We are not a festival and unlike many traditional festivals, Where the Sheep Sleep (WtSS) is an entirely participant-driven event. The WtSS participants make the event what it is. YOU are responsible for your experience. No spectators!
The event is organized by all participants as volunteers. That’s why we ask every participant to volunteer. One Burner, one shift!
A place to be, a place to pee & poop, some drinking water taps and a place where grey water can be disposed. Community power (up to max 100m away from you) and some kitchen tents (with tables and a simple gas stove). That is all that is provided for you. Everything else, including, but not limited to, food, drinks, extension chords, sound system, shelter, candy, art, hugs, clothing, music, performances, medical supplies (there is a project called the EHBO with certified first-aid on shifts), fire safety (please follow the instructions from the NL chief of the fire safety), common sense, cleaning, loving and dancing will be up to the citizens of WtSS to provide.
No food trucks, no showers, no ready-made-beds. It’s radical self-reliance!
It’s one of our core principles. No trash receptacles are provided. Please take everything you bring to the event, back home with you: pack it in, bring it out – every last tiny scrap. Never ever let trash hit the ground, but clean up as you go. If it is your cigarette butt, grey water, beer can or decoration: it goes home with you. Pack bin bags to separate your waste and use as much recyclable materials as you can.
No MOOP (Matter Out Of Place), so leave your feathers and loose glitters at home!
You cannot buy, sell, trade, promote or barter anything. WtSS is a place of sharing and free exchange within a gift economy. A real gift is given and received without any expectation of reciprocation. That said, don’t feel expected to give what you cannot or will not.
WtSS is a BYOC-event, meaning that you are supposed to bring and take responsibility for your own cup, bowl and cutlery. There will be many participants offering food or drinks and if all of them bring disposable utensils it adds unnecessary strain on both our event and our planet. BYOC solves this problem.
Cars that are not essential part of the art and creativity of WtSS (mutant vehicles/art cars) should be parked in the designated parking area. You could buy parking tickets together with your entry ticket.
RV’s can stay on a designated area on site, but you need a separate ticket – and the amount available is limited.
Our event site can potentially be a challenging environment; come prepared to confront and be responsible for your own survival. It’s dark on the site — stay safe: illuminate yourself, your bike, and your artwork and/or camp at night. You are responsible for You. Please view the what to bring and not to bring checklist and the do’s and don’ts.
According to Dutch law it’s not allowed to have small fires close to the camping area (this is for our safety and includes flares, BBQs etc). A designated place to cook (where open propane fires and barbecue are ok) is at the central kitchen tents. We want to be able to come back to the place so please respect this.
Controlled bonfires are permitted only in the for this use provided “fire bowls” that are placed on designated areas on the terrain.
Before starting any open fire (including fireworks, open barbecues or bonfires), you are required to make sure that total fire prohibition is not in effect. This decision is taken on a day to day basis by the local government and is non-negotiable if in effect. Your nearest “Wolf Ranger” will know if this is the case.
Questions with answers:
For those of you who are not an official sound camp but would like to have music or other acoustic & amplified entertainment within their camp, the maximum sound limit at the camp site is 75db (A), comparable to an iPod with small speaker and definitely not a professional sound system.
Be thoughtful of your neighbors and respect our surroundings. Amplified sound after 11pm and before 10am is not allowed as the event takes place in a nature reserve.
Would you like to share louder music with the other guests please contact the organization, so that we can reserve a spot for you on one of the stages or help you with putting up a silent disco.
We share power at WtSS. The reason for this is mainly environmental reasons, as we can get green power from the grid and we don’t want people to use generators in the quarry. However, this means that we will all have to help each other out in minimizing consumption and share extension cords /outlets et cetera – or the entire city might go down. Bring only LED lights, solar powered lights and try not to use heaters (toaster, water boilers, professional coffee machines). Turn things off when you’re not using them.
WtSS is a closed, private event, only accessible for the members of our non-profit organization and ticketholders of WtSS and their guests. This not only allows us to reject non-registered members, but requires us to reject non-registered members, to be able to follow the laws of a non-public event. This is very important.
The event is also subject to all Dutch law. Law enforcement agencies may come visit WtSS, and you risk being cited and/or arrested if you are caught breaking the law. WtSS does not promote or condone the use of illegal drugs.
The area we are using is fenced off, but it is possible for un-invited members of the public to wander into the event. If you encounter any outsider in the event area (recognizable by NOT wearing a WtSS 2017 wristband), kindly explain to them that this is a private event and ask them to leave. In case you don’t want that to do yourself, ask a Wolf Ranger to help you.
This is a closed event and every participant must have a valid ID and a registered ticket. Everyone will be checked in at the gate. There are no visitors allowed. By securing your ticket you are also legally bound to the Event Participation Agreement.
If you see someone not wearing a wristband, please ask them to leave. If this causes any troubles please inform a Wolf Ranger or Security.
WtSS is a pro-consent event. We believe that consent plays a vital part in our connectivity and community. Ensure all sides are mutually consensual prior to physical encounters (i.e hugging, groping, spanking); as are scent-sual encounters (i.e any smelly, oily or other substances applied to the skin); or sexual encounters. Consent must be clearly granted from an individual who is clearly in control of their faculties enough to grant it.
Film and photography is only allowed with full consent of ‘the subject’ and within this policy for the “use of images”.
Only small pocket size cameras are allowed on the terrain (no cameras with changeable lenses or SLR cameras). During the event photos and film could be taken of visitors for the purpose of non-profit goals by Burning Man Foundation: you’ll recognize those cameras by a remarkable tag.
Press & Media
Burning Man Netherlands – “Where the Sheep Sleep” is a private event, and photographers, videographers and documentarians wishing to capture images intended for public distribution are required to submit a proposal and sign use agreements prior to the event.