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Poly Big Fun Survival Guide

PBF Survival Guide

Welcome to Poly Big Fun! These are the things you need to know about the event before you arrive in order to help make the event most enjoyable to you.

Table of contents

Event Rules

Review “Behavior in Our Community” before coming to Poly Big Fun. Boundaries, and respecting them, are critically important to the smooth running of our community.

  • You are required to check in at the registration table to get your cabin assignment. No registration is complete without full payment in advance. If you do not pay in advance, you will not have a bed reserved for you when you arrive at the event and you will be assigned a room based on availability. It is possible no beds will be available if you arrive at the event without pre-registering.
  • If you bring children you must ensure their safety at all times. They must not disrupt the event, though they are welcome to listen to any public discussions that you feel are appropriate for them. We, the coordinating staff and by extension the site owners, do not accept any responsibility for any injuries you may incur over the course of the event.
  • For all lodges and everywhere:
    • Respect boundaries, always ask first.
    • “No” means no, do not ask again.
    • “Not now” means you can ask again later.
    • Make sure that you really mean “Yes” or “No” when you say it. You cannot ever undo something after it has happened.
    • Clothing is required in all public spaces.
    • Obey posted signs.
  • Violation of these rules may be considered grounds for removal and/or banning from the event.

Lodge and Room Designations

Cabin assignments will be made based on preference selected on your registration page. Remaining spaces will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis upon arrival at the site, but there is no guarantee that there will be a bed available if you have not pre-registered. Check in at the registration table to get your cabin assignment, so that we know that you have arrived and so that you get the latest announcements, then find your room and unload your gear.

  • Cabin 1 — G-rated, for both families and adults with no children. Lights out at 10:00pm
    • Children must be accompanied by their parent or other responsible adult while they are in the cabin.
    • Cuddling OK
    • Nudity or sex  Not-OK
  • Cabin 2 — Adults only
    • Nudity and vanilla adult activities OK
    • Midnight lights out
  • Cabin 3 — Adults only
    • Nudity and vanilla adult activities OK
    • Midnight lights out
  • Cabin 4 — Adults only
    • Nudity, adult activites and kink OK
    • What happens in cabin 4 stays in cabin 4
    • Lights out time is based on consensus in Cabin 4 and not mandatory

 

Things to Bring

  • Bedding: sheets, blankets, sleeping bags, pillows - Twin size fits one bunk. - King size if you want to push two beds together. - Beds can be pushed together.   Mattresses can be put on floor.   If you need an extra mattress, borrow it from Cabin 1.  Cabins have A/C.
  • Bath Stuff : towels, shampoo, soap, other toiletries - You might want to bring flip flops to wear in the shower areas.
  • Medications: There is space in the fridge for meds that need to be kept cold.
  • Lawn / camping chairs - Group discussions are held outside. It’s good to bring your own chair.
  • Comfortable shoes - The ground is grassy and rocky, so wear something that’s good for light hiking (e.g., tennis shoes, etc.).
  • Sunscreen, bug repellent, hats, fire ant sting reliever - It’s Texas, what else do I need to say?
  • Dress super casual : shorts, t-shirts, jeans, jacket - Don’t forget something to wear while dancing around the fire.
  • Alcohol - State park rules prohibit alcohol in public.  The dining hall and the cabins are not public spaces.  Drink responsibly.
  • Flashlights - The area away from the lodges is not well lit. Have a flashlight for safety!

Fire safety, rhythm drumming, and belly dancing

The fire circle is uncertain, as Texas is sometimes in a burn ban. The presence of a burn ban will be determined by the park rangers when we arrive. Whether there is a fire or not, we will set lights around the fire circle, and that should provide us with some good ambient lighting for discussions, drumming, and dancing. If there is a fire, the fire must be attended at all times. When the fire gathering is dying down, the fire should be doused by the last few people who are there, before they go to bed.

Everyone is invited to participate in the drumming and the dancing. You are also invited to bring instruments, and they do not necessarily have to be drums, but there will be no power for electric instruments. Note: Outdoor “quiet time” at the camp begins at 10pm. If you want to enjoy drumming around the fire you should plan on being there before 10.

Fire Safety
  • Sweep the fire circle area free of ignitable debris within a 4 foot circle around the fire ring. (This is also used for dancers to move around the fire)
  • Be sure before the fire is lit that there are no roots near enough to the surface to ignite. Roots can smolder for days underground, eventually coming up to kill or ignite trees or sometimes even entire groves.
  • Be sure no rocks go into the fire that have been anywhere near water. While it’s unlikely, water sometimes seeps into small chambers in rocks. If this heats to steam too quickly, the rock can burst, sending sharp bits of flying rock everywhere, which is likely to spoil the ambiance quickly and thoroughly.
  • Make sure the fire is not flaring high enough to endanger nearby trees that may overhang the fire area.
  • Try to use hardwood as much as possible. It doesn’t flare as nicely as softwood, but it is also less likely to spit sparks all over the place. Sparks can ignite nearby materials, and can hurt you badly if they land on you (or vice versa).
  • Know where the materials for fire extinguishing are.
Fire Extinguishing
  • Don’t use an extinguisher! Unless it’s an emergency, don’t use a fire extinguisher to put out the bonfire; it’s an unconscionable waste of something you may later wish really badly that you still had.
  • To extinguish the fire, pour water on it. That’s the main thing. The more water, the better. You cannot pour too much water on the fire.
  • When you’re convinced it’s out, stir the ashes. Add more water, because I guarantee you will have turned up coals or flammable materials that may re-ignite. Repeat as necessary.
  • You may safely walk away from the fire when you can sift through the ashes with your bare fingers. If you don’t feel confident doing this, you have not doused the fire sufficiently.

