Making sure that we return, year after year.

Each year after SOAK concludes and the event space has become a cattle ranch once again, the Placement Team collects feedback about each camp and determines their Standing. Camps are evaluated to be either in Good Standing, Jeopardized Standing, or Bad Standing. This is a guide for how to be and stay in Good Standing.

Standing Classifications

Good Standing - This is what we all strive for.  A camp with Good Standing is “doing it right.”  Camps begin their existence at SOAK with Good Standing, and it is therefore theirs to keep or lose.  The vast majority of camps at SOAK have Good Standing, year after year.  Camps with Good Standing receive a better chance at receiving placement.

Jeopardized Standing - This Standing is assigned to those Camps that were found to have substantially transgressed these Criteria during their most recent SOAK event. Camps assigned this Standing will receive meaningful, remedial, actionable feedback from Placement, which constitutes a path back into Good Standing.  A camp with Jeopardized Standing that takes this feedback to heart, and which does not substantially transgress these Criteria in other ways, will regain their Good Standing status.

Bad Standing - A camp with Bad Standing is one that was in Jeopardized Standing during their most recent SOAK event, but that by all evidence did not take Placement’s remedial feedback to heart, and / or substantially transgressed these Criteria in other ways. A camp with Bad Standing will receive deprioritized placement, and may not be placed at all.

The Criteria

The following Criteria are used by Placement to determine a camp’s Standing each year.  We have tried to make these Criteria easy to understand, follow, and evaluate. We recognize that there is a degree of subjectivity and judgment involved in the evaluation process.  Any questions or concerns a camp might have with respect to said evaluation should be sent to placement@soakpdx.com.  We promise to read and respond to all inquiries with consideration and respect. It basically boils down to these things:

  • Follow all event policies. This includes policies around: sound, fire, staying out of the river, serving alcohol only to adults, permitted vehicles in camp, no pets, etc. 

  • Do what you say you’re going to do

  • Use all of the space requested to its maximum potential.

  • Be respectful of camp boundaries and your neighbors.

  • Be open and respectful to resolving issues as they arise.

  • Honor our Decommodification Principle.

  • Leave No Trace.

  • Be respectful to SOAK operations.

  • Communicate if you are having trouble.

More Details regarding each of the Criteria:

Review all SOAK Policies:

  1. Fire

  2. Sound

  3. Fire Performance

  4. River

  5. Camping Vehicles

  6. Accessibility

  7. Bars

  8. Code of conduct

If your camp breaks any safety protocols established for the event as defined by the event’s production team, your camp is not in Good Standing.

Did your camp do what you said you were going to do?

  1. If something prevented you from doing what you said you were going to do in your application, let us know ideally by talking to the SOAK Placement Leads while at SOAK or by emailing us to let us know what happened. 

  2. If your camp didn’t follow through on its primary interactivity and frontage as outlined in its registration application, your camp may not be in Good Standing.

Use all of the space requested to its maximum potential.

  1. If something goes wrong and you need to cancel your camp’s reserved placement, let us know by emailing placement@soakpdx.com as early as possible and your camp’s Standing will not be affected. 

  2. If you do not show up without informing us, your camp is not in Good Standing.

  3. Were campers in your assigned space considerate and efficient with their use of it (taking into account environmental obstacles such as trees, boulders, steep slopes, etc.)?  Were there large gaps between tents and other structures? They should be large enough to walk safely between but not so large that it would add up to more tent space. Walkways generally need about 3-5 feet.  What was your shade-to-tent ratio?  Not everybody needs their very own shade structure. Consider the ability for camp members to hang out in your public space as well.

  4. Did your camp prioritize efficiently filling your allotted space before allowing your camp members to expand out into Open Camping?  Open Camping is a very limited and precious resource for participants who do not belong to camps.

  5. If your camp finds itself with more space than it needs and is willing to donate some part of it to Open Camping, that is extremely appreciated and will earn your camp some serious extra credit points with Placement.

