Midwest Burners

This Event Is Cancelled (T.E.I.C.)

presents Tardigrade Tough

(A microscopic Look at Our microscopic Burn)

Afterburn Report

Gary Bingham (GareBear)
Kate Catlin (Friday)
Rachel Katherine
August 4, 2022 – August 7, 2022
4552 Anderson Rd, Topeka, KS 66617
Land Contact : Ron Penry (785) 817-7906

What’s a Tardigrade you ask? And, how are they tough? Also, why is this a good theme?
A Tardigrade is better known by its nickname the water bear. The water bear is a near-microscopic animal that is nearly indestructible and can even survive in outer space. They can survive altitudes of over 19,600 feet and
depths more than 15,000 feet below the surface. They can withstand temperatures as low as minus 328 degrees Fahrenheit and hotter than 300 degrees F. They can also survive exposure to radiation, boiling liquids,
and up to six times the pressure of the deepest part of the ocean. These little guys can also survive a crushing impact of about 1.14 gigapascals of pressure.

If you know T.E.I.C. like we know T.E.I.C. then you know that we like to survive. We like being known for our extreme conditions and extreme weather. We have also overcome a lot to still be here, not just weather. And, we are still overcoming and surviving to be here as we move to a new location to call home. This theme is more than celebrating microscopic beings, it is about how we at T.E.I.C. are tough and our small burn keeps
surviving.

This year, we gathered on new land, closer to Topeka, with high hopes for the future. 78 adult tickets were sold, with 57 people coming together to participate in the event. 29 people completed 58 volunteer shifts out of
a total 196. This is just one reason why we are considering a shorter event for 2023. By removing Thursday, we can remove almost a third of the volunteer positions needed.

Participants were given the opportunity to create their own microscopic effigy out of popsicle sticks, which were then placed on a wooden microscope (which was an art grant project) for burning on Saturday night. Temple was created out of recycled materials, and burned as the sun rose Sunday morning.

Sponsored Art
We sponsored 3 art projects this year – Glow Garden, Micro-kaleido-scope of WONDERS, and Tardigrade Lemonade.
The Glow Garden was a collection of solar powered flowers and creatures as well as a fountain, all surrounding a rug for your lounging pleasure. The Micro-kaleido-scope of WONDERS was our effigy add-on, A large wooden microscope whose scope was turned into a large scale kaleidoscope which we placed our micro effigies on for burning. Last but not least, Tardigrade Lemonade was a beautiful glass dress, worn by a
participant as they handed out lemonade flavored electrolyte powder, reminding people of the importance of remaining hydrated.

COVID Tests
This year we required a negative COVID test at the gate to enter. Participants brought an unused test with them and took the test upon arrival in front of a gate volunteer before leaving their vehicles. The gate volunteer verified the results were negative and then they were permitted to check in at the gate area.

If the results were positive, the participants would not be permitted entrance, and anyone else in the vehicle with someone who tested positive would also not be permitted entrance. In the event of a positive test result at the gate they could test again. If the result was still positive, their ticket numbers would have been recorded and made valid for next year’s event.

Nobody tested positive that was tested for the 2022 event.

Departmental Summary of Operations
Volunteer Coordinator – DJ Jones (Piper)
Most departments quickly let me know what volunteer help was needed, it was easy to establish contact with leads who needed volunteers. SignUp worked great as a resource to create volunteer sign up pages. If I could
do it differently, I would have gotten the more important departments’ SignUps public first.
I had a volunteer to create graphics for the badges this year. The laminated badges looked very good even though we had printing problems. I would do the printing differently next time to avoid errors and still have
laminated badges like this year, in the pouches. There was low volunteer help all around, attendees (excluding leadership) were asked to take 3 shifts total and only 10 did so.

