SideBurn is an event run by the community, for the community. We aim to be as accessible and transparent as possible. You’ll find contact info and more about the organization team here. You can also join our facebook group to connect with the community.
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Connect with us
For questions about...
Consent & Conduct Committee
conduct@sideburn.ca
volunteering, signing up for shifts
volunteer@sideburn.ca
set up/transport/tear down of infrastructure, land prep & LNT
dpw@sideburn.ca
all matters pertaining to our equity ticketing program
equity@sideburn.ca
about general ticketing and technical issues
ticketing@sideburn.ca
theme camps, placement, sound
city@sideburn
art grants, art grant committee, general art questions
art@sideburn.ca
fire art, emergency response, fire safety teams
fast@sideburn.ca
rangers, first aid,
sanctuary
communitysafety@sideburn.ca
gate, greeter, parking and exodus
flow@sideburn.ca
website, social media management, newsletter, survival guide
comms@sideburn.ca
Meet the 2024 Team
Behind the scenes you’ll find 11 hard-working humans, dedicated to preparing every detail so we can play in the hay fields in May. This year our committee is unique, made up of people from Toronto, Oakville, Ottawa and Montreal in hopes to better reach our extended communities - A true regional collaboration.
To reach the entire event committee/FlameON legal entity board, please don’t hesitate to reach out to event@sideburn.ca
Branda Dale
she/her
President &
Event Coordinator
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In 2018 when she needed it most, Branda happened across a Toronto Orphan Burn and a new chapter of her life began! Never one to sit on the sidelines, she plunged in with organizing aspects of volunteering with regional events including decomps and parties in Toronto and after meeting the love of her life and moving to Montreal she took the president position of the Bruleurs de Montreal leading their non-profit for a 2 year term. Branda joined the event committee for this event in 2017 and has held various roles including volunteer coordinator and president of the current board.
Sarah Duff
she/her
Equity – Ticketing
Ottawa Regional Contact
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Sarah's playa name is 3Sheets -- short for "3 Spreadsheets to the wind" which captures her true essence as someone who likes to schedule things down to the ten minute increment and also likes to partake in creating wildly silly and scintillating moments for those around her. Sarah discovered Burning Man in 2009 and took on role of Regional Contact in Ottawa, planning recurring events and fostering the community. A key member of the Powder Monkeys and Sharkcuterie and lead event planner for Lost in Bliss and Mooseman, she has a whole lot of Burner stories and experience under her belt, and can keep you entertained with tales of lube slip'n'slides and sharkcuterie.
Sarah Barton
she/her
DPW
Burning Man Regional Contact
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Sarah has been Burning since 2008 and has been a part of the Toronto burn community since 2012 after showing up to a burner drinks night. She has been with the Regional Event organization since 2017 operating the Department of Public Works (DPW), and is thrilled to be a part of the SideBurn event committee for 2023. You’ll frequently see her at burner drinks nights, newbie nights/picnics, supporting fundraisers for art projects or jumping in with power tools (preferable) to help a team build a thing. It’s quite a feeling to do all the behind the scenes work and to watch it all come together on the field. She looks forward to seeing what shenanigans and art the community will bring for the rebirth of our beloved regional burn.
Alex Barlow
she/her
Secretary & Volunteers
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Alex first got introduced to the Burning Man community via an *amazing* Toronto burner party in 2015. Since then she was hooked, attending local events and finally the big burn in 2019. As a strong believer in collective efforts and having a great time, she joined the FlameOntario event committee, bringing her paperwork and people wrangling skills. She looks forward to seeing you all on the Haya this year!
Troy Strum
he/him
FlameON Treasurer & Flow
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Troy has been doing the Gerlach Regional almost continuously since 2008 and was dragged onto the Ontario Burner scene literally 24 hours after making Toronto his new home in 2017. Since then he’s had many varied involvements with the local camps, regional Burns, local Burner events, Burning Man camps, and has an ongoing love affair with a certain giant flaming jackalope.
