❤️ Help Expand Equity Tickets – Pay It Forward!

We want to provide as many low-cost Equity Tickets as possible, but due to overwhelming demand we’re reaching our limit. As a result, the deadline to apply for Equity Tickets has been moved up to April 1. We’ve allocated 10% of tickets in the SideBurn budget for reduced-cost access, but we can only go beyond that with community support.

When purchasing your ticket, you can add a $25 Pay It Forward contribution (or more!) to help fund additional low-cost tickets. Every contribution goes directly toward making SideBurn more accessible for those who need it. We’d love to give an Equity Ticket to everyone who applies, and with your help, we can get closer to that goal.

If you need a low-cost ticket, apply by April 1. The Equity Assist stream will remain open until May 6. With any questions regarding equity or accessibility, please reach out to equity@sideburn.ca.

🔥 Unveiling SideBurn 2025’s Temple & Effigy!

Sacred Grove: A Temple of Reflection, Renewal, and Connection by Sky Ece Ulusoy

The Sacred Grove is a collection of “trees,” inside of which a temple clearing has been created to host mourning, tribute, and connection. This space draws inspiration from ancient sacred groves, which were once common across cultures as places of healing.

It symbolizes the cyclical nature of life—death, rebirth, and growth. Through natural materials and interactive elements, the temple invites participants to slow down, reflect, and engage in a shared experience of communal reverence. It serves as a metaphor for personal transformation, renewal, and our collective responsibility to protect the Earth.

The above description comes directly from the artist. Learn more.

Big Top: A Towering Effigy of Light, Color, and Celebration by Karl Demel & Rich Martin

Embrace joy and freedom of self-expression through a massive interactive structure. Dare to climb Big Top’s guts and peer above the festival landscape. Wrapped in bans of twisting colour, strings of flags anchoring and bathed big top in shimmering lights. The core is open from the earth to the sky by day, and lit in a rainbow kaleidoscope by night.

The silhouette will be seen from all corners of sideburn and perhaps the whole county when we light it up and burn it down on Saturday night. Big Top may only be in existence for 3 days but he will live on forever in our festival hearts. So, step right up and be amazed.

The above description comes directly from the artist. Learn more.

Want to be part of our Temple or Effigy teams? Join us—volunteers needed!

🎨 Bringing Independent Art to SideBurn? Register by March 31st!

Planning to bring an art project to SideBurn but didn’t receive a grant? We’d still love to feature your work! To ensure your piece is included on the SideBurn 2025 map and placed in the best possible location, make sure to register your art by March 31st 11:59 PM EST.

While registration doesn’t guarantee a ticket, it ensures we can plan for your artwork.

Learn More

👐 Introducing CARE: The Consent, Accountability, Resilience, & Equity Team

We are excited to introduce CARE, a new initiative within SideBurn and the broader Flame Ontario Arts Collective. CARE is dedicated to fostering a culture where consent, equity, and accountability are not just ideals–we make them active, lived principles in everything we do.

CARE’s mission is to provide a meaningful and accessible process for individuals to voice concerns regarding SideBurn events, volunteers, and attendees. Through this, we aim to strengthen the foundation of consent and equity across our community, ensuring that every person feels heard, valued, and respected.

Want to learn more or get involved? Visit our website or reach out to care@sideburn.ca.

✊ Our Commitment to Radical Inclusion

SideBurn thrives on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we stand firmly behind these values. While we embrace radical inclusion, we do not tolerate consent violations, intolerance, hatred, or harassment. Our newly formed CARE Team is dedicated to ensuring a safe and welcoming space for all.

Read our full Statement on Radical Inclusion here.

📣 Call for Volunteers: HR Co-Lead, Art Truck Coordinator, and Temple/Effigy Crew

SideBurn is looking for passionate, organized, and enthusiastic volunteers to help make this year’s event a success! We currently have various key roles open: HQ Co-Lead, Art Truck Coordinator, and Temple/Effigy Crew. Whether you’re great at keeping things running smoothly on-site or coordinating logistics behind the scenes, we’d love to have you on board.

