Transformus, Asheville’s festival held in the spirit of Burning Man, is set for this weekend down at Deerfields. If you’ve never been, it’s quite the experience. There’s nothing else like it in Asheville – if you think you know, you have no idea. Check it.
Here’s a quick primer, from the Transformus website:
The city of Mysteria
Every year, at the height of the southern summertime in this quiet place a city like no other that has ever existed is built, thrives, and then vanishes without a trace over a single weekend. If this seems strange or even impossible to you then you’ve never been to the event called Transformus; but since you are reading this guide you are destined to go there or are seriously considering the possibility.
Preparing for the journey
The first thing to understand is that though Mysteria is a city there are no city services provided to you. You are responsible for yourself, in keeping with the principle called Radical Self Reliance. There is no electricity, no potable water, no sewage hookups (just porta-potties). Transformus starts on Friday and ends on the following Monday, so you need to be prepared for three nights and four days of primitive camping. Once within the city no one leaves during the event except for the special case of a medical emergency.
Living in Mysteria
Once your camp is set up, meet your neighbors. Make new friends. Explore the city. Absorb the mysterious and delightful ways the place you are in is different from what you are used to the other 361 days of the year. It may look like chaos but it is not. There’s a hidden order, and it’s based on the general way of life that most burners share in common.
Participation
A burn such as Transformus is radically different: there’s no “us” and “them”. You are the entertainment and services. Your fellow citizens are the entertainment and services too, each giving the gifts they choose and receiving the gifts of others. That’s what we mean when we say you are Transformus. You aren’t here to consume, you are here to plunge in and be a part of the community in whatever ways work best for you – no one is going to assign you a role. You invent that for yourself. This is magical. Be thinking now of how you can be a part and share your unique gifts.
Self-expression
What’s the Dress Code in Mysteria? There isn’t one. You’re free to wear – or not wear – whatever you want. There are no fashion police (although wearing things with prominent corporate logos usually isn’t done and could get you a negative comment or two.) It’s doubtful that even in your wildest dreams you’ll come up with an outfit more “out there” than two or three others within a hundred yards of you at any point or time of day. On the other hand, wearing normal everyday clothes is perfectly acceptable too. Dress how you feel.
Decommodification
You can’t buy, or sell, anything in Mysteria — it’s a city without cash or credit. There are no commercial sponsorships here. You will not see logos or advertisements. Nor do we barter. The word “transaction” has little meaning here. Everything you receive is given as a gift from another person, and everything you give is likewise a gift.