2015 Tickets Announced!

/

ticketsDid you get the news? Ticket sales have been announced! Tickets for Mosaic Experiment go on sale on Brown Paper Tickets on Wednesday, June 3 at 12 pm. For adults (age 13 and over), tickets are $75, and child tickets (12 and under) are no cost, as a gift to the community. BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE: http://mosaicexperiment2015.brownpapertickets.com/

This year, your Mosaic organizers are intent on making our burn even more incredible. We’ve got our minds on sustainability of the event, not just for 2015, but for years to come. Since our February planning retreat, we’ve been thinking ahead, making goals, researching possibilities, creating budgets… all in the name of planning a safe, sustainable, well-organized event where creativity and community reign.

Take a look at what’s new and exciting for 2015:

  • A BIG INCREASE IN ART GRANTS! We’ve budgeted $500 for Youth Art Grants, $500 for Medium Art Grants (plus two fundraisers for even more funds, to be held in Cincinnati and Indianapolis this summer), and $2000 for Large Art Grants. A total of $3000 to support more art!
  • MORE FUNDS FOR EFFIGY: We previously announced a budget of $500 for the effigy (as we offered in 2014.) Well, hold on to your hats, y’all, because we’re increasing that budget by $500... for a total $1000.
  • INVESTMENTS IN INFRASTRUCTURE: Let’s face it. We need to safely shelter our fabulous volunteers from the unpredictable Ohio weather in October. firesafetyWe’re making sure that our front Gate has a shade structure that doesn’t fall apart, that our Greeters are sheltered from sun and sleet while hugging your necks, that our Fire Safety team has the gear needed to protect us, and that DPW (Department of Public Works) has the tools and supplies they need to create signage, lighting, and other common use areas. These tools, structures and gear have to be housed somewhere, and a central storage space maintained and inventoried by the organization saves individuals from taking on this financial investment and liability. It’s worth it, don't you think, to be able to reuse these resources year after year?
  • LEGAL FUNDS: We’ve taken an important step this year in garnering legal counsel to help us navigate sensitive situations that impact everyone at an all-ages burn, to further investigate fire safety laws in Ohio, and for general counsel as needed.
  • FIREWOOD INCLUDED FOR ALL: As you might know, our landowner prefers that all firewood be purchased from one approved source, and that no firewood be brought into Reclaim from across state lines (for environmental reasons). 2firepitThis presents a challenge. Last year, we budgeted $600 to provide firewood for everyone at the burn. Sadly, by late Saturday night we were all a little chilly… so this year, we’ve increased the firewood budget to $1000. Firewood will be freely available for pickup onsite to all campers with registered campsites.
  • GIFT TICKETS FOR CHILDREN: No cost for child tickets (12 years and under.)
  • LOW INCOME TICKET PROGRAM: Last but not least, this year we are implementing a low income ticket program. A limited amount of lower cost tickets will be made available, to help some of those who might have difficulty affording the increased ticket price. We love ALL of our Mosaic family, and are sensitive to financial issues. Please read all details & apply by June 17, 2015: Google Doc PDF

LK029_8144As our Experiment grows, we grow along with it. Each step we take towards responsible growth ensures that we burn brightly and safely together for many years to come. Want to get involved in shaping Mosaic Experiment's future? Check out our volunteer lead positions.

Interested in learning more about how planning, organizing and budgeting for a regional burn works? Want to read about last year's burn, and how we made some of these decisions? Check out the Mosaic Experiment 2014 Afterburn Report.

More questions about ticketing? Be sure to read the 2015 Ticket Information for all the details you need, and mark your calendars to buy tickets starting June 3rd at noon.  For questions not answered here, email tickets[at]mosaicexperiment[dot]com.

2015 THEME: Defying Gravity

/

DEFYING GRAVITY: Mosaic Experiment 2015 Decades ago, we began our ascent into the unknown cosmos. While fighting against the very real force of Earth's pull on our new celestial bodies, we were also challenging our notions of the solemn, once sacred Space. An untouched realm was interrupted; this ripple effect shifted status quo to include the impossible, the unhinged. We could now touch our fantasies. The veil had been parted.

There are hints at this weightless existence here on our earthly sphere. Insects defy the laws of gravity: chunky bumblebees fly with inexplicable wings using brute force; ants climb walls, overcoming resistance with their miniscule weight. Plant shoots unfurl and trees stretch towards the sky, aided with the movement of water and nutrients by the phenomena of evaporation.

GRAVITY: The force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tend to fall toward the center of the earth. Also: of a serious and solemn nature.

DEFY: to challenge the power of; to resist boldly.

