SOAK – Dear Liza

Auntie Katie’s Next Adventure

August 17, 2025

Dear Liza,

The end of summer brings a festival called Burning Man to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. It is a week-long happening of art, music, creativity, and fellowship. It is also camping out in dust, wind, and heat.

I will not be going, although I love many things about it. A few years ago I went to a mini-exhibition Burning Man in downtown Portland. It was delightfully quirky.

Then last year, I attended SOAK, the northwest’s own regional festival, and that was enough outdoor living for me. Sleeping on the ground was more fun 40 years ago.

But Auntie Katie, being younger and more adventurous, has been to Burning Man many times and is packing up again! Every year has a different theme, and this year’s is “SPACE”. Aliens, space travel, astronomy, science and fiction and silliness, all are welcome.

Part of the Burning Man ethos is sharing with the community. Folks make food and art to share, and help their neighbors. Katie and her buddy Douglas play music for folks, wandering around the camp with their ukuleles. like traveling minstrels. I know they are good; they play for us on Thanksgiving!

They spend months compiling and rehearsing on-theme songs. This year’s play list has a few hundred songs and includes “Merry Christmas from Chiron Beta Prime” by John Coulton and “Yakko’s Universe” from Animaniacs, so you know a good time will be had by all.

And Katie made space boots! An old set of boots finally died and they have become ART BOOTS. Silver paint, adorable pink and teal planets, and tiny bright lights will go with her silver-y jumpsuit and make a fine, shiny show walking around camp at night.

I (almost) wish I could be there to see it.

Love,

Grandma Judy

SOAK Day 5

Dear Liza,

Well, after the Major Structure Burn, my phone ran out of juice. I tried to get it charged at several places, but the chargers were either not effective or busy, and there was too much other fun stuff to do.

I apologize for not having any pictures for Sunday or the Temple Burn, which was lovely, quiet, and contemplative.

As my new friend Aryn said, it’s like the difference between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Celebration as opposed to Reflection. The Temple, as you can see in the only picture I have of it, was a delicate wooden structure. Folks used markers to write wishes, or regrets, or remembrances of loved ones, which will all go up in smoke and be released Sunday night.

But this brings me to the last Principle… Leave no trace. How were 3,000 people with all their camping baggage, and two major fires, not going to leave a whopping big trace?

As to the people and their stuff, there is a special Burner word. MOOP. It stands for Material Out of Place and means anything that doesn’t belong in the environment. Bits of paper, plastic, glass, sequins (a real concern here), and even soapy water.

These are managed in different ways. The soapy water (or any water that isn’t drunk) goes into large ‘grey water’ tanks that are hauled out at the end of the festival. Porta Potties, of course, hold all our poop and such, and are cleaned during the festival and hauled out at the end.

MOOP crews of campers clean up their own camps, going inch by inch ( I was down with my nose to the ground, since my eyes aren’t fabulous) to check for anything that doesn’t belong. As well as our own Kind Bar wrappers, we found bottle caps that were old and rusty, which means they had been there for quite a while. It felt good to make the site better than when we found it! All the MOOP was taken away, to be recycled or thrown away in our home trash cans.

And, when everyone has gone, there will be another crew of MOOP specialists who come sweep for whatever we missed.

Then there is the Burns. Two structures, put together with hundreds of screws, and burning to the ground. How do we mend those scars in the field?

Cousin Jasper explained it to me. After the Burns are out and cold, crews go over the areas with strong magnets that look like those metal detectors that treasure hunters use. These lift the screws out of the ashes! The area is raked and searched several times to get all the metal out.

Then the ground is soaked and native grass seed spread on, to make sure the area grows back the way it was.

I love so many things about SOAK and the Ten Principles. Responsibility, environmentalism, and the ability to be your best, most creative self. Of course no event is perfect, but the SOAK crew is always trying to make it better.

One of the drawbacks for me personally is that sometimes, other people being their best selves is noisy, and I like quiet. But, like in every human activity, compromise and cooperation step in and help.

I don’t know if I will have another SOAK, but I’m sure glad I did this one!

Love,

Grandma Judy

SOAK Day 4

Dear Liza,

Saturday is a big day at SOAK, the day of the Major Structure burn. I have showed you this structure, that thing that looks like a wooden light house. There are stairs inside, and I actually went up!