Be respectful of camp boundaries and your neighbors. Is your camp a good neighbor?  Did your camp uphold our community’s principles and cultural norms?  Examples of good citizenship for theme camps include, but is not limited to, the following:

  1. Are you being respectful of the camp boundaries of your neighbors?

  2. Are you being neighborly (e.g. following the Sound Policy, being considerate of the impact of generator sound and/or exhaust, and resolving sound, boundary, and other disputes as they arise)?

If we receive community feedback to suggest your camp’s behavior was symptomatic of a lack of citizenship or did not uphold our community’s principles and cultural norms, your camp may not be in Good Standing.

Honor our Decommodification Principle

  1. If your camp advertises or engages in commodification at SOAK, your camp is not in Good Standing.

  2. If we received feedback from other SOAK departments or the community that anyone in your camp sold or advertised goods or services during SOAK, your camp is not in Good Standing.

Be respectful to SOAK operations. Was your camp a strain on SOAK’s organizational resources?

  1. If you are repeatedly asked to address something by SOAK Operations or Rangers and are unresponsive or hostile in addressing it, your camp is not in Good Standing.

  2. If your camp attracts negative attention from SOAK Operations, that may be deemed as a strain on resources, and your camp may not be in Good Standing.

Leave No Trace. How was your camp’s MOOP?

  1. If your camp leaves MOOP at SOAK, your camp may not be in Good Standing.

As stated above, this isn’t black and white - there are both objective and subjective aspects to this evaluation.  Further, the defined Criteria and associated examples is not exhaustive; other, unforeseen transgressions may be discovered, and just because something isn’t listed here as being explicitly “bad” does not mean that it’s necessarily fine.  Use your best judgment, and if you’re unsure and really want to stay safe about it, consider running it by Placement before you do the thing.

A camp begins their existence in Good Standing, and it is therefore theirs to keep or lose.  A camp in Good Standing is a camp that is “doing it right.”  When camps are in Good Standing, it makes SOAK the place we know and love. We support your efforts to be in Good Standing, and we honor the community by giving meaningful, actionable feedback to camps that are not.

We have a great community – the vast majority of SOAK camps are in Good Standing each year after the event!

The intent of this document is to give you as a camp leader a good idea of what it takes to remain in Good Standing. The vast majority of SOAK camps are in Good Standing after the event each year, it really isn’t that hard to do. Keep showing up and being interactive, culturally aligned, neighborly, responsive, amazing citizens of SOAK who leave no trace, and you should have nothing to worry about! 

Thank you to everyone who strives to do it right.

How to Join A Theme Camp

START LOCAL. If there's a local burner community, there may already be camps you can connect with. Bonuses include being able to help them with year-round activities and going to local burns.

Caveat: not everyone is privileged to be in a major city with a vibrant burner community. If you can't find a local camp, there are plenty of camps that either are open to adding non-locals, or who already have campers from all over the place. You can find existing communities by joining social media pages searching by [location]+Burners, such as the Portland Burners Facebook Page, making a post, and attending local events such as Woosday.

CONTRIBUTE. Think about what skills you can bring to help build the community you're looking for. This could be building/providing infrastructure, supporting/creating in-camp events, and more! 

KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR. What intention do you want to focus on for your first SOAK? If you want to prioritize listening to music and dancing, a camp focused on healing arts and massage may not be a good fit. If you're low-key & looking for deep connection, then a large bar camp may not contribute to your intention set. Not every camp will be a match for your logistical needs, your personality, and the way you want to burn, so it's best to figure that out before reaching out.

EXPRESS WHO YOU ARE. Knowing if a camp culture is a good fit is a two-way street. Be authentic with your presentation to a prospective camp! This could look like "I am a 32-year-old cis-female-identifying lesbian, native of Michigan now living in Portland. I work in healthcare and have lots of experience building infrastructure and carpentry in my free time. I value human connection and creating space for others to explore their passions. My hobbies include hiking, camping, volunteering, and leaving rubber duckies in unsuspecting places."

BE TRAVEL-FLEXIBLE. Camps looking for folks, especially if they have tickets to allocate, are very likely looking for people who can come early or stay late to be part of the transportation, build, or strike. Make sure you have the bandwidth to contribute to the theme camp’s mission before signing up!