Meals & Food Service

All meals are prepared by volunteers. Everyone is expected to help out. All food will be served in the dining hall at designated meal times Everyone is expected to wash their own plates, bowls, cups, and flatware at the end of each meal. Do not throw these away. No plates or eating utensils are disposable as we attempt to keep the event green. Please bring cups back to the kitchen and wash them when you are done with them so they can be reused throughout the event.

The menu for the weekend will be made available beforehand. It is your responsibility to check the menu ahead of time to ensure that your dietary needs will be met and to make alternate arrangements IN ADVANCE if you feel the menu does not meet your needs. We attempt to cater to meat-eaters, omnivores, vegetarians, vegans, quasi-kosher, and gluten free folks. We attempt to make reasonable accommodations for folks with significant food allergies as well. These food restrictions can be marked on your registration page, the earlier you register the more time we have to take your restrictions into consideration. Since we prepare a large portion of the food in advance of the event any late registration food restrictions may not be taken into consideration due to time restrictions. Should you have additional questions please contact the appropriate staff members to make arrangements. Otherwise, please be aware of any special desires or needs you may have and plan ahead.

The kitchen staff will not provide snacks. A table will be set aside for non-perishable snacks that people bring, but we cannot feasibly provide snacks that will satisfy everyone. So bring what you would want to enjoy between meals.

Volunteer Shifts

This event is run totally by volunteers and depends on all participants for its success. By the time the event starts, several of us have spent many evenings and weekends planning and preparing for this event. During registration, each participant was asked to choose 2 volunteer shifts and a final cleanup activity. We ask each adult participant to wash and dry their own dishes and utensils after each meal in addition to your volunteer shift. Children’s dishes and utensils are the responsibility of their parents.

We expect that you show up for your assigned shifts on time to keep the event running smoothly. Schedules of volunteer shifts will be posted during the event in the dining hall if you are unsure of what you registered for.

Descriptions of volunteer shifts:

Event Setup Volunteers:
  • Pre-prep volunteers: These volunteers attend meal preparation events hosted in Austin before the event and work toward cooking and preparing food to be served the event.
  • PBF gear un-loaders: These volunteers unload our pbf gear from the transport trailer and bring it into the site for setup on Thursday afternoon at the event.
  • Kitchen unpacking & setup: These volunteers unpack the PBF gear from storage boxes, wash and put away the kitchen equipment for the event on Thursday afternoon onsite.
Kitchen Volunteers:
  • Meal Leader: These shifts begin 60 minutes prior to the start of the meal. This volunteer is responsible for, directs, and assists the kitchen crew with meal preparation for the meal they selected. The meal leader is given a complete list of the food and all components for the meal. Meal leaders ensure all tasks related to meal preparation are completed and are responsible for setting out all parts of the meal including plates, napkins, utensils, condiments, and ensuring the water/tea/lemonade pitchers are full, etc.
  • Food preparation team: These shifts begin 45 – 60 minutes prior to the start of the meal. Most of the cooking will be done prior to the event. However, help is needed in last minute preparation, reheating, chopping veggies for salad, gathering silverware/plates/cups/etc, and placing the food out for consumption.
  •  Kitchen cleanup team:  We will need two kinds of volunteers for kitchen cleanup.
    • The first of these will be responsible for monitoring the dish washing station during the meal, keeping the water hot, sudsy and clean for the people who are washing their own dishes.
    • The second type of kitchen cleanup will begin when the meal ends. Tasks involved will be clearing away and storage of leftovers, washing and drying pots, pans and prep tools, general cleanup of the kitchen surfaces, sweeping the dining hall and taking out the trash. Cleanup crew is provided with and envelope of tasks that are necessary for cleanup after each meal. Please take a task from the envelope and complete that task. Cleanup is complete when all tasks in the envelope have been finished.
Fire tasks:
  • Fire Building : These volunteers are responsible for building and ensuring the fire gets started.
  • Fire Tending : These volunteers tend the fire while it is burning, add wood as needed, and are prepared to stamp out any off cast from the fire that might ignite the surrounding area.  
  • Fire Extinguishing : These volunteers are prepared and responsible for extinguishing the fire at the end of the evening and ensuring the embers will not reignite after we leave the area.

Descriptions of Final Cleanup tasks:

Each person is responsible for packing up their bedding and personal belongings. All personal items should be removed from the cabins no later than 11am Sunday morning.

Tasks:

  • Cabin cleanup: Remove all trash, sweep the lodge and re-arrange the bunks back to a normal configuration.
  • Final Kitchen cleanup: Clean out refrigerators, dispose of leftovers (send home with people), wash/dry remaining dishes, pack up everything, clean kitchen surfaces, dispose of trash, sweep and mop floors.
  • Dining Hall cleanup: Take down and pack decorations, sweep floors, rearrange tables, dispose of final trash bags.
  • Grounds: Pick up and dispose of trash. (gloves provided)
  • Load out Kitchen to Trailer: This is the last task of PBF clean up. All the storage boxes that have been repacked must be loaded on to the trailer for return to long-term storage.