Category: Announcements

Finally some good news, thanks to the generosity of many in the community, those of you that requested a refund will receive a full refund. So each adult ticket refund will be $132 and each Kid ticket refund will be $40. (Some of you put in for Child ticket refunds, but those were already $0 so no refund will be given for those tickets). As of this moment, the checks for the refunds are in the mail to the address provided on your survey response. You should receive them as soon as the US Postal Service delivers them. 

Let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

AAR, LLC

AAR, LLC (the organization that runs Burning Flipside) is inviting you to a virtual town hall to discuss and answer any questions about the recent cancellation of Burning Flipside. 

Many questions have already been answered in the FAQ available here: https://www.burningflipside.com/announcements/flipside-2020-has-been-cancelled

However, we realize that other questions or concerns may not have been covered. So that is why we are running this town hall.

We would appreciate it if as many of you as possible could pre-submit questions to the email townhall@burningflipside.com with the subject “Town Hall Question.” Depending on how many questions are pre-submitted there may also be some time in the meeting to ask questions live.

We will be using Zoom for this virtual town hall. The link for the meeting (which will open up at 7:00 PM on April 15th) is: https://zoom.us/j/638146539?pwd=U1FXZUtQcDB0dHRQSjFneEFxbEJEUT09

If you are unable to attend we plan to any common questions asked to the FAQ or you could ask a direct question to llc@burningflipside.com

Thanks,
AAR, LLC

As mentioned in the cancellation message, AAR has sent a questionnaire to all current ticket-holders. Please check your e-mail, check your spam filter, etc.

If you did not receive the questionnaire, it may be that the ticket was not registered in your name or that we don’t have your correct e-mail address. Please log in at https://secure.burningflipside.com/tickets/ to check your ticket status, and if you are in fact ticketed but did not receive the questionnaire, send a message to Tickets via our contact form at https://www.burningflipside.com/contact.

It is with deep regret that Austin Artistic Reconstruction, LLC must announce the cancellation of Burning Flipside 2020: Sacred and Propane. Given the current COVID-19 pandemic impact nationally, AAR, LLC does not believe it is appropriate to hold the event.

Flipside has always had a “No Refunds” policy. We are making an exception to that policy given these extraordinary circumstances.

AAR, LLC has decided that it is best for the Community to return 2020 ticket money that is still available (defined as 2020 ticket funds collected, after money already spent or committed to) ticket money to the Community through two options.

Option 1: Do nothing. You do not request a refund. Your Burning Flipside 2020 ticket money will be used to support future AAR events and other 360 expenses like warehouse rent and funds already spent on Burning Flipside 2020.

Option 2: Request a refund for tickets purchased. Depending on the number of refund requests received and the available 2020 ticket funds, net of disbursements already made or committed to, a partial or full refund will be issued.

Ticketed participants will receive email instructions and deadlines for submitting refunds. If you need this relief, please take it. As of this moment all ticket transfers have been halted so that ticket holders can complete this process.

AAR, LLC has a fixed set of costs regardless of holding the event or not and another set of costs depending on how far out from the event we are. As such, more than 50% of the budget is already spent.

AAR will hold a virtual town hall on April 15, 2020, at 7pm to answer any questions you might have about the cancellation and refund.

A separate email will be sent to each ticket holder about the procedure for pursuing either option.

If you cannot attend the town hall, AAR with answer questions sent to llc@burningflipside.com

