Thank you and Retrospective

Dear Apogaeans,

Wow! Apogaea 2012 was off the hook! I hope you are all decompressing smoothly and not having too much trouble returning to the default world. The posts in the Apogaea Facebook group have been overwhelmingly positive and have expressed so much gratitude. There are already conversations on Facebook and among Ignition members via email about how we can make Apogaea even better next year! I encourage you to take some time to bask in your enjoyment, but also take this opportunity to jot down ideas for next year while they are fresh in your minds. It can be hard to keep track of ideas on Facebook as they get pushed down by new posts, so consider writing them somewhere else, too. Email yourself and write it on your forehead if you have to, but let’s keep those ideas flowing!

A few personal messages:

As the Head ASS, I would like to thank the community in our temporary autonomous zone for helping with our first apprehension of an interloper, and also for helping to prevent other trespassers that endanger our event.
~Guywire, board member and #1 ASS

You brought your hands, your hearts, and your wonderfully squishy brains to Center Camp this year. Everyone who said that Center Camp doesn’t make sense at Apogaea or will never be successful is eating their words, all because of the amazing work of people like you! The amount of thanks that we want to give to everyone–for their work with Center Camp and beyond–can’t possibly be emphasized enough. Through this community’s colossal efforts, we’ve built a mind blowing event. And, it’s obvious that none of us wait to see what will be built in the year to come. Thank you again, everyone!
~Amelia Graycen, Center Camp Infrastructure Lead

Degreeters would like to thank everyone for their generous food donations to the Park County Community!
~Schmid-E, Degreeter lead

Thank you to Jules for not only stepping it up with Wardobe MalFUNKtion again this year, but for the way she worked with and helped out other camps this year.
~Koda, Board member and communications lead

Thank you to Guy for going above and beyond and helping the communications team out when things got insane in the weeks leading up to the event. Without Guy’s involvement, we would have definitely dropped some important balls.
~Koda, Board member and communications lead

How to get more involved

Please fill out the Census! This is the best way to provide feedback right now.

Ignition members should be working on their ember reports over the next few weeks. Ember reports must be turned in by June 30th.

Also consider attending the next board meeting on July 8, 2012 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM at the Fusion Factory.

Ignition
This year, all Ignition members will need to express their intent to continue their position by contacting their Board Liaison. If they do not initiate this contact, their position will be opened up to the community. The board has instituted a policy that all Ignition positions must be posted to the website before they are filled, so keep checking our Open Ignition Positions page if you are interested in joining team Ignition.

Board of Directors
Every year Ignition elects three new board members. Look for more information about Board member elections in July.

Choose your own Adventure
If you have a great idea for next year, you can browse the Ignition page on our website and find contact information for the people already involved in your area of interest. You can also create your own Ignition position if you see a need in the community. If you have an idea for a new position, email [email protected] and ask CANO about presenting your proposal at a board meeting.

Pictures!

Lots of folks are sharing pictures in the Apogaea Facebook group and many of us share photos on Flickr (search for Apogeaea). Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a section of our website that linked to shared pictures? If someone wants to head up that effort, please email [email protected]. If you have pictures you’d like to share, send an email to [email protected] and this overworked volunteer will try to get photo sharing set up as soon as possible.

Thanks to Michael ‘Luki’ Blank for the photo of the effigy in this blog post and Fred Simonton for the picture of Apogaea 2012 in daylight.

An Apogaea retrospective poem

In closing, I’d like to leave you with a poem written by Apogaean Thad Horrell. I think it does a remarkable job of painting the Apo experience.

Wordlessly,
And as if from nowhere,
The woman grasped my face
Firmly between her hands.

I smiled.
She trailed her fingers through my beard.

And I danced on
To gather with the crowd
Before the brightly illuminated
Unicorns in coitus.

From a distance
Through the dark
I recognized a bobbing jellyfish
By the play of lights
In its trailing skirt of tentacles.

I followed it
Amidst the dark trees
To find a bright craft alighted.

Booming sounds echoed
From its lowered gangplank,
And I found it hard to stand there
As if drawn away by gravity.

So I fled back into the darkness.

Soon the ground beneath me
Began to glow with little specks of light
From beneath the fallen leaves
And blades of grass.

They illuminated a small village of tents.

The abode of some gypsies perhaps?
Or no… No… Pirates.

I feasted there,
Among their tents,
Among their spoils,
And revelled with the others.

When exhaustion overcame me,
Though I fought it heartily,
I stumbled, sated,
Once more into the dark of night,
Seeking the grim refuge
Of my doom-haunted circus.

Once again, thanks to each and every one of you for your love, acceptance, participation, energy, laughs, and shenanigans.
Until next time, Flamin’ Art is puttin’ out.