a canvas Army tent for $1,503.70.

Each of the tents that we reviewed had pros and cons.  The benefits of the tent that we selected include:

• Among the tents we were considering, it was just about the best value.
• The canvas material will be more durable than vinyl options.
• Seems to be a structurally sound design (17 side poles).
• The sides roll up for ventilation, views.

The down sides are:

• It’s ugly (Eddie will be brainstorming on decoration possibilities).
• It’s really heavy at 605# (though not the heaviest 736#).
• The longest pole is 10′3″ which requires transport/storage considerations.

The next step is for Steve and Kaboodle to place the order so that we can get the tent here in time for the July 18th Work Day when we will erect it.

CARGO VEHICLE

We are exploring two options:

A. Renting a truck.

B. Renting a cargo van and purchasing a trailer that would be attached to the Kaboodle/Chaz RV.  We would then sell the trailer after the event or put it in storage.

Jefferson and Kaboodle will be pricing out these options and will report to the group via Yahoo Groups so that we can make a reservation soon.

“PART-TIME CAMPING” IN STELLA

We recently received an inquiry regarding “part-time” camping in Stella (for lack of a better word).  To elaborate, are we open to a sort of dual citizenship where a Burner shares Family Dinner, takes an occasional shower, and enjoys some of the benefits of Stella without actually ever sleeping in the Camp.

We recalled previous dues paying members who camped part-time with Stella and discussed our observations and experience.  In the end, it was decided that we would like to address each request on a case-by-case basis, but our thoughts were that we would like all members of Camp Stella (full or part-time) to join us for Family Dinner or Tuesday night, pay full dues, and we would encourage them to contribute to the camp in some way.

WHOOPEE PARTY VS. BILLION BUNNY MARCH

Trixie at the first Plain Ordinary Whoopee Party.

I brought up the fact that in previous years, those that attended the Billion Bunny March weren’t able to make it back to camp in time to help prepare for the Whoopee Party.  This hasn’t been an issue in previous year (those that couldn’t set up stayed later to break down), however, it seems that more of us than ever will be Marching for bunny rights.  I was concerned that the majority of the work would be left on the shoulders of a skeleton crew when Party preporation had been more of an all-hands effort in years past.

The group concience of those present was that there will be enough Stellites not going to the March to stay behind and prepare for the Whoopee Party.

Whoopee Party volunteers Kevin and Peter will likely be calling for volunteers.

As a reminder, participation in the Whoopee Party (set up/attendance/clean up) is appreciated, but not a requirement of camping with Stella.

OPEN AA MEETING VS. ANY A

I had suggested on Yahoo Groups that we discuss this at the July meeting, however, those present tonight were enthusiastic about resolving this issuse.  Loving discussion ensued and all opinions were respectfully heard.

While we came to a group conscience tonight, we also want to ensure that the minority opinion of any dues-paid members of Stella who was not able to attend tonight (whether due to scheduling conflicts or geographical limitations) has the opportunity to voice their opinion.

Group conscience:  Camp Stella meetings shall be Open AA Meetings.

This is an open meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. We are glad you are here, especially newcomers. In keeping with our singleness of purpose and our Third Tradition which states “The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking,” we ask that all who participate confine their discussion to their problems as they relate to alcoholism.

We have agreed that it shall be up to each secretary to determine how lenient they want to be in permitting discussion which is not appropriate for an open meeting.

Again, we would like to invite those unable to attend tonight to offer a minority opionion and are prepared to reopen the discussion if necessary.

NEW SERVICE POSITIONS

• Mojo and Chaz have agreed to assist Eddie with Meeting beverages/snacks.
• Sprout volunteered for the thankless job of Beautification.

Thanks everybody!

Jefferson

New Date for Planning Meeting

On Sunday at the Work Day, those present decided to move the Planning Meeting from Saturday at 1:00 PM to Thursday, June 25 at 7:00 PM.

This will make it possible for more people to attend and free up a precious Saturday afternoon.