FAQ

• When can I expect my refund?
  AAR, will contract with a third party service to mail out checks as quickly as possible. We hope to have the information for the checks to the vendor by April 21st, allowing checks to be mailed out as soon as possible after that. As you can imagine, we are figuring this out on the fly. We want to do right by everyone requesting a refund, but we have never issued mass refunds before.
• I bought two tickets. Can I request a refund for just one and let AAR keep the payment for the other?
  Yes.
• I’ve got a ticket that I bought from someone else. Can I request a refund?
  Yes. Please note that if you did not register the ticket in your name when you received it, it is possible that both you and the previous holder could attempt to request a refund for it. We will need to deal with this kind of situation case by case if or when it arises.
• Why can’t you refund everyone in full?
  AAR has operating costs independent of Burning Flipside—the rent on the Warehouse is the single biggest line item in our budget. Also, AAR has spent thousands of dollars on Flipside 2020 already. (Perhaps you received your Survival Guide in the mail. Wasn’t it great?) Although AAR does have savings, offering everyone a full refund would exceed those savings.
• What if everyone asks for a refund?
  AAR has set aside a fixed reserve of money that can be refunded—this is basically the ticket income for 2020 minus our running costs and money already spent on Flipside 2020. If the number of refund requests multiplied by the ticket price is greater than that reserve, the reserve will be divided equally among the requests.
• Why not simply honor our ticket for next year?
  AAR has operating costs independent of Burning Flipside—the rent on the Warehouse is the single biggest line item in our budget. Also, AAR has spent thousands of dollars on Flipside 2020 already that wouldn’t necessarily translate to Flipside 2021. (Perhaps you received your Survival Guide in the mail. Wasn’t it great?) Finally, the number of tickets each year is decided by the volunteer leadership that year. If the leadership doesn’t feel we can accommodate the same number of participants next year then we would be putting the event in an unsustainable position. 
• What if you have money left over after all the refunds?
  If any reserve remains, AAR plans to make a donation to Ignition Philter with some of the money, and will bank the rest to delay an eventual increase in ticket prices.
• What about my Ignition Philter donation?
  That will not be refunded.
• Can’t you hold Flipside later in the year?
  Not really.

   

  • We can’t count on being able to book Apache Passtures for the event on another date.
  • We can’t count on this crisis being over by whatever date we chose.
  • Holding Flipside in May is hot enough; holding it in the summer would be brutal.
  • Holding it in autumn starts overlapping with Burning Man and then Myschievia.
  • We also need to think about Flipside 2021, and volunteer burnout if we tried to organize two events close to each other.
• What’s going to happen to the Effigy?
  The DaFT team has decided they would prefer to save the effigy until the next burning Flipside event. AAR supports this decision and are excited to see what this team has in store for the community with an entire year to build on it.
• Can I get my things from the warehouse? (Or put stuff back)
  For the time being, Austin is under lockdown and this would be non-essential travel, so the answer is no. When Austin loosens travel restrictions, we will try to arrange for limited access, within the bounds of safe practices.
• How will we receive word about when we can come out of hiding and start building again?
  This is a public-health matter, not a Flipside matter, but AAR will update the community on how it is responding to changes in public-health actions through the burningflipside.com website, the Announce mailing list, and the usual social media.
• Is there a way I can stay in touch (aside from Flipizens) to keep the “Community” part going?
  There are other places such as Austin-List and Austin-Chat email lists as well as our official Facebook page and twitter accounts.
• Why did it take you so long to announce this?
  2 weeks ago we gave ourselves a deadline of 2 weeks to work out logistics, get communications written up, and make a final decision. At the time that seemed more than adequate. Mere weeks ago, canceling Flipside more than a month out from the event would have been unthinkable, but today it is seen as too late. We didn’t anticipate how quickly the world would change in those 2 weeks and apologize for any anxiety that has caused. Additionally, we did not want to overshadow the Safetyside training event with this announcement.
• Can I credit option 1 as a donation?
  No, AAR, LLC is not a non-profit entity and thus this isn’t considered a donation.

UPDATE: Given the new guidance from the White House on restricting gatherings over 10 people, AAR has decided to suspend all meetings at the warehouse including, but not limited to, DaFT builds, Church Night, and CC meetings.

We are still determining what will occur with Burning Flipside this year and the logistics around any possible changes. We will communicate that as soon as we have made a strong determination.

The situation is evolving quickly, and AAR’s position may change. We will keep the community informed of any changes. If you have any questions or concerns please contact llc@burningflipside.com

UPDATE: Due to current CDC guidance (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/large-events/mass-gatherings-ready-for-covid-19.html) on events with more than 50 people Safetyside will no longer be held physically at Apache Pass. For those interested in Safetyside please wait on more information from the Safetyside organizers through the email list, Facebook group, or through your Safety leads.

While the guidance from the CDC does not currently cover Flipside, we are seriously examining whether to hold the event or not and exactly what that would mean logistically.

