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B.E.D. at Regional Events
Playa del Fuego
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Apogea: In May 2009 B.E.D. went to the Colorado regional burn, Apogaea. Blaze and I lead a
workshop of 15 folks, and we had 6 volunteer B.E.D.
ambassadors. Flyers were available at our regional info booth and at
"Cuddle camp", and ambassadors wandered with buttons and "pledge
badges". Pledge badges were a way to bring our theme camp pledge to a crowd with fewer theme camps and more
independent campers. They had the B.E.D. logo on the front, and a list
of things pledged to on the back. People taking the pledge signed the
back and could wear the badges on a lanyard.
It was really interesting to converse with people about the pledge.
We found that our community is full of thoughtful individuals with good
intentions. Most people taking the pledge said that they felt it would
help them improve their communication in sexual situations, as no one
is perfect and sometimes personal intentions for conduct get a little
lost in moments of passion.
Our workshop was fairly freeform. We had a small crowd, so we focused
on addressing the needs of our participants. Some were practiced in
sexual communication, others were less so. We discussed the differences
of sexual environment in Burner events and real life. We practiced
stating desires and boundaries. We identified a need to practice such
communication in an already under-way sexual situation, so we did that.
We had a great reception and many very positive comments from those who participated in both workshops and with the pledges!
Reno Re-Compression: On April 1, 2006,Burner Kids, Black Rock Citizens of Reno, the Black Rock City Bookmobile, Controlled Burn, dancers, fire spinners, musicians, potluck feasty foods, libations, robots and art cars all descended on Skoosh Ink for the annual Reno Recompression party. B.E.D. Buddy Cha Cha (Ben) went along to set up a table for B.E.D.
Cha Cha writes, "This year, I was very fortunate to come across B.E.D. and their sex-positive approach to raising awareness about violence that can and has happened out on our beloved playa. Jazzed about spreading the message, I brought our literature, buttons and info board to the Recom party! I met many awesome folks that evening - men and women - and had great opportunities to talk about the workshops and message that B.E.D. promotes. Everyone I spoke with were pretty intrigued about the t-shirts and panties we’ve created, and will look for us out at BRC this year."
"Towards the end of the evening, a young woman came by and asked for information because she something had happened to her on the playa… she later said that our visibility, and having so many peeps she felt safe with, gave her the courage to step forward and ask for help. We were able to give her some the resources that she needed to get started." |
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