Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
We would like to thank everyone for making this years LA Decompression smooth as silk. It truly was one of the best LA Decoms ever and your participation make it all possible. Everyone who set up a theme camp, art installation, and stage did a fantastic job. While all our volunteers went the extra mile to make sure everything went off without incident. This year we had the most amazing team, each taking a department and making sure it ran smoothly.
We would like to do a special shout out and welcome to the team to all the fabulous Greeters who welcomed everyone as they entered the event and to the Earth Guardians who made sure the park was well taken care of and clean when we were done. It is so wonderful to have both of these departments part of the LA community.
As always the Black Rock Rangers did a fantastic job maintaining the peace. You might have noticed a very different kind of security company working LA Decom this year. Please welcome our very own High Rock Security. We always wanted to hire the Black Rock Rangers to secure our event and now we can through High Rock Security. If you have an event coming up and need to hire security, we highly recommend them. Info@highrocksecurity.com
We also welcome our new Bar company. Scarlette Bartending is known on the playa as the Golden Cafe. They have gotten their business together and have a liquor license. They were wonderful to work with and are taking all our feedback to make next year even better and more efficient. If you have a party and want to run a legal bar, please give Scarlette Bartending an email. claudine@scarlettebartending.com
This year we did something new. All the revenue garnered from the recycling for the entire event was donated to Burners Without Borders. Thats 866lbs of garbage diverted from the landfill and put to good use. $171.50 will be donated from just our recycling. I encourage all of you to do the same with your events. You should recycle anyway. Plus it might not seem like much money, but when we add it all together, event after event, it will add up. They could really use our help right now.
And of course thank YOU! Please if you have any pictures or video from LA Decom, we would love for you to share it. Post links to www.laburningman.com or email us at la-townmail@burningman.com. Here are some we have received already.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn2uatL2MQk
And here is the story that was in the LA Times in case you missed it. ttp://www.latimes.com/theguide/events-and-festivals/la-et-guidefeature1-2009oct01,0,2373218.story
And the one on Fox 11 News. http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/entertainment/Los_Angeles_Burning_Man_20091011
If you have comments or feedback about LA Decom, we would love to hear it. Please email la@burningman.com. If you want to check in with lost and found email athena@laburningman.com
The numbers: Everyone asks how many people were at Decom this year. We had 8 sound installations (stages), 40+ theme camps/art/art cars, and 4200 attendees. That is 10 less theme camps/art/art cars and 1600 less attendees then last year. We understand that there was plenty going on that weekend however some of the reason for the lower attendance was economic. So the big question is . . . What is the LA regional going to do to help its members survive the depression? What can we do to give our members a foundation to grow from.
We have decided to become VERY active. We will be hosting free monthly workshops, panels, and symposiums on everything from starting your own business, dealing with PR and Marketing, How to green your household, growing your own veggie garden, household finances, and Swaps. There are members in our community with knowledge to share and members in our community who need that knowledge. There is no better time then RIGHT NOW to pool our resources and help our community stay afloat.
So I challenge all of you to do the same. Ask your community leaders/members what knowledge they have to share. There are very intelligent experts in every field in this community. If you would like to share what you know and want some help organizing, please email athena@laburningman.com or organize a learning workshop, and take responsibility to help others help themselves. And then please post on www.laburningman.com and email la-townmail@burningman.com and let us know what you come up with. It will spark ideas in the rest of us as to workshops we can all benefit from.
)'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'()'( Here is what the regional (the LA League of Arts) has slated for you so far:
December 5th: Press and PR Symposium (learn how to garner Press)
On December 5th we will be hosting a PR and Press symposium. We have invited members of the press and a few PR firms to come speak to our community members about how best to pitch their projects and how to garner the much loved press that helps bring the public to your performance, gallery show, and event. In January we will be hosting a "What Goes Where 101" workshop. This workshop will help inform our community what can be recycled, composted, and diverted from the landfills in creative ways. We will also be talking about reducing packaging waste and helping others around us practice LNT in their daily lives.
In February we will be hosting a "Love what you do, Do what you Love" workshop. This workshop will focus on the proper way to start a business and keep it going. Learn from business leaders about the upstart paperwork, web presence, branding, marketing, and keeping your business going (even in these difficult times).
On March 6th we will celebrate the Burnal Equinox by hosting a playa formal evening of art. We will show photographs of BM 2009, while our local artists will present their projects for 2010. This will be a great time for our community to find a project that interests them and volunteer to join the crew. Helping artists find their crews and crews find their art.
April 1st-4th LALA will present the FIRST ANNUAL (yes annual) regional overnight
October 2nd, 2010 - LA DECOMPRESSION Yes, we even know the date of the next Decom.
And so much more to come. We look forward to hearing from you.
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