Community

*UPDATE*: 2012-04-17
The event was a resounding success! We had a great turnout from the community and got a lot of stuff done. A big THANK-YOU to all the volunteers and coders who came out to support us.

We will have several get-togethers over the next couple months to polish up our work and get the new & improved website ready to launch. If you are interested in contributing, join the webteam mailing list, where future announcements will be made.

We will need graphic artists, CSS stylers, PHP coders, drupal admins, information architects, and people who want to (pretend to) be website users & button pushers.

Austin, Tx (by Delia, Flipside CORE Project) -- It's getting close to the exodus to the desert. Our crew is finishing up the Ouroboros build, Flipside's entry in the CORE project. The last major item to complete before the final build on the playa? Getting stuff out there! The CORE Crew is offering a Community Truck from Austin to the Black Rock desert and back. Do you have gear that needs to go to the playa? Would you like for it to go out with us? The truck load is happening soon and to get involved you must register your information by 11:59pm 8/10. Space is limited, so the sooner you register the better. See the Flipside CORE Project Website for details and registration link.

Austin, Texas (by Dick Towers, Web Content Team) -- When I first started helping with Ouroboros, the Flipside CORE project, it seemed like there was enough momentum from DaFT members that we would be half way done with the build in the first week. I then realized that an effigy of this size is more complex than the little model on display in the warehouse. It's taken the work of many more volunteers to get this far and will still need the community's help to succeed.

Austin, TX (Kit O'Connell, Web Content Lead) -- This weekend promises to be a full one beginning Friday night with the Little Black Dress Party, a fundraiser for Ouroboros, the Flipside community's offering to CORE. On Saturday night, area circus arts performers along with the Vespertine Circus, a visiting troup, present Free CircX For the People at the Warehouse. Together, these events promise more fun then spending your days off playing video games or watching cartoons on the Internet.

Austin, TX (by Dick Towers, Web Content Team) -- Burning Man 2011 will be home to a massive art project made up of 23 "small" effigies encircling the Man in a giant ring. The “Circle Of Regional Effigies” (also known as CORE) is comprised of wooden sculptures built by different regional burn crews from places all around North America and even one from Ireland! On Thursday night they are all simultaneously set ablaze in what has been described as the largest intentionally set fire outside of war.

Austin, Texas -- Ever wanted to build your own flamethrower? Texas Art Garden will host a class on beginning flame effects taught by Chainsaw, a previous TAG grant recipient who has created many memorable works of art for the community. The class will take place from 7:30pm to 10:00pm on Tuesday, April 19. Interested participants must register for the class to learn its location. Contact workshops@texasartgarden.org with questions or see the class's listing on the Flipside calendar.

Pyropolis, Texas (Web Content Team) -- Making Burning Flipside a safe, healthy and fun event for almost 2,500 participants is no easy task, especially when you consider that the entire event is run entirely on a volunteer basis. Flipside could not continue to exist without its Rangers, PETs, Guardians, Lighting, Sanctuary and other safety volunteers who help keep the community happy and work to patch things up if they go wrong. This past weekend, a diverse group of about 100 volunteers from throughout Flipside's safety infrastructure gathered at Apache Pastures to train, share safety knowledge, and have fun at the second Safetycide retreat!

Austin, Texas (by Kit O'Connell, 2011 Web Content Lead, with Will Warner) -- Citizens of Pyropolis will have to be on the lookout for vicious Flipingos, or Flipside Flamingos, who can be hired by the Parks Department to surround unsuspecting theme camps in the dead of night. I learned about this and other department plans at the recent Parks Fair, which was held this past Saturday at the Warehouse. It was a great event, full of music, good food and merriment.