Crepevine

216 Church St
(between 15th St & Market St)
San Francisco, CA 94114

On the agenda:

• Financial Report (Kaboodle)
• Camp Stella Inventory  Have/Need/Want (Jefferson)
• Make a decision about which tent to buy (Steve via Jefferson)
• Stella Cargo Vehicle (Jefferson)
• Rummage Sale, July 19th (Sprout)
• Burning Man for Dummies, July 25th (Jefferson)
• Part-time camping in Stella?
• Whoopee Party – Same night as Bunny Jam? (Peter)
• Open Service Positions:  Meeting Beverage Cohost, Communal Meal Coordinator, Beautification Specialist. (Jefferson)
• Camp Stella Storage (Peter)
• Stella Meetings:  Open AA vs. “Any A” (Cuapi)

Hope to see ya there!

Work Day 6/12/09 Report

Front Row: Emo, Daddy Don, Jefferson, Mojo / Back Row: Eddie, Turtle, Max, Sarah, Kaboodle.

On Saturday, June 12th, 9 members of Camp Stella showed up at Jefferson’s to take stock of what we own.

The first step was to remove everything from the crawlspace.  We formed a fire line to get it onto the sidewalk where we grouped like items into piles.  Kitchen stuff, trash, lights, tarps and tents, pillows, fabric, tools, rebar and “sacred bricks.”

Then, as a group, we went through everything, deciding what should be tossed, sold in our rummage sale, and what comes back in ‘09.

Mojo sorted through all of our solar lights, matching bottoms to tops to see how many complete sets we have.  Daddy Don and Sarah took over Lapidge Street to dry out and sweep last years evap pond tarp which we will reuse again this coming year.  Everyone worked together to count, sort, wrap and organize everything we own.

In the end, very little made it to the Rummage Sale pile.  Mostly our collection of AA and non-AA books that we drag out to the playa (no one reads) and drag back every year.  We decided that 2 Big Books would suffice this year.  And some 2 tin candle lanterns.

In a future Work Day, we will set up our shower structure, replace the batteries in our solar lights, and set up what ever tents we decided to bring next year.

When we finished, we broke burritos together and enjoyed frosty Root Beer floats, a gift of Emo and Jefferson.

Thanks everybody for coming out and getting dirty.  Especially to Daddy Don who came all the way up from LA.

Work Day – Saturday 6/13

All hands on deck this Saturday (6/13) at 1:00 – 5:00 PM.

Jefferson’s House
3532 19th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 606 3874

Please come directly to the back door which faces Lapidge street.

Be prepared to get a little dusty and bring work gloves if you have them handy.

We will remove everything from my crawl space to:

• Determine what needs to be sent to the landfill.
• What we can sell in our upcoming rummage sale.
• What we will keep.
• What needs repair.
• We’ll sort it all out, organize it, tie it together.
• Pillows are going to Sprout’s house.
• We’ll measure our longest poles to help us determine how big our storage space will need to be.
• Hose anything off that needs a little TLC.

Then we’ll neatly replace what stays in my crawlspace.  The goal is to make it look like there isn’t much there so that we can keep it there at least until Burning Man.

We can use the lawn in front of the Mission Pool as a staging area.

And I’m really excited that Daddy Don will be joining us from LA.

Anyone new to Stella is especially encouraged to attend. We’re gonna have fun.

Member Profile: Steve

2009 will be my second time at Burning Man and my first time with a theme camp.  I’m happy to make my choice Camp Stella because it’s small enough for me to get to know the other members and also that’s a sober camp, so I won’t have to spend any time caring for a bar, its patrons or trying to bond with people who are actively using.

I’m 37 and live in suburban Philadelphia, but I’m a bit restless and discontent with that.  Probably my most defining characteristic is my habit of getting far away from the suburbs whenever I can.  I began foreign travel as a young adult and moved to a different level when I started taking months off from work.  Hiking the Appalachian Trail (from Georgia to Maine) changed me forever not just from developing my love of nature but also showing me the world outside of the office, the life possible when not limited to two weeks vacation.  I can’t always describe what I like about a vacation or a trip, but it has something to do with getting really far away from my regular life.  That can be the feeling I get when I bike into the city and pass an old trolley car or the feeling I get when I hike alone into a Hmong village miles away from the nearest road or English-speaker.

I got that feeling at Burning Man last year.  I know I was vaguely inarticulate about why I enjoyed myself so much when talking to other people, but that doesn’t diminish my feelings.  It seems like when we’re on the playa, I have so much in common with so many of the people there.

