Australia's version of Burning Man took place outside Matong last weekend. It was my third time at Burning Seed and once again I helped Kids Camp.
The event continues to grow, with ticket sales reaching their limit of just under two and a half thousand. Kids Camp has also grown, with around 60 people joining us this year. I ran a cinema again and there was a beaut project that created a giant bunyip puppet, which toured the site ahead of the effigy burn on Saturday night.
I didn't experience much of Seed this year, aside from the Brewery and the Kettle and the Temple burn. The Red Earth City Brewery served many exceptional beers and ciders and I had too many. The Kettle provided a gentle spot to enjoy a very big selection of teas.
The Temple was a phenomenal structure this year and the burn also looked remarkable. The fire spun into a vortex at times, creating a burning whirly-whirly. As the remains smouldered, the smoke also spun into the shape of a smallish twister as the audience cooed.
Warm weather may have contributed to increased nudity this year. There were more people going without clothes.
Mobile sound systems were a great addition to the event, bringing the party soundtrack to various events around the site. I wasn't impressed with one of these stages collecting my child without permission, taking them from Kids Camp to the Brewery.
There are no images to share as I made a decision not to take a camera this year. It's something I'd planned to do last year, then was asked to help a local newspaper. The decision was helped this year by formalities introduced by Seed, seeking approval of images before their use. My feeling is that this isn't appropriate for an event that relies on a community but I understand their reasoning and desire to protect the "radical self-expression" of people at the event. So this dude abides.
