Welcome to our Event FAQ’s

Blazing Swan is an annual event celebrating art and community and individuality in line with the Principles of Blazing Swan and Burning Man.

Blazing Swan provide grants and assistance to people to help bring visual or performance art to the Event.   Everyone at the Event is an artist, everyone is a performer, and everyone is part of this community.  Blazing Swan is an officially recognized member of the Burning Man Regional Network, drawing inspiration from the Burning Man Event in the USA.  Blazing Swan is not a doof or a rave. It’s not a cult or an exclusive community.

Blazing Swan does not stand apart from the world or ‘regular’ existence.  When you become part of Blazing Swan, Blazing Swan becomes part of you.  Friendships you make here will endure, ideas you find here and share here will grow.  Blazing Swan is more than a seven day, once a year thing.

In 2024 the Event runs from noon on Wednesday 27 March to noon on Tuesday 2 April.

Every year the Blazing Swan event opens at noon on the Wednesday immediately prior to Easter Sunday, and closes at noon on the Tuesday immediately following Easter Sunday.  Friday to Monday is a is a public holiday  and many Australians travel to the countryside.  The roads will be very busy, the police will be very active, and hire vehicles are booked up months in advance.  The date of Easter Sunday in Australia can be anywhere from 22 March to 25  April.

The Event is held near the town of Kulin in Western Australia

The Event is held on farmland 15km east of Kulin beside Jilakin Lake.   When not being used by Blazing Swan the site hosts a community horse carnival (October), and for the rest of the year it is used for growing crops and pasture.  This is the Country of the Njaki Njaki people and we ask participants to respect their relationship with the land, and to respect the Kulin community who have been good friends to Blazing Swan over many years.  Kulin is not just where we hold the Event, it is our home.

It can be very challenging.  Do not undestimate the dangers of severe weather.

The Event site is exposed and subject to high winds.  At night it can be close to freezing, and days can be up to 40°C (105°F).  There can be thunderstorms and hail, and parts of the Event site may flood.  There is also the possibility of dust storms.  The Event organisers will share weather forecasts via FM Radio and our Centre Kiosk infomation point.

Yes.  There are rules to keep you and other people as safe and comfortable as possible.  There are rules to comply with local and State regulations and laws, and there are rules to ensure that we can continue to present the Event next year, and the year after that.  Why is it that Burn Events around the world have more rules than almost any other sort of Event?  Maybe because we care more for each other.  And because multi-day events in harsh environments (yes, that’s us) require more rules to keep everyone safe.

The Rules are in the Blazing Swan Tickets and Event Attendance Terms and Conditions.  They are signposted at the Gate.  They are written into our policies and Principles and Official Statements.  If you’re not sure, ask.

Blazing Swan is a ticketed event.  Information on pricing will be available soon.  Ticket numbers for 2024 are limited to 3,000.   Members of the Blazing Swan Association, volunteers and members of accredited Theme Camps are given the first option of purchasing tickets to the Event.  Any remaining tickets will be offered for sale to the public.  Our tickets are sold through a not-for-profit organisation which directs the additional charges it levies towards charities.  Blazing Swan is a not-for-profit organisations which directs any surplus revenue towards running the event and supporting arts in line with its Constitution.

Special categories of tickets are available for children, for recognized carers of attendees, and for Kulin locals (Saturday only).   With that one exception, all classes of tickets are for the full seven day Event.

Blazing Swan reserves the right to not sell a ticket to any person for any reason.  Any person who is in breach of the Blazing Swan Tickets and Event Attendance  Terms and Conditions may have their permission to remain at the Event withdrawn without compensation and with immediate effect by Blazing Swan Incorporated.

Follow the Principle of ‘Radical Self Reliance’ and do your own research.

• Look for and take advice from friends who have been to Blazing Swan
• Connect with people, stories and information through social media, our website and the internet generally.
• Look into specific topics such as ‘bush cooking’, ‘staying healthy while camping’ and information about Kulin and Western Australia’s Wheatbelt Region.  Remember though, ground fires are forbiden in all areas, and in camping areas you can only use gas, butane or propane cookers.

Think ahead

• If you are working – book your leave early.  You’ll be looking for a few extra days off around Easter.  Note that School Holidays usually start on the Friday prior to Easter Sunday.
• Arrange to leave your pets with a friend.  No pets are allowed at the Blazing Swan Event.
• If you are a volunteer coming to the Event site early (or staying late) find someone to mind your children.  Children are not permitted on the worksite prior to the Event opening, or after it closes.
• Leave sufficient time to travel to and from Kulin.  Make sure you and your vehicle are in good condition.  Car repairs and parts can not be obtained at the ‘last minute’.
• If you are hiring a vehicle or camper, get in early.   There’s lots of demand for Easter bookings.
• Make time to be creative, to make costumes, to prepare frozen meals and to pack carefully.  Don’t leave this until the last moment.
• Make a plan for keeping in touch with anyone you need to keep in touch with.  There is only Telstra mobile phone/data coverage at the Event.  If you have a special need, contact the Event organisers.