The views were wide and high, but the gusting winds encouraged me to head on down.

By the evening, I had figured out that a million pictures weren’t going to capture my experience of SOAK, and I took fewer and fewer. But that evening, with everyone in costume and sitting in The High Meadow waiting for the Burn, I asked Jasper, Kestrel, and their Troupe to sit for a portrait.

Some pictures are worth posing for!

The Burn was delayed several times, as the wind kept gusting, creating a danger of the fire spreading. Firefighters soaked the ground between the structure and the fire line, and people were stationed on the hill to look for sparks.

I was waved down to a seat in the front by a ranger named Leeway, who (like lots of other folks here) is a friend of Katie’s. The fire dancers came out and put on a thrilling, if slightly scary, show.

And then, at 11:28 p.m., the thermite was set off and the Burn began.

You could tell which job people had by which way they were looking. The firefighters never took their eyes off the tower, to make sure the fire didn’t get loose into the area. The Rangers never took their eyes off the crowd, to make sure no one acted in ways that were unsafe around fire.

The tower burned for about a half hour, letting the chilly crowd get warm. We were all warming ourselves in the same fire, becoming, in a way, members of the same tribe.

This felt like all of the Principles coming into play at the same time.

*Radical Self-Reliance, because everything had been brought up by the burners.

*Gifting and Communal Effort from the folks who built and monitored the fire for the rest of us.

*Immediacy, in our total absorption in the moments of the Burn.

*Decommodification, because it was offered to all of us for free. Also, no one was advertising anything with it.

*Consent, because there were those who chose not to be at the Burn, and everyone was free to experience it at their own comfort level.

*Radical Inclusion and Participation, because there was plenty of room for the almost 3,000 people to see. Also, all of our presence made up the experience.

*Radical Self-Expression, in the creation and then destruction of one’s creation.

*Civic Responsibility, in the action as of fire fighters, Rangers, and the whole crowd, keeping everyone safe. Also, the correct local fire permits and such were given, so the Burn is also good citizens to the “outside”.

I will tell you about the last Principle tomorrow, as we move toward out last day at SOAK 2024.

Love,

Grandma Judy

SOAK Day 1

Dear Liza,

I promised to tell you about my first SOAK adventure, so here goes. SOAK is the northwest event connected with Burning Man, and is operated by the same folks, following the same rules. I won’t go into the ‘rules’ right now, because they are easier to understand in practice, which is how I learned them.

But first, we had to pack up and get there. Kestrel, Douglas, Jasper, me and Katie all helped with the packing of the U-Haul. There was so much stuff! Each person needs two gallons of water per day, since there is no water at the camp ground. That means our little trailer carried fifty gallons, or 400 pounds, of water. One of the Principles is Radical Self- Reliance, which means being able to tend to your own needs.

We five packed into the car and headed off up the Columbia Gorge. The long sunny afternoon made for some lovely scenery, and we took pictures out the windows.

By the time we got to Tyge Valley, it was past sundown. Fortunately, SOAK folks must have planned for some work to be done in the dark, and installed this nifty lighted archway by the path that passed through our camp.

Auntie Katie was our tireless, fearless leader.

And before long, we had five tents up and the gear stowed, and with hugs and tired kisses, we all turned in.

Coming up, Thursday morning, 5 a.m.!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Improving the Jellyfish

Dear Liza,

After a week or so of stuffing and sewing on the jellyfish hat, I realized that, as a jellyfish, it was sort of a flop.
It was more like a sparkly, lavender plate of mashed potatoes.

I decided that the top poofy bit was a bit too poofy and needed some editing. I snipped a few threads, laid the fabric out, and took about six inches off all the way around. Notice all those ribbon tentacles tucked inside, out of mischief.

Once it was trimmed, I gathered it all up again and fit it back on the hat. This time, I sewed it right into the straw of the hat. The whole thing feels solid and more manageable.

The edging ruffle got doubled over, gathered up and sewn onto the hat. This was a very fiddly part of the project.

And here it is, for now. It will get a few more tentacles, a bit of a trim, some dangling lights, and some sort of under-dress, and then it will be ready for SOAK.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Shopping for My Jellyfish

Dear Liza,

Auntie Katie and Cousins Jasper and Kestrel have invited me to be part of their camping group at SOAK this year!