Gate – Matt Cortez
Gate had an overall smoother operation and education of new volunteers on expectations compared to the previous year’s event. There’s still obviously room for optimization across the board including better
organization, training, and making sure procedures are being executed with a high level of uniformity between the different shifts. A couple waivers were missed due to early entry, there was not a solid early entry process
in place. I would like to see continued implementation of an electronic sign in process, however it would be best if Gate had its own devices available for use.
I would like to see as many departments as possible hold a pre-burn discussion with volunteers for proper orientation. In the future the master gate list should not be available for anyone to see at gate, set up a folder
for organizing waivers or at least a binder. Should also add a waver line for vehicle tags in case something happens so we have a trail to follow. If funds allow next year I would like having power and a fan setup if gate
has the same placement in a field with little cover during such a hot time of the year, prefer volunteers not roast during their shift if we can prevent it.

Temple – Nina Eugena Halltheusen (WoodBee)
Temple did not have a budget line and did not file an art grant. This required finding wood, reworking the design and piecing it together using scrap wood once the event had started. The Temple was completed before
the second day of the event being officially open. Piecing together a Temple from scraps on the fly went better than expected. Finding wood donations and clean scrap wood worked well.
I think more of that kind of re-use would be good, though maybe not relying on it alone. A good saw and a drill would be things we could use for the department moving forward.

Earth Guardians – Brandon Blick (Bangle)
The land was in bad shape so our efforts were noticed immediately. Volunteers were light, If I had it to do over I would take a more aggressive role in finding volunteers and encourage more people to step up. Earth
Guardians is an easy and good position for new burners to undertake, and gives them easy access for ownership and participation in T.E.I.C.
We will take a more aggressive push to do MOOP sweeps next year, as they are easy to do and important for communal effort and leave no trace. The buckets we had worked great, but we could use an investment in
more trash pickers.

Placement – Rachel Katherine
I had a BLAST creating the map. Not much really went wrong for Placement this year.
Live mapping would be amazing if we could swing it next year. A line painting machine to try to mark out areas beforehand would be great if we are allowed to put marking paint down by the landowner and get some good signs made next year.

Games Warden – Rachel Katherine
I dismissed the A/V Club because I thought we didn’t have a decibel meter. Whoops, we did. They’ll be back next year. Next year, we would love to have a stage for center camp.
Show Hoes were problematic this year. Next year, we’ll be more specific with them and explain their roles and
duties completely.

Medic – David Bronson
Everything went well in the Medic department. We need more shifts covered next year, and we would like placement closer to camps.

F.A.S.T. – Robert Crumpler
We’re happy to announce that no one got hurt. The Effigy and Temple burned just fine. There was growth and new interest in F.A.S.T. this year, and we will be doing more education for next year. The department could use a water trailer.

DPW – William Gifford (RavenWolf)
Ice sales were being handled a bit differently than in years past. Due to a limited budget, new land, and a few other factors, ice was purchased as it was needed. DPW crew took orders for ice every day and ice that was
ordered was available back at HQ for pick up.
Land prep was hard this year, very few volunteers and some personal used equipment was damaged from the land. We have hopes to improve on areas of the land for next year if we can get enough people interested to
help us do it.

Perimeter – Beth Hughes
Perimeter was lacking volunteers, the fire performers ended up stepping up and helping out. They were amazing!

Financial Report
Total Ages 3+ Tickets Sold: 78 out of a cap of 100
Children 3 and under don’t require a paid ticket, one child under 3 was present.

Total Ticket Revenue: $1,950
Total T.E.I.C. Donations: $140

Total Art Grant Donations: $70
Total Art Grant Funding From Topeka Area Burners: $1,053

Total Budgeted Department Expenses: $469
Actual Department Expenses: $462
Under Budget by $7

Total Budgeted Shared Expenses: $554
Actual Shared Expenses: $477
Under Budget by $77

Total Budgeted Revenue: $2,500
Total Actual Revenue: $2,160
Total Budgeted Expenditure: $2,594
Total Actual Expenditure: $2,197

There were no net revenues, we actually overspent by $37, this was in part due to gas for land prep not being
properly budgeted.