Organise

• Organise with your friends (and make friends) to attend the Event together and to share resources at the Event
• Come together before the Event to make plans, be creative and to prepare food and frozen meals
• Join a Theme Camp
• Volunteer with Blazing Swan

Practice

• Test all your gear.  If your tent/trailer etc is new set it up at home (or in a local park) in daylight before coming out to Blazing Swan.
• Start thinking about reducing the MOOP (Matter Out of Place) in your life BEFORE you come to the Event.  Reduce the amount of packaging, recycle more effectnively, repair rather than replace.

Brace yourself and pace yourself

• Expect the unexpected and go with the flow
• Relax and energise, stay chilled, and excited
• Stay healthy, treat minor bangs and scrapes with your first aid kit before they turn into something major.
• If you’re coming with people you are in an intimate relationship with, talk about spending time together and time apart.  Making space for each other and each other’s needs.
• Have a personal safe space, and get to know the safe (quiet) spaces at the Event.
• When it’s hot, drink before you’re thirsty.  Piss clear !  And don’t forget – in all the excitement – to eat.
• Practice self care, mutual care, and radical caring for strangers.  Be open to help from others.

Use protection

• Label your gear, even if travelling with friends.  When everything is covered in dust everything looks the same.
• Leave your valuables at home
• Use protection

You can read more in our Survival Guide

The Event site is 290km (180 miles) inland from Perth, just beyond the town of Kulin.  Your can get there by car, bus or rideshare.

If you are driving give your vehicle a check-over before you set out, don’t overload it and take your time.  Avoid travelling to Kulin at sunrise, or returning to Perth at sunset – the sun will be be direcly in your eyes.  There will be a massive police presence on the roads simply because it is the Easter holidays.  Both the police and hundreds of locals will – somehow – instantly identify you as Blazers and word gets back to us.  Don’t speed through local towns, it trashes our reputation.  If you see a kangaroo cross the road, slow down.  There’s almost always another one coming just behind.  At high speed, drive straight and brake – you’ll survive a head on with a roo.  But swerve and you’ll die.  Mobile phone coverage drops out at points along the way, so work out where you’re going before your set out.  Don’t drive tired – that’s the major killer on country roads.  If you need to, pull completely off the road into a parking bay – you are sharing some very narrow roads with some very heavy trucks.

The Transwa Bus service from Perth to Kulin runs on Thursdays and Sundays, with a return ride on Tuesdays.   The bus stop is in Kulin, but if you hang around the hotel or the shop there’ll be someone coming along who will give you a lift out to the Event site.  Transwa buses also visit Narrogin and Williams daily.

If you don’t have a vehicle, or if you’re looking to minimise your carbon footprint, rideshare might be the thing for you.  Blazing Swan set up a facebook group each year which you can join.  If you need a ride, or have space to share a ride, connect up there.   If you’ve got up to Blazing Swan but don’t have a ride (yet) back to Perth, register at Centre Kiosk.

You may drive directly to your camping spot, but do not plan to use your vehicle as transportation on site for the duration of your stay. This is a serious safety issue and will be strictly enforced

• For safety – arriving after sunset will result in you being asked to park in a temporary holding area. You can then walk to your camping spot to set up
• No driving will be allowed on site during the Event without a Blazing Swan DMT (Department of Mutant Transport) permit
• Site speed limit is 8 km/hr on all roads, to avoid any vehicle/pedestrian interactions and keep the dust down
• If you are camping with a Theme Camp you will be directed to those (otherwise) closed areas.
• Pedestrians and cyclists always have right of way on all access roads

If you aren’t volunteering with Blazing Swan, or a member of a Theme Camp you MUST leave the site by noon on the Tuesday following Easter.  Have a designated driver and make sure that person has a quiet Monday night and gets a good sleep.  And/or let them sleep longer on Tuesday morning while everyone else packs up.   Pack your vehicle carefully (including all your MOOP) and do all the usual checks.  Make sure your camping site is left spotless.  Leave No Trace !  Drive carefully.  Pick up fuel and some refreshments in Kulin.  Do NOT dump your rubbish in Kulin, take it home with you.  Take it easy on the way back to wherever you came from or wherever you are going.