SOAK is the regional version of Burning Man, with lots of folks camping out, making art and music, and having fun together. SOAK is closer to Portland than the ‘real’ Burning Man, being just 93 miles away, and shorter, (four days) and in a more human-friendly area ( a grassy campground instead of a dusty desert). I think it is going to be a fun Adventure.

I haven’t been camping for a long time (here is a picture of your great grandma Billie and me about 56 years ago at Coyote Creek), so I will need to pick up a small tent, cot, and sleeping bag. But I’m sure there are folks out there to borrow from, so I won’t run out and buy those just yet.

Sunday, I went shopping for materials for my “festival” outfit. Since the theme of SOAK this year is “Electric Ocean”, I will try and make a jellyfish-like thing, with dangling lights and lacy bits. The first thing I needed was a hat from which to dangle the bits.

I walked down to Hawthorne Street, where there are lots of used and vintage clothing- type shops.

2nd Street was clean, bright and well organized. Most of their clothes were very current, with lots of jackets and high end atheletic shoes. Good stuff, and a nice staff, but not what I needed.

Crossover, just across the street, was also very current, with nice clothes and about three dozen ball caps, but not what I needed. The lady at the register told me that this store is part of a national corporation, which surprised me. Has clothing become so pricey that used clothes are a paying business?

I made my way a few blocks down to House of Vintage, an old favorite. This store is huge, with lots of corners and nooks and shelves to hunt in. Besides clothing, it carries kitchen knickknacks, fabrics and laces, records and books.

And it was in the middle of all the clutter that I found my hat!

It is a vintage straw hat made by “Billie” Ross of the Palm Beaches, and feels sturdy enough to hold all the lights, ribbons, and doodads I plan on attaching to it.

Now comes the collecting, sorting, and attaching of all the floaty, sparkly, electric bits. I’ll keep you posted. Wish me luck!

Love,

Grandma Judy

A Sunny Lunch Out

Dear Liza,

One of the best things about our sunny summers is that it is so easy to get around Portland on foot. The other day I had a lovely walk down through Ladd’s Addition to have a lunch out with Auntie Katie.

We walked a few blocks from Books with Pictures to Spielman’s Bagels on Division. They have a lovely back garden with just the right amount of dappled sunshine. They also serve delicious sandwiches.

Katie and I caught up with news. She told me how proud she was of her kids’ volunteering at the latest SOAK weekend (a regional version of Burning Man) and her trials in maintaining the hundred-year-old building that Books with Pictures is in. Roof, then walls, then windows…. Oy vey. Expensive and stressful.

Still, she finds ways to relax and look great.

I told her about the story I am writing about the “Grandma Judy Commandments”.

When we had finished our lunch, I walked Katie back to the shop and spent a delightful hour watering her garden.

She found some Marvel comic figures in a give-away box last week and has introduced them to their new home.Iron Man is guarding the new rhododendron, and Black Panther is hiding among the lavender.

Stunning!

I enjoyed my walk up to the bus stop, because it took me through one of Ladd’s Addition’s FOUR rose gardens. The scent wafted me all the way up the hill.

I hope your summer is full of adventures, too.

Love,

Grandma Judy

A New Cape for Kestrel

Dear Liza,

With grand daughters around, there are always going to be projects! Our latest one is a delightful cape for Kestrel. She and Auntie Katie picked up the fabric and trims a few weeks ago. We used a cape we already had as the pattern.

The pattern is very basic, just two different sized rectangles, so the cutting and hemming went pretty quickly.

Things got trickier when I needed to attach the hood to the cape. The fabric is so slippery! The pins kept sliding out. I said bad words.

Kestrel braided some fat yarn for the loop closure and we found the perfect button. Once those were on, she could wear the cape. But it wasn’t done yet!

We pulled a dozen silk flowers apart, laid the cape in the floor, and got down to work! It was crouchy, fiddley work, but we got about fifty petals sewn on. Mouse helped, of course….

Kestrel was going to wear the cape to her school dance, but due to a scheduling snafu, she will wear it at the local Burning Man event, called SOAK. I hope it survives the camping trip. But even if it doesn’t, it was sure fun to make. When you and I get together, I’m sure we will have some projects, as well.

Love,

Grandma Judy