No prior experience is required—just a willingness to learn and be part of an amazing team. Visit our website for more details, and email us at volunteer@sideburn.ca if you’re interested!

Learn More

On March 3rd, 2025, we hosted our Newbie Night—an info session to cover the essentials, from “What is SideBurn?” and “Can I bring my chinchilla?” to practical tips on packing, getting involved, and what to expect at this year’s gathering. Whether you’re a first-timer or a seasoned attendee, there was something for everyone!

If you missed the event or need a refresher on key details, we’ve shared our slide deck below for easy access.

We hope you are as excited as we are for SideBurn! We bet you’re wondering how to get a ticket. There are three ways to get tickets – staff tickets, theme camp/art grant tickets, and general sale. We’ll focus on general sales because most people get tickets that way and because if you’re one of the other two, you’ll be told individually what you have to do to get your ticket.

Important: Our general ticket sale is NOT first-come, first-serve. We do this to make the system a bit more fair and accessible (for example, if you work when the tickets went on sale, you might miss out), and it also reduces strain on our ticketing system by spreading out our busy times.

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Creating a Ticketing Account

To get tickets for our general sale, you need to create an account on our ticketing portal. If you’re new, sign up for an account, but if you bought a ticket last year, your account has already been created, and you should use your previous account.

Please don’t create multiple accounts with different email addresses! If we see multiple accounts with the same legal name, we assume you’re trying to double your chances for a ticket, and we may delete the account.

If you have problems with your account, email ticketing@sideburn.ca, and we’ll help you out right away. Password reset can help if you’re locked out.

Login or Create an Account

Step 2: Register for the General Sale

During our general sale registration period, between March 8-15 inclusive, you can log into the ticketing portal, and you’ll see a button that says “Register here”. Click that button to add yourself to the general sale tickets list.

On March 17th, we’ll shuffle all the names on that list into a random order and send out ticket offers.

Step 3: Buying Your Ticket – Ticket Offers

Each ticket offer will be sent to your email and is only valid for 72 hours, so don’t delay if you get one!

If you miss your offer window, you can add yourself back to the waiting list. Your name will be re-added at the back of the queue if you’re still interested in a ticket.

🏷️ Pricing

This year, tickets are:

• All attendees aged 18 and over: $150 + fees
• Minors aged 13-17: $75 + fees
• Children aged 12 and under: Free (a ticket is still required)

A small fee will be added to ticket costs for payment processing.

Learn More

🤔 What happens if you don’t register by March 15th?

Don’t worry! If you log into the ticketing portal after the registration period, click the “Register Here”, button and add yourself to the list. You’ll be dropped into the queue behind everyone who registered during the registration period. There’s still a very strong chance you’ll get a ticket as people cancel and more tickets are added to the pool. You can join the waiting list until May 7, and we’ll keep sending out offers until that evening.

❌ Cancellations and Refunds

You can cancel your ticket anytime before 6 PM on May 7. This is the last time your cancelled ticket can be offered to another SideBurner. You can cancel your ticket and receive a refund by logging into the portal and pressing “change my order” at the top.

❤️ SideBurn’s Equity Program: Making Participation Accessible for All

Concerned about participation barriers in attending this year’s SideBurn? Our Equity Program offers two streams of support for ticketing and participation, and we’re now accepting applications!

• Reduced-cost: 75% discount for those facing financial hardship
• Equity Assist: Guaranteed second ticket for a caregiver assisting with daily living

Applications close May 6th 2025. For any further information or accessibility requests, email equity@sideburn.ca.

Learn More

🔥 Need more information?

Lots more ticketing info is available on our ticketing website, including anything you need to know about vehicle passes, minor tickets, RV passes and more.

Read all that and still have questions? Email ticketing@sideburn.ca to talk to a member of our team!