No.  Unless you are pre-approved by Blazing Swan to assist with the setup or the packdown (we are always looking for volunteers for this) of the site you must not arrive prior to noon on Wednesday 27 March 2024 and you must leave by noon on Tuesday 2 April 2024.

The site is private property and is NOT open for camping or even to visit at other times of the year.

Blazing Swan will be very clear about what you must not do – what the Rules are, and what is not allowed.  Read all about it in the Terms and Conditions on your Ticket.

But what about the things we recommend you do at Blazing Swan?  Everyone’s ‘best’ Blazing Swan experience is different, but here’s some tips we’ve picked up over the years…

• Watch the sunrise and sunset from Cave Rock
• Be there for the Welcome to Country
• Watch the Effigy Burn on Saturday night and join in afterwards
• Watch the Temple procession and Burn on Sunday night
• Line up for some coffee at ‘Black Lagoon’ and pancakes at ‘Steampunk Pancakes’
• Be there for the Big Dress Parade
• Dress up for the themed events
• Check out the artwork and the artcars
• Drop into Centre Kiosk for our History Display, and our Worrldwide Burns Display
• Sample all the musical offerings
• Chill out in the chill out spaces
• Join the nude shoot on CNUT Rock
• Most of the volunteer positions will already be taken, but check in at Centre Kiosk to see if more are required, or to sign up for next year!
• Meet your neighbours
• Help a stranger and accept help from a stranger.
• When you see something or experience something great, recommend it to a friend

Read the WTF (Where’s the Fun) Guide and follow the map to all the sites and all the things.   If you’ve lost your copy (it’s a good idea to keep one copy in your camp) pop up to Centre Kiosk to see the big notice boards and maybe pick up a spare copy of the WTF.

No, you may not sell or buy things at our Event.

We practice the principle of DECOMMODIFICATION at our Event.  It is an opportunity to imagine a world based on friendship and generous spirit and actions.  We do not trade, or even exchange.  We simply GIVE without expectation of reward or acknowledgement, and we respectfully accept the GIFTS given us.

It’s not easy to do this when you are surrounded by the pressure of advertising and commerce, and the real struggle to provide for ourselves and those we love.  That’s why we are so particular about not bringing advertising or commerce to Blazing Swan.  Blazing Swan is absolutely part of the World.  If it wasn’t, we couldn’t say that there’s some hope that what we do here might change the World, even just a little for the better.  But let’s practice our perfect World in our perfect World here at Blazing Swan.  Then when we go home and when we catch ourselves listening to the siren call of commerce, we know we can dial it down a bit, because we’ve practiced doing without it already, and because we know there’s something more important.

You need to bring all the water you will need for the week with you.

We recommend at least 4 litres per day – this water will cover you for drinking, cooking and washing. Radical Self Reliance!

This is where Decommodification and Radical Self Reliance meets Communal Effort and Civic Responsibility.   We don’t want your food to go off and we certainly don’t want people coming down with food poisoning.  So we provide bags of ice at a standard country town price.   

• Ice must be pre-ordered online.  Orders open in early March.  There are no cash sales on site
• Ice comes in 5kg bags.  Order as many as you need.  Pick up your order on any/every day of the event
• Times and location for pick-ups will be announced closer to the event.  Or check in with Centre Kiosk who know ‘everything’.
• Bring a trolley or a friend if you’re picking up more than one bag of ice

Sure.  Cold showers. Remember that water is incredibly precious at Blaze.  Here’s one wrong way and three right ways to do it:

• You could have a shower.  If you keep it down to four minutes, we’re looking at (best) around 60 litres.  Aaaarghhh!
• You could use the (1) shower (2) lather (3) shower-rinse method.  Turning the shower off while you do the lather phase.   You might get this down to 10 litres
• You could use the (1) bucket+cup (2) lather (3) bucket+cup method.  You can easily get this down to 5 litres.  Carry the water bucket with a sturdy handle (it can be warm water!) to the shower block and wash there.  Use the cup to pour water over your head and body.
• You could use the (1) mist-spray (2) lather (3) bucket+cup method.  You can get this down to 2 to 3 litres.  Again, do this at the shower block, not on the ground beside your tent

You can cut down further by using baby/wet wipes in-between times.  Use the eco friendly types if you can find them, and take the used ones home with you for disposal.

Yes there are toilets  – lots of them, so use them.  Pissing and pooping all over the countryside is not on.  So don’t do it.

Toilets are being constantly cleaned, adopt one yourself and be a toilet-hero.  You can decorate a toilet BUT please don’t put adhesive stickers on them.  We have to pay a huge penalty to the toilet hire people.   With portaloos leave the seat down when you’re finished – that way the ventilation works properly.  We supply double ply paper because the portaloo people tell us it’s ok, but don’t bring your 9-ply magic soft paper, or put things down the loo that didn’t come straight out of your body.

