Mosaic Experiment No Longer In-Person For 2021

This afternoon, we’d like to address the public health crisis we’ve watched return to our communities over the last few weeks. The rapidly spreading delta variant of COVID-19 proved to be the one guest we didn’t invite, yet here it is knocking at our door demanding our attention. After seeking the counsel of medical professionals, considering new data regarding transmission among vaccinated groups, and weighing every option we could consider, we’re writing to sincerely apologize and acknowledge that the lights must go off once again.

We are deeply saddened to share that we have cancelled our in-person Mosaic Experiment for 2021. Please understand, this was unquestionably the hardest decision we’ve ever made.

We know this isn’t the news anyone wants to read and we’ve struggled with it, but the growing public health risk to our participants, staff and neighbors wasn’t something we could weather. Furthermore, there is a financial side to this decision which we have to acknowledge. Our insurance would have been five times the normal cost and we are reaching a point in our planning where our financial commitments would become locked in place for the event. Were we forced to shut down in mid-September, we wouldn’t be able to afford to burn in 2022, and this would be financially devastating for us in the long term.

We, as a community, have been particularly diligent in embracing Civic Responsibility this year. In that spirit, we simply could not justify taking a risk regarding public safety or our burn’s long term survival as the virus spreads once again. As we’ve watched other events in Ohio cancel or postpone to the fall, we also looked at pushing our dates back into October, but due to scheduling conflicts, this unfortunately wasn’t an option.

We will be issuing further updates over the next few days, including addressing all your ticketing questions. Please understand we’re refocusing our efforts as quickly as we can now. That said, we are excited to return to the digital burn playground we built in 2020 and shift our creative gears toward new ways we can gather virtually, September 16th-19th, 2021. We will still burn together, just in a slightly different way once again. We thank you for staying at our side, being so supportive and showing us that there is hope ahead, even if the lights go on and off sometimes. We will build the world we want together, again and again, in the years ahead.