I’m looking forward to being a member of the Camp Stella family, the Bunny march, the nonstop techno and all of the vibrant little things that make the Playa so special.  I’m also serving this year in the Emergency Services Department as a firefighter, so that will help me feel like a member of the Black Rock City family as well.  I’m not artistic at all, I can’t put a costume together to save my life and couldn’t even pimp the bike I used last year (the fact that it was only lent to me helped assuage that guilt).  But through the ESD and Camp Stella, I can feel more like a participant this year.

G2G, time for a water truck shower!

Member Profile: Mojo

2009 will be my third Burning Man in a row and second time being a part of Camp Stella.  I am very grateful that there is a Camp Stella. It is great to be able to enjoy the whirlwind of community, great art, fire, drugs, Dadaism, natural beauty, exquisite desert light, self-assessment, centered-ness, self-reliance and renunciation that is Burning Man without doing any drugs oneself.  Drugs suck.  I love being able to come back to a drug-less eye in the middle of the Burning Man hurricane.  That’s Camp Stella for me.

I love to be around people in the program who still know how to kick up some dust.

I’ve been clean and sober since 1989.  I am 53 years old, am about a 5 on the Kinsey scale, have meditated daily for twenty years during the previous century,  have composed some electronic music, am very practiced in maintaining my sanity, like rocks and pretty things and am getting my groove back.

Member Profile: Peter

Member Profile: Daddy Don

I am from the great AA group of West Hollywood, CA.  Sober since 07/02/88.

An avid burner since 2001, also known as Ranger Goodwood.  Arrive early to BM as a Ranger, scope out where we are and wait for the crowds to arrive.   I am the first up with morning coffee and my morning meditation bowl.  Life is good…and an adventure is always waiting to happen.

Member Profile: Cuapi

Hey folks!  2009 will be my 3^rd year going to Black Rock City, and the 3^rd year making Camp Stella my home base.  Having a clean and sober place to call Home is what makes Burning Man possible for me.

I’m 43 years old, single, and live in San Francisco—a frustrated bohemian returning to his roots after 13 years squelching them in the corporate world.  Burning Man gives me an opportunity to tap into my creative juices.  I dig costuming, and it’s one of the aspects of Burning Man that I really enjoy.  I also love musical theatre, cabaret, reading books, and snuggling with my cat Carmen.  I’ve been in recovery since February of 2001, and presently have over 4 years continuous sobriety, for which I’m supremely grateful.

At Burning Man, I feel privileged to provide meetings to sober Burners, and love being a Lamplighter, the Billion Bunny March, the World Naked Bike Ride, the Temple Burn, skating at Black Rock Roller Disco…and all the raw creativity and beauty out there.  I hope to reach into the greater Black Rock City community in new ways this year…and I’d love to have a Playa romance someday.

Member Profile: Kaboodle

I’ve been sober for 4 years now and this is my fourth year with STELLA. I was amazed that there were people in San Francisco who went to Burning Man and stayed sober.

Originally, I originally went to Burning Man about 10 years ago with a couple of friends and an RV. I count it as my half year because it was only over the long labor day weekend. It took me 10 years and getting sober to come to the Playa again. I am so thankful that Stella is here to allow me to come to this amazing place safely and with my sober friends.

I love hanging out with the newbies, exploring the city, the Billion Bunny March, volunteering at the Café and when I volunteer with the Lamplighters I get really emotional. There are so many things that I love about the burn.

Off the playa, I live in San Francisco and active in the sober community and bike riding. I love this city and the diversity that comes with it.

Camp Stella Packing List

Jefferson packing the Camp Stella Cargo Van in 2007.

By popular demand, here are the Camp Stella packing lists featured in Camp Stella for Dummies.

Simple_List

Full_List

Day_Bag

Thanks to Kaboodle for putting these together.

Camp Stella Layout Uploaded

Camp Stella Layout - 1st Draft

Sprout has agreed to submit our registration which requires a map of our camp layout.  This layout is slightly padded (by just a few) in anticipation of us growing over the coming months.

Although we haven’t yet decided on which tent we will purchase, the size should be pretty close.

CampStellaLayout