Mosaic Experiment continues this year on a reclaimed strip-mine - or is it a portal to a new time space, our temporary home in the cosmos? Here, “reality” is up for debate. We may encounter visions of galaxies, nebulae, and newborn stars that melt in our hands, messages of light transmitted across sound, laughter expressed through prisms of color, knowledge of otherworldly sentience, small doors leading to vast spaces. Beyond the looking glass sphere of Earth, this dimensional shift brings about curiouser and curiouser visages, where anything is possible and even the stars aren't the limit.

How will you leave gravity behind?

 PARTICIPATE!

Sign up for the Mosaic Experiment mailing list:

[wysija_form id="1"]

Mosaic Experiment 2014 Afterburn Report

/

Mosaic 2014 Afterburn ReportIt is with much gratitude and excitement Mosaic is now ready to share with our annual year-end report, providing our participants with an up-to-date overview of the 2014 Mosaic event, our organization, our objectives, and the obstacles we encountered trying to achieve them.

Our hope is that this report with help provide a context for understanding the organization and people behind the event. “Mosaic Experiment” is the name we use to define the scope, scale and dynamic nature of what we all do together. Whether or not you attended the event, we ask that you take a moment to review our year long struggles, achievements, and lessons learned. Each team lead volunteered to take time out of their busy schedules to document their experience for future leaders of our organization. Perhaps one of them will be you?

Mosaic Experiment 2014 Afterburn Report [Google Doc] [PDF]

All Tickets Are Officially Gone!

/

Sold All The Tickets!Mosaic Experiment has become the first Ohio regional burn to hit its ticket cap before sales were scheduled to end. In fact, the event isn't for another month! Roughly 200 tickets sold within the two weeks leading up to the ticket tier pricing change from $50 (Tier 1) to $75 (Tier 2.) This is shocking to all of us as there has never been a ticket scarcity for an Ohio burn since the first ones started 7 years ago (in 2007.) Mosaic has had them on sale since April and have been promoting them since March.

We started notifying people of a ticket sellout threat 2 weeks prior to the start of September as we saw an increasing number of them selling every day right up until Tier 2 hit. By then there were less than 50 remaining and they all sold within two days. In total, that's 350 tickets sold in just over 5 months. By contrast, our closest large regional burn to Ohio is Lakes of Fire and their 1,600 tickets were all gone within minutes of their first and second sale, both of which happened within the same week!

What can we do now? Not to fret, one of our organizers put together a Mosaic Ticket Exchange Facebook group. As the event nears, many people who secured their tickets early in response to our warnings of tickets selling out will find themselves unable to attend and will be putting up their tickets for sale here. There obviously won't be enough for everybody who still wants a ticket, but there is still hope for those holding out. If you're persistent and attentive enough, you'll stand a very good chance of getting one.

How can we raise the cap for next year? One word: volunteer! Our cap was determined in January 2014 by last year's organizers who met and guessed the number of participants we felt we could safely handle based on the number of volunteers from our inaugural year. For every extra 100 people attending, you need at least another 30 volunteers (roughly 2/3rds of the entire Lakes of Fire event is made up of volunteers!) For example, you can't justly accept 100 participants if you only have 1 greeter working a couple 6 hour shifts. Gate would be crashed, no one would be tagged entering the event, and no one would be verified as an actual ticket holder. You'd need much longer shifts (not fair to the volunteer greeters) or many more greeter volunteers to remedy this problem. If you have 500 people, you need more rangers to scout the land for potentially dangerous behavior. Having only one person on call day and night wouldn't be cutting it anymore. You'd need more Emergency Service volunteers to be on call , and more Leave No Trace people to educate the masses on picking up after themselves so the organizers don't get stuck doing it afterwards (more people = more risk of MOOP!)  At the moment I'm writing this, we still see a lot of empty volunteer slots needing to be filled. If we find a sudden boost in volunteerism before the event begins, or even at the event itself, we will feel more confident raising the cap. Want to help make it easier for more people to attend next year? Volunteer this year!

Why not raise the cap now? Aside from the note above about our critical need for more volunteers this year, we are also bound by a contract with the property owner stating we would have no more than 350 for this year's event, and we also stated this on our insurance policy. To permit more would violate both our signed contract with the property owner and our insurance policy.  Best thing to do now if you're a lucky ticket holder is to volunteer for a couple shifts at Mosaic, and if you already are, encourage your campmates to do the same. There are many slots still available, most importantly Emergency Services, Rangers, and Greeters, but we definitely need a stronger Leave No Trace presence this year or we may not be permitted back on this property. PLEASE spread the word and encourage everyone to pack it all out! Help make our event cleaner, better, and ultimately bigger, by volunteering right now!