- We didn't get placed last year. Why?
- Can my camp take a year off? Will we be penalized if we do? How long does my Standing with Placement carryover?
- Camp ____ was a really good (or bad) neighbor last year. What can I do about that?
- Post-playa Report (PPR)
- Is this a required form and who has to fill it out?
1. We didn't get placed last year. Why?
Many factors contribute to the placement of a theme camp, including but not limited to: your camp's interactivity statement, prior year's MOOP rating, follow-through of previous years' plans, participant feedback about your camp, and the needs of the city. It could also be that the above factors put your camp lower on the list of camps to be placed and we hit our maximum amount of placed camps when we reached yours.
2. Can my camp take a year off? Will we be penalized if we do? How long does my Standing with Placement carryover?
There is no penalty for taking time off. In fact, we encourage it! Camps that have taken time off have said it’s been helpful to recharge their batteries, and return with more energy and creativity. And it’s given them a chance to bring more Burning Man into other parts of their lives.
Placed theme camps can take up to 2 years off and still retain their Standing with Placement and status as a returning camp. For example, if your theme camp was last placed in 2024, your camp could take 2025 and 2026 off and return in 2027 as a returning theme camp with your 2024 Standing. Good standing does not guarantee placement the following year or a set number of tickets as Placement must assess overall demand across all camps year to year. Good standing does allow returning camps to be eligible to continue as a returning camp rather than be the size limitations we set for new theme camps.
To indicate that your camp is returning, you must complete the Statement of Intent for the upcoming year.
If you are taking the upcoming year off, please answer a few questions in the Statement of Intent to officially record your year off.
3. Camp ____ was a really good (or bad) neighbor last year. What can I do about that?
We welcome any and all feedback about camps, whether it's good, bad, or ugly. This info is taken into account (among many other factors) when we gather as a team to determine placement for the year. Please send your honest assessments to us at placement@burningman.org. Also be on the lookout for the Black Rock City Neighborhood Feedback form for all who camped in Black Rock City and the Post-playa Report sent to the camp lead for all placed camps. Both of these forms open in September and close in October.
4. Post-playa Report (PPR)
The “Post-playa Report” is a required form for you to tell us how this Burn went for you as a placed camp. What went well? What didn’t? How did everyone cope with that dust storm? How might you improve things in your camp and how can Placement support you? We need your and your camp’s feedback to make sense of what happened on the playa this year.
This is the final piece of the puzzle we’ll use to decide your camp’s standing based on Placement’s Criteria to Be in Good Standing. We want to get a holistic picture of your camp and hear directly from you. In addition to the Post-playa Report, we also review feedback from other Burning Man departments, Placement’s Neighborhood Interactivity Feedback form, Placement and PEERS notes from on and off-playa, and MOOP and Leave No Trace reports from Playa Restoration.
5. Is this a required form and who has to fill it out?
Completion of this form is required to be eligible for future Stewards Sale tickets and future placement for returning camps.
- The PPR should be filled out by the Camp Lead for all placed camp types: theme camp, mutant vehicle, art, & work support.
If you are no longer the current camp lead, please write to placement@burningman.org and let us know who your new camp lead is. Be sure to cc them on the email for them to confirm, and we can update our records from there.