Critical Massive

Critical Massive (or CM) is an annual alternative arts and performance festival staged in the greater Puget Sound region of Washington. Modeled on and loosely associated with Burning Man, Critical Massive is one of several Regional Burns around the United States.

Critical Massive was started in 2002 by Burning Man participants from the Seattle area. Original contributors included Dave “Diem” Martinez, Scott Heyer, and Corprew Reed. The Massive organization became the Massive LLC in 2004 with a board of six members. In 2006, Ignition Northwest assumed producer responsibilities for the event, and is the current producer of the event.

Currently lasting seven days during the last week of June, it is smaller than the largest regional burns, with attendance in 2006 limited to 500 participants and attendance in 2007 limited to 475. Critical Massive’s original board of six produced the event at a local clothing-optional resort, Lake Bronson, in Monroe, Washington before moving the event to Lake Recreation Associates Campground (or LARC) in Mount Vernon, Washington in 2006, and the privately held campground of River outside of Maple Valley, Washington in 2007.

The event is attended primarily by participants of the Seattle Burning community, and relies heavily on large theme camps and individual participants to build the temporary village. Art grants are distributed through the local Burner-based nonprofit organization, IgnitionNW.org, which also is the current producer of the event. In 2007, approximately $7,500 was distributed to multiple art projects.

Many of the core values of Critical Massive are borrowed from Burning Man, and the same short, memorable terms are used for them, namely:

• No Spectators. Every attendee is expected to participate in some way for the event, with a performance, art piece, other form of creative expression, or volunteering to help with the production of the event.
• Radical Self-Expression. Art and gatherings at the event have few restrictions; many emphasize taboo subjects and dangerous situations.
• Self-reliance. All participants are responsible for their own food, shelter, water, and other necessities at the event. Porta-potties are provided. All participants must remove their garbage, recycling and gray water from the event, as well.
• No Vending. Critical Massive is a non-commercial event; sales of any commodity for cash is not allowed and may cause eviction from the event. Instead, a gift economy is used. Giving one gift in exchange for another is considered good form, but any kind of quid-pro-quo is a violation of the gift-economy rules. Barter, trade, or other methods of economic commercialization are frowned upon.
• Leave No Trace. An extension of the self-reliance principle applied to outdoor living, requiring all participants to respect their environment and clean up everything they bring in. Since the event takes place on a rented campground, used by other events during the year, participants try to leave the site cleaner than they found it rather than in an identical condition. It is rare that the event space is left without improvements made by the event.

Due to the fact that the event is held in the highest population density center of the Pacific Northwest region, including Idaho, Oregon, and portions of British Columbia, the event’s environment is significantly different than the Black Rock Desert. The event has been held on the west side of the Cascade mountain range in the pacific Northwest rain forest. Consequently, the size of the event with the number of participants has been limited significantly simply for the fact that there are few venues capable of holding up to seven hundred individuals for a week-long event in the Northwest.

Art Installations - Critical Massive community members bring art to the event for display, including large freestanding works, fire art, and interactive pieces, as well as traditional painting, sculpture and dance performance pieces.
Workshops - Multiple workshops are produced during the event, from hula-hoop making and workshops to partnership communication and alternative medicine education. Workshops teaching how to salsa, drum, knit, and communicate, as well as conflict resolution are also taught at Critical Massive.

Theme camps -- groups of participants who build a structure or area for public entertainment with an underlying theme. (Example: Flight to Mars, a Seattle theme camp, often builds large-scale maze and funhouse-themed art installations with a sound art installation, DJ booth, and art cars. Alien Monkey Love Nest holds a stage show with pendants given away for original performances. The Coffee Haus provides late-night coffee and tea and a communal dome to converse in, and multiple other theme camps, both Burning Man-related and one-time event camps, participate at the event.

Performances - Critical Massive has a number of performance spaces that are used by musicians, theatre groups, DJs, pageants, and interactive performances.

Law Enforcement - The event and its organizers follow state, local, and federal laws, and cooperate with local and state law enforcement officers; though the event does not host LEOs during its run, the participants are expected to be aware and comply with the applicable laws. The event and its organizers are dedicated to respecting the neighbors and the needs of the event’s site hosts.

Much like the Black Rock Rangers, the Northwest Rangers mediate disputes and maintain security at the event; they wear a similar khaki uniform as well. Unlike Burning Man, however, the event is not regularly patrolled by law enforcement, although they arrive quickly in the event of an emergency or noise complaint. The Northwest Rangers try to be as nonintrusive to their fellow participants as their Black Rock City cousins.

Medical staff and Harm Reduction staff are present at Critical Massive in order to assist participants who injure or become otherwise incapacitated at the event.

Critical Massive has several differences from Burning Man. Critical Massive's location is held in the Cascade Mountain ranges, which are as unlike the stark, otherworldly feeling of the flat Black Rock Desert as possible. Critical Massive is stricter on the no vending rules. Nothing is sold at the event. In past years, proximity to “civilization” has made it possible for participants to ask and receive “in-and-out” passes. Additionally, the relative closeness, temperate maritime climate and short duration of the event makes the event much easier. Whereas many Burning Man participants prepare for survivalist camping in the Black Rock Desert, Critical Massive is more akin to car camping.
The smaller size of the event creates a sense that one could meet everyone, as part of a temporary community that encompasses all the event participants. Almost every participant of Critical Massive, including the event's organizers, pay to get in regardless of how much time they put in volunteering. Some exceptions to this rule do exist; and many participants gift extra tickets to people who would be otherwise unable to attend.

Additionally, unlike Burning Man where the central effigy of a glowing neon man stays essentially unaltered from year to year (with alteration to its base and other design elements), the Critical Massive event may not have a central effigy, or indeed a last-night event. Usually, fire performances and other exhibitions occur on the last night of the event, but are limited in scope and size due to fire restrictions, especially in the forest-fire prone mountains.
Critical Massive Historical Timeline:

2003-2005: Critical Massive is held at Lake Bronson, a family resort outside of Sultan, Washington. The event is held Thursday through Sunday.

2006: Critical Massive is held at Lake Recreation Associates Club (LARC), 20 miles west of Mount Vernon, Washington. The event is held Thursday through Sunday.

2007: Critical Massive is held at Royal Arch Park, outside of Maple Valley, Washington. The event is held for a full week, from Monday to Sunday. A Seattle Times newspaper article is written about the event, resulting in “gate crashers” on Saturday night from the local community. The gate crashers, after a short period of time, are removed from the event without further incident.

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