I had a really great day at the SF Burning Man Decompression event yesterday, even though it was a looooong day in which we worked our butts off loading, unloading, building and tearing down not only a small version of the Pink Heart theme camp but also some big art pieces (we brought and reconstructed the (Inner) Freak Show Booth and the Wheel of Participation that we'd built for the Pink Heart Carnival at Burning Man this year). Despite the schlepping and hassles, it felt really, really gratifying to see so many people enjoying and participating in something we'd created, especially the carnival pieces. All day and night there were lines (!) of people waiting to get into the Freak booth and play with the Wheel. I played "barker" for the Wheel of Participation for a few hours and had wonderful interactions with both kids and grownups. I encouraged people to tell jokes, give compliments, have conversations with strangers, escort others to their destinations, pick up trash, hug heart-to-heart, tell someone "I love you" and shout out something they loved. I gave away Pink Heart prizes (buttons and heart carabiners). I got people to appreciate their multifaceted freaky selves and fly their freak flags high. It truly was glorious fun.
Other highlights were some epic jams on the handpan, first with Josh and then the two of us with two random amazing violinists who happened by, a whole variety of awesome fire dancing, and of course many conversations with interesting and beautiful people. It was great to be around the Burner vibe one more time, and to bring the Pink Heart vibe to the hungry masses.