[AP closed, CeltsBurn2023 4-11April] 'A proper fucking burn' - should we make Celtic Burn a week-long event?
**THIS AP IS NOW CLOSED - CELTIC BURN WILL NOW BE HELD APRIL 4th - APRIL 11th**
It's happening! Today we have confirmed the same site as last year for Celtic Burn 2023. Hooray!
Now talk has moved as to whether or not we should make Celtic Burn a proper fucking burn, and do it for a week.
Given we are booking the same land, the dates we have for this year would be to do Tuesday April 4th- Tuesday April 11th. That would mean we have much more time for build to make the site our own, bring/build art, make it cosier (and warmer) in places and generally make it feel more like a burn. Given we're looking at 100% moving to new land for 2024, it would also set a precedent for us to do a Sunday-Sunday burn ongoing.
Either that, or we keep it at five days as last year and do Thursday 6th - Tuesday 11th.
What do people think? We're not 100% certain on costs yet, but given we can unofficially expand to 150 this year, there wouldn't be a huge increase in costs as the +50 people would cover the expense of hiring the site for two more days.
We've provisionally booked the site for the week, but will change it back if people disagree.
I'll keep this AP open until the end of October.
And don't forget to Live, Laugh, Love x
Vic B Sun 23 Oct 2022 9:29AM
If the costs arent going to shoot up too much and can be covered by an extra few tickets being sold then I'd be inclined to make it the full week! I'm not sure I'd be able to go the whole time but I'd like the option to stay even one more day and I'm sure other people will too!
Philip Whittaker Thu 13 Oct 2022 2:46PM
Well... Yes!
Allan Thu 13 Oct 2022 4:46PM
Do we know anything about when most people arrived this year? From my impression I think most folk arrived on the Thur but if a sizable proportion didn't arrive till Fri it may suggest that extending the dates might not be suitable for most. I think quite a few left on the Sun too if memory serves.
We know from Nest, and other burns, that while a burn can be for a whole week in many cases a sizable number don't turn up till later on in the burn. That may be an issue with smaller numbers like 100 or 150.
Might be worth asking folk the additional question, if it was a full week when would you arrive?
There is a Scottish bank holiday on 7 April and another on 10 April (Good Fri & Easter Mon) so that makes attendance from Thur/Fri easier & increases numbers likely to stay till Mon at least, but earlier dates will likely require folk to book holidays.
If we're going with the same site again then we might not get the full usage out of the hot tub as, with extended duration it'd need to be cleaned out mid-week (taking a day I think to heat up, can't remember) or it'd be dirty, unappealing hippy soup for the rest of the week.
Bear in mind that any expansion to 150 will, I believe, require an events license & an associated alcohol license. Both gettable but require a bit of hoop jumping & a little additional cost.
Chris Hemmings Fri 14 Oct 2022 9:26AM
Thanks for your detailed response.
My thought on this is that, as with all burns, people are free to arrive and leave whenever they like. Last year's arrival data isn't really able to be extrapolated out to this year... The burn started on a Thursday, so some arrived Friday. One couple arrived at 2am Sunday morning!
If the burn starts Tuesday, some will arrive Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... that's how it works. If the dates don't work for people, they choose whether to come for a small part or not at all.
As for booking holidays, that's the case for all burns/festivals/holidays. It's a personal choice!
We're still not certain we'll be using the hot tub given there was creeping afoot last year, but again, the fact it may need cleaning out doesn't cross any sort of threshold for not doing a longer burn!
Also, as mentioned in the initial post, we'd be unofficially increasing the 150, so there wouldn't be any need for a licence. The land owners have agreed to this.
John Fryer Fri 14 Oct 2022 7:25PM
With respect to Civic Responsibility and recognition that we are a registered Ltd company can we clarify that the suggested capacity expansion complies to Scottish Law?
John Fryer Wed 19 Oct 2022 5:52PM
Very late to this, apologies if too late. Thought it pertinent from an LBT and Civic Responsibility perspective to call out the oil that was leaking from the woodcutter machine thingy onto the land creating a lot of damage to the soil and potentially an EPA issue. Initial conversations had when that was discovered during strike amongst some of the people in this thread suggested we should move from a principles point of view. So if choosing to stay at the site can someone liaise with the site about this and what has been done since then with respect to looking after the land?
Chris Hemmings Thu 20 Oct 2022 7:39AM
This is an AP about extending the burn to a week. I’m certain that possible oil leaks and Scottish law discussions can take place elsewhere.
John Fryer Sat 22 Oct 2022 3:00PM
I accidentally posted on the wrong thread - meant for the one on whether to stay on site or not
John Fryer Sat 22 Oct 2022 3:00PM
Very late to this, apologies if too late. Thought it pertinent from an LBT and Civic Responsibility perspective to call out the oil that was leaking from the woodcutter machine thingy onto the land creating a lot of damage to the soil and potentially an EPA issue. Initial conversations had when that was discovered during strike amongst some of the people in this thread suggested we should move from a principles point of view. So if choosing to stay at the site can someone liaise with the site about this and what has been done since then with respect to looking after the land?
Sam Lee · Thu 13 Oct 2022 10:25AM
Love it. I think a week long burn is better for the soul and will be good for Scotland (community).
Costs should be okay too.
The cottages have wi-fi, and I can imagine turning one of them into a worker (hacker) space for anyone that can work from home and can't get the week days off work.