Experiment with female urination devices.  Practice in the shower at home!  If it’s a long way to the toilets, use a pee bottle at night – and empty it in the toilets next day.  Oh, and careful which bottle you reach for first thing in the morning to slake your thirst.  Been there done that…

If you find a toilet that’s not working, give the Event organisers a shout.  That way it’ll get fixed and everyone is happy.

There are two main burns during Blazing Swan. Typically the Saturday night is the Effigy Burn, and the Sunday night is the Temple Burn.   The Effigy Burn is the loud party one, the Temple Burn is the quiet respectful one.  Obey all instructions of officials at the Burns.  Non-consensual photography is obsolutely forbidden during the usual post-Effigy Burn celebration (and anytime!).  Don’t let anyone spoil anybody’s special moments at Blazing Swan.

Both Burns are dependent on suitable weather for safety.   We’ll look at the situation and let people know.  If you’re planing on visiting the Temple please be aware that it will be closed off to the public from the morning of the scheduled Burn onwards.  So get there on the days prior.

It’s very possible that other artworks will be burnt during the week.  Check in with Centre Kiosk to see what’s scheduled.

The ground you are standing on is not a Playa.  A ‘playa’ is a dried salt lake.  Lake Jilakin is a playa, although there’s usually a bit of water in it at this time of year.  You’re standing on a paddock, or field, that’s actually used to grow crops (barley, lupin, etc) when we’re not around.  The locals know it as the Kulin Bush Race Track.  A while back – 70 million years or so –  it was the valley of the Pingrup River, flowing south down to the Great Rift Valley between Australian and Antarctica.  Dinosaur country.

The Medical Centre and Rangers HQ are in/around Camp Hart – the building just to the North of the Racetrack.  Patrolling Rangers (wearing distinctive shirts and hats), Centre Kiosk and every Theme Camp will have a radio and can call for assistance for you.   

There is no truly Lost Property at Blazing Swan because everyone labels all their gear before they arrive.  Don’t you?

Things do get misplaced, however.  If you find something that looks like it has come adrift from its owner, you can take it to Centre Kiosk who will be handling lost property.  Likewise, if you’ve misplaced something, come and check out the gear that’s been brought to Centre Kiosk.  If it’s a valuable item bring photo ID with you.

Each year we collect enough phones to start a phone shop.  Do yourself a favour and put some contact details / your name on your screen saver, or pop a note in your phone case.

Items not claimed during the event will be advertised to our community through social media following the event.

Campsites cannot be booked or reserved. If you want to camp with your friends, please plan to arrive together

Um, sure, yes. Just be aware that when the wind starts blowing 50-60km per hour your gazebo can easily fly away before landing on a bunch of innocent bystanders, breaking bones and puncturing soft bodies.  So if you bring a gazebo, do these things as well:

• Try and get a good-ish quality one. 
• Tie it down with double guy ropes and 250-350mm ground pegs on each corner
• Lock it down by driving star pickets at least 600mm into the ground alongside each leg, and secure the legs to the pickets
• Chuck a rope OVER the top of the gazebo and tie that rope down either to very strong ground pegs or the star pickets
• If you have a vehicle with good tie-down points (a roo bar or roofrack) consider lashing the gazebo to the vehicle as well.
  

Don’t even think about beach umbrellas.  A giant stabby thing cartwheeling across the event site?  No thanks.

No.  You will see some fire barrels in Theme Camps, but they will have applied for permission.  So if you are not a Theme Camp, the answer is no.

Yes, you may have a gas BBQ or gas cooker at your camp in both general camping and theme camp areas. The use of these appliances must be in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and the Gas Cookers and Barbeques section of the Blazing Swan Fire Management Manual.

However, if the Fire Crew or Blaze Officials announce a total fire ban, then these items may not be used.  Listen carefully to instructions.

Don’t.  Just don’t do it.  Burns are horrible – burns caused by melting tent plastic dripping on you are worse than horrible.  So don’t.

If you want to keep warm in your shelter at night, borrow a trick from the (fool)hardy folk who climb Everest.  Pour hot water – carefullly – into a strong steel drink flask, seal tightly and pop the drink flask in a thick sock or two, and stuff that under your doona or into your sleeping bag.

If you are desperately cold seek assistance.  If you see someone unconscious laying on the ground outside at night, call for assistance.  Clear sky nights at Kulin can plunge down close to freezing.   Without proper shelter that can kill someone very easily and very quietly.