Category: Announcements

Flipside Participants,

We are starting to see light at the end of this long tunnel and while we can’t completely return to business as usual, we are happy to announce that the warehouse will be reopening with some additional understanding and cooperation on your part.

This decision relies on Travis County’s continued recognition that we are in Stage 2 or below of COVID-19 restrictions (more info on what that means here: austintexas.gov/page/covid-19-risk-based-guidelines). If Travis County exceeds Stage 2 or we experience an outbreak of cases from the warehouse we will need to close once again.

Assuming Stage 2 is maintained, the warehouse will resume normal (abnormal?) operations beginning with Church Night on Wednesday, May 26th. Other events such as art night, Combustion Chamber meetings, and the like will be announced via their regular channels.

There are a few new rules everyone must follow for the time being: 

• Attendees should attempt to hold all activities outside the building as much as possible. 
• Masks are required for anyone entering the warehouse. This includes the meeting areas, restrooms, and main warehouse space. If there is a roof over your head, there is a mask on your face. Masks are optional outside the warehouse. 
• Please maintain a social distance of 6’ from others unless all parties within that bubble have given their explicit consent. Be aware. Be respectful.
• New year, new waiver. Make sure you sign one. Yes, you.
• Please pack out all your trash. While we may provide some basics such as disinfecting wipes or masks, we will not be providing trash cans.

If you or someone in your household is feeling sick please do not attend any events at the warehouse. Additionally, if you or someone in your household gets sick after attending an event at the warehouse please notify AAR at llc@burningflipside.com so that we can take appropriate action. Notifications will be kept confidential, though for contact tracing/testing purposes we may notify the community of possible exposure dates and times.

We’ve missed you and we can’t wait to see you but we take your health and safety very seriously. So, come out to see all your friends, just please stick to the rules. We want everyone to stay as healthy and happy as possible. 

AAR

Tomorrow was supposed to be a virtual townhall about the cancelation of Burning Flipside 2021. However, due to all the unprecedented events of the past week and due to the fact that many people are still recovering, AAR is postponing this event until March 1st at 7 PM. Find the details for joining the meeting below:

Topic: Virtual Townhall
Time: Mar 1, 2021 07:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89846439214?pwd=SGcrRW9iakloRVQrYXhUcyt6Y2VnZz09

Meeting ID: 898 4643 9214
Passcode: 974214
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Meeting ID: 898 4643 9214
Passcode: 974214
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kzTBbZiCY

Flipside Participants,

It is with heavy hearts that AAR must announce the cancelation of Burning Flipside 2021. While this was a difficult and emotional decision, we believe it was the only responsible choice.

We plan to reopen the warehouse when guidance from our local government and prevailing medical wisdom allows, and we look forward to seeing all of you at Flipside 2022. Thanks to the generosity of the community last year AAR is able to weather this storm.

We’d like to thank the community for its continued support, love, and understanding. We want nothing more than to safely celebrate the end of this difficult time with our chosen family but we love you all too much to risk the health of a single one of you. Stay tuned to our “announce” list available at www.burningflipside.com/contact/e-mail-lists for more ways we can all share, connect, snark, smile, art, and conspire together and remember we can all still be there for each other even if we can’t be with each other.

Here are a few questions we know many of you might be asking:

Q: What about postponing the event?

A: The only safe and logistically possible time frame of September – October interferes with both Burning Man and Myschievia putting additional strain on volunteers and participants. This combined with the uncertainty of vaccine distribution makes it a no-go.

Q: What about a burner safari-type event like happened last year?

A: Amazing community members are already working on such an event! Stay tuned.

Q: What about a socially distanced Flipside?

A: It is our belief that an event where you could not hug your friends, masks are enforced, and every tent is flagged for social-distancing purposes is no longer the Flipside we all know and love. Additionally, we are not confident that all preparatory events (work weekends, DaFT build days, volunteer training, load out, etc.) could be performed in a safe, socially-distanced manner.

Q: What about testing to create a safe “bubble” for Flipside?

A: Testing is still a significant expense that many participants lacking quality insurance could not afford to cover. Additionally, as various other attempts at this have demonstrated, it still allows for the spread of infection and false positives, the latter resulting in the turning away of healthy participants.

Please send additional questions and comments to llc@burningflipside.com. Answers to these questions and more will be discussed at a virtual town hall to be held on Monday, February 22nd at 7 PM.

Austin Artistic Reconstruction

Summary:

• There is no fall town hall this year
• We hope to hold Flipside 2021
• We will have a decision on Flipside 2021 published to the community on February 8, 2021

Normally we would be having a town hall this time of year to decide on a theme for 2021. However, due to the current Austin stay-at-home order and the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, that isn’t occurring.

The board is still hopeful that we can find a way to have Flipside 2021 safely. There’s a small chance that a vaccine will be available in enough quantity and with enough time to hold Flipside. If not, we’re investigating how we might use testing to create a Flipside-sized pod of people who have all tested negative for COVID-19. Finally, we have even discussed postponing Flipside 2021 later into the year. In other words, all options are on the table for 2021.

We’ve also worked with our key volunteers to construct the tightest possible schedule so that we can make decisions in a timely manner but with the most up to date data. Following this schedule, we have pushed back the ticket window to early February. On February 8, 2021, we feel we will be able to make a much more informed decision about holding Flipside 2021 over Memorial Day weekend.

We are publishing this date to give everyone a target to pay attention to. You might think it’s too early or too late, but we feel that more than 3 months ahead of time–and before anyone has purchased tickets–is both responsible and reasonable.

We want to hold the event, but will only do so if we feel it is safe and is in line with the latest scientific, governmental, and legal guidance at the time.

Austin Artistic Reconstruction