As you know, Balsa Man is a donation-supported event, which means we don’t sell tickets. Nevertheless we’ve heard secondhand reports of counterfeit tickets circulating, some of them featuring full-color art and flawless microprinting depicting the Balsa Man statue in flagrante inferno.
Below is one of the better counterfeit tickets we’ve come across.
If you encounter any more of these counterfeit tickets don’t buy them, but please send us photos because they sound freaking awesome!
Announcing the Balsa Man 2010 Placement Map for Tiny Art & Theme Camps!
Due to the record number of tiny art stomping incidents last year, Balsa Man 2010 will have a Deep Playa Protected Art Area fenced off to protect from the potential danger of participant feet. Also this allows for a better viewing of all the tiny art on display! Tiny artists are still allowed to place their art in the Inner Playa Stomping Grounds, but should do so at their own risk.
Your survival is your responsibility please make sure you read all of this survival guide and the Health & Safety section of the Terms & Conditions.
Arrival Information
We encourage all to arrive by 6pm on Sept 4th to view the tiny art and mingle with the other Balsa Man Participants—don’t be late because Balsa Man is as short as it is tiny.
Early arrival time for Balsa Man volunteers and Tiny Artists is 5:15pm. Participants may actually arrive as early as they want; however, Basla Man DTW has the right to ridicule those who arrive way too early for their own good. It should be noted that there is no camping.
There are no tickets to Balsa Man; however, we welcome your donations which help support tiny art!
Car pooling is recommended as parking may be difficult depending on the location. No need to cram people in the trunk as your car will not be searched at the gate, nor your person—in fact there isn’t even a gate. However, we encourage Balsa Man Greeters. Also, we need volunteers to create this year’s Balsa Burma Shave signs.
Location Information
Balsa Man takes place on the coast of San Francisco. Exact location and directions to Balsa Man will be announced a few days prior to the event via and only on the Tiny Mail List. If you want to come make sure you join this list!
The Balsa Burn
The Balsa Man himself will burn at twilight (8pm).Balsa burns fast so if you show up late or even blink you may miss it! After the man has been reduced to cinders, we will have a solemn ceremony for the burning of the Temple(s)—we had two temples last year. Tiny artists who would like to set their art aflame can do so after the Temple ceremony.
Departure Decorum
Balsa Man ends shortly after 9pm. Please be prepared to clean up and leave shortly after the Balsa Man event is over.
Balsa Man is a Leave No Trace event. Please pack your trash out and do your part by helping the artists and organizers clean up after the event is over.
Drive safe! If you choose to drink at Balsa Man make sure to plan for a designated driver ahead of time. Also, do not twitter and drive! If you must tweet about how much you enjoyed Balsa Man, tweet before you begin driving.
Beach Survival
Balsa Man participants should bring all necessities they need to survive a few hours on the beach. Balsa Man guidelines for beach survival are:
It can get a mite chilly so bring a jacket and maybe gloves and a hat.
Once the sun sets, it’ll get dark so bring a flashlight.
Alienated and isolated yet still bound to majesty of the city, we seek warmth and connection by creating smaller communities in its midst—we forge the village in the heart of the metropolis.
This year’s Balsa Man will focus on the tiny community that makes Balsa Man more than a sum of it’s tiny parts. This means more tiny art build parties and more Balsa Regionals!
For more on the theme and how you can participate to make this year’s Balsa Man the best ever please visit our revamped Balsa Man 2010 home page.
Balsa Man 2010 patches and stickers are coming soon stay tuned for announcements!
I’m sure you all know by now what an amazing success Balsa Man was. The Balsa Man himself may have arrived a tad late—due to amalgam of minor impediments so typical of art projects large and small—but once he arrived the small crowd of early arrivals cheered and the preparations began in earnest.
Ian, head of DTW, set up the Esplanade and directed others to install the tiny trash fence, Port-o-potties were installed, and Bryan generously jumped in last minute to help with artist placement. And boy was he needed as by this point, tiny artists were streaming in by the dozens: Puny Pants camp set themselves up next to the Balsa Center Cafe with Polar on the other side selling ice cubes for 15 2/3¢ a piece. The 1/16th Indian Taco stand set up shop over by the gate and the soundcamps began to arrive. And in the center of this chaos, the Balsa Man KCrew got to work raising the Balsa Man.
Deep-False Illumi-Opulent Cowboys (photo by mikest)
With hundreds of participants, the event was radiating with a spectacular energy. The place was teeming with creativity; everywhere you looked was a another small artistic gem waiting to be discovered. In fact, even though we started the event an hour earlier than last year, it was still nearly impossible to see all the art on display. We counted over fifty sculptures, a half dozen tiny art cars, and numerous other artists doing whatever it is that they do: just to pick one example, Josh & Naomi’s cell tower was sanctioned by the UN.
Of course not everything could be perfect, there was a little trouble raising the arms but once raised it was time for the main attraction.
With little ceremony, the Balsa Man was ignited and quickly turned to burning embers—and boy do I mean quick.
Seriously, you need to watch the burn in slow motion to really catch it in all it’s flammable glory.
After the man was finished, everyone headed to the back of la playa near the trash fence to see their minor imperfect woes and pet peevesburn away into nothing. Then feeling a slight weight removed from their shoulders, the participants, with smiles on their faces, slowly dispersed into the foggy night…
I too couldn’t help but smile. What an amazing year! Thank you all for making it the best Balsa Man yet!