At this time we are not planning to cancel church night social events at the warehouse, as we consider this a good way to practice social distancing rather than complete social isolation. However, we would like to remind you that if you feel like you have been exposed to COVID-19 we ask that you seek immediate medical assistance and do not attend any of these events. Additionally, if you are immunocompromised, have respiratory problems, are part of any other vulnerable population, or have regular contact with any vulnerable individuals we ask that you consider carefully your attendance at Burning Flipside events.

The situation is evolving quickly, and AAR’s position may change. We will keep the community informed of any changes. If you have any questions or concerns please contact llc@burningflipside.com

As you are all aware, the COVID-19, or novel coronavirus outbreak has caused the cancellation or postponement of many events across the country. AAR, LLC and the Burning Flipside leadership team are aware of these cancellations and are monitoring the situation to determine its impact on Burning Flipside and related events. At this time, we are planning to hold Burning Flipside and continue to have all supporting events as well such as Safetyside, Work Weekends, Church Nights, and other activities at the warehouse. The situation is evolving quickly, and AAR’s position may change.

We will keep the community informed of any changes.If you feel like you have been exposed to COVID-19 we ask that you seek immediate medical assistance and do not attend any of these events. Additionally, if you are immunocompromised, have respiratory problems, or are part of any other vulnerable population we ask that you consider carefully your attendance at Burning Flipside events. We encourage our community to follow CDC and WHO guidelines to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. You can learn more here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/index.html

We will continue to monitor the situation and may have further updates going forward. If you have any questions or concerns please contact llc@burningflipside.com

Short version:

Everyone who submitted a valid ticket request will be getting a ticket.

Long version:

As soon as the ticket window closed, it was clear that this was going to be a big year. More ticket requests had been created in our ticket system than ever before. There’s always some percentage of requests that get created but never get mailed in. That percentage would need to be unusually high for this not to be a record year.

The requests were opened and processed on Saturday, February 22, by a hardworking team of about 50 volunteers. And in fact the percentage of requests that got mailed in was slightly higher this year than last. There is also always some percentage of requests that are not valid—generally these are either requests accompanied by personal checks, or requests mailed outside the request window. This is a small percentage—just 2–3% most years.

Milam County approved Flipside’s permit application on Monday, February 24. While we were expecting to receive it, the fact that we did not have the permit in hand at ticket opening meant that we held what we call a “soft lottery.” In a soft lottery, we draw down just below the number where the mass-gathering act kicks in, just in case we don’t get it. Then once we get our permit, we accept the requests we drew. This is a manual process where all the requests (except lottery-exempt ones) are assigned to one of eight bins at random. Then members of AAR LLC randomly draw requests from each of those bins in turn, and read out the names on those requests. Even though we had every reason to believe we would be getting our permit, this was still a difficult process. We drew the names of friends, campmates, former board members, and hardworking community members. Four of the people who were in the room to volunteer for request-opening had their names drawn.

The number of available tickets is not straightforward. First, there’s the mass-gathering limit of 2500: without a mass-gathering permit, we can’t exceed that number. Flipside has applied for and received this permit every year since 2014, but we don’t take it for granted. Second, there’s the maximum number of people that we’ll admit to Flipside, based on the land’s carrying capacity and volunteer capacity, even with our mass-gathering permit. For 2020, we set that number at 3100. Third, there is a “lottery exempt” number. These are people we can identify in advance who will (you guessed it) be exempt from a lottery if we need one—leads, AFs, etc, and their SOs. We try to keep this number as small as possible, because every person that gets added to this group pushes us that much closer to a lottery for everyone else, and lotteries suck. This year, that number was 199. Finally, there are “set asides.” These are slots for people we cannot identify in advance, but we know we’ll need to set aside tickets for to make available closer to the event. Again, we try to keep this number small. This year it was 160.

So, without a mass-gathering permit, we need to have a lottery to get down to 2499 minus set-asides, or 2339. With a permit, we need to get down to 2940 requested tickets.

In 2020, we received requests for 2937 tickets. That gave us a margin of 3 under our cap. That’s a first.

In past years, we haven’t been so close to our limit, and have been able to honor late-postmarked requests. This year, we can’t do that.

As of this writing, your request status will not show any change. We are still dealing with a very small number of “special handling” requests. Once those have been dealt with, we’ll flip the switch in the system and you should see your status as ticketed here.