Raina Hersh
she/her
City
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Raina has been lucky enough to be a part of the Burning Man community since 2011. Since that first time getting dusty Raina was inspired to get involved! She’s worked with the Rangers (Walking the dirt, Khaki, and Perimeter) both locally and in Gerlach and is a founding member of a theme camp that’s still going strong at The Big Burn 10 years later. Locally, Raina has been volunteering at Ontario regional burns since 2018. She is thrilled to be a part of the FlameOn Event Committee working to bring our temporary SideBurn city to life. Y’all are my kind of weird.
Adam
he/him
Fire Safety
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Adam was at a winery not long ago looking up at the stars, and saw the majesty of the universe and yadda, yadda, yadda -- SideBurn. Adam's motto is "Full Send" and that certainly applies to his Burning Man aspirations. Having never heard of Burning Man a few short months ago, he now has five regionals and a playa in his agenda this year! He's known not only by his commanding voice but also for his ability to pull together an impossible amount of logistics in a very, very short period of time with great panache. He's an expert at presenting a calm exterior in the face of chaos, so if something is on fire, please be sure to let him know.
Celina Lucarelli
she/they
Art
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Celina is a queer artist living and creating in Toronto. Their work as an Expressive Arts Therapist constantly engages them in the discovery of healing as an art form. This takes shape in their body of work, meant to tempt the human heart into a love affair with the wild world. By binding magical ecology with the mundane Celina aims to call out the warrior in all beings. They are fighting for a radical re-imagining of our existence and relationships with one another, systems of power and the earth. Each of their creations holds the desire to transform, and breathe life into the light of the human soul. Collaborating with other creators plays a vital role in Celina’s desire to cultivate a culture of care in our communities. They currently work with The Pomegranate Collective to curate engaging arts programming in the city, teach workshops and run art therapy groups throughout the year and write for several different publications. If they’re not working away on those you can find them in the woods, in the water or dancing underneath the full moon.
Josh
he/him
Burning Man Regional Contact & Flow
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In 1997, while working on his BFA for Interdisciplinary FIne Arts, Joshua was focusing on a thesis about the function of performative ritual, and ended up coming across a Wired Magazine article about this weird thing in the desert. To get first hand-sources, he ended up calling the small team who ran the event and pulled both a solid interview with Marien Goodell and an invitation to Burning Man. An invite he didn’t follow up on until 2009. He’s been involved with Burning Man ever since, becoming Regional Contact in Toronto in 2014, and the Meta Regionals Committee in 2016.
Kirsten Gelevan
she/her
Tech & Ticketing
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Kirsten (Red) has always been at home with Burning Man weirdos, feeling equally drawn in by the yin and yang of intense logistical discussions and unmitigated chaos. She attended the Gerlach regional in 2012, 2014 and 2016 with her partner Shepherd, and has been involved in Burner parties and regionals for the better part of a decade. She joined the ticketing efforts for this event in Feb 2020 and is thrilled to be able to finally see the event to completion after three years. Although she's on track to visit the playa again this year, SideBurn is her front Burn, and she looks for ways to live the 10 principles in her life everyday.
Leanne Unruh
she/her
Communications
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Leanne attended her first regional burn in 2019. She had noticed that in the broader festival community, there wasn’t a lot of space for the complicated feelings or personal crises that can occur at intensive events, so she got involved with Sanctuary at her first burn. The rest is history - she’s since attended multiple burns (including That Thing in the Desert) and volunteered with sanctuary, rangers, ice sales, giving workshops, contributing art, and more. You’ll likely find Leanne wearing elf ears, antlers, wings, or all of the above!
Conduct and Consent Committee
The Conduct and Consent Committee is a small group of volunteers who meet year round to discuss the evolution of our community’s understanding and enactment of conduct and consent. We exist to provide a meaningful process for community members to raise concerns relating to the SideBurn event, its volunteers and its attendees. By holding space for community members when incident reports are made, the Conduct and Consent Committee are guided by the desire to provide a more impartial and meaningful process to make recommendations to the Flame Ontario Board related to these reports.
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You can also reach out to us using any of the email addresses above.