The Power Of The Festival Community To Help A Fellow Raver
Let me set the scene. Ignition 2024, this reporters first burn style rave, I had been trying to make it to a Kiwiburn for several years, but always the universe seemed to get in the way, and send me elsewhere. Right before New Years, as I’m doing the rounds buying up summer festival tickets and check the ignition page, volunteers needing-HOORAH. I send out my application, and within days get a response. Nothing about actually volunteering, just a simple link to the ticket page!
I have made it!
Paying the very reasonable 300 dollars, the wait began. The time seemed to fly past. The amazing New Years I spent at AUM was an incredible way to begin the countdown until 7th of January. In fact I was so grateful of the opportunity I decided I need to give back to the community that has done so much for me, so I volunteered at AUM, shoutout to John Paul Moss, who is an absolute inspiration, and all the crew and volunteers that made this happened, definitely make it up for this one ASAP if the reader hasn’t been, as its a BEAUTIFUL festival, full of art and gorgeous people!
And The Job Was . . .
Cleaning up the dancefloor on the house stage from 11pm to 7 am 31st-1st. In all honesty, the satisfaction I got from making this rave sacrifice of working on NEW YEARS NIGHT was quite soon overshadowed by a mass of frustration. Here I was surrounded by twisted ravers, at a leave no trace event, but hardly anyone seemed to give a shit about the mess they left behind.
From 11 until 3 I was darting around picking up empty alcohol cans from the dancefloor, the new years countdown happened while I had a handful of cans on their way to the large black sack I had managed to fill roughly every 10 minutes. If not for me and the other brave volunteer on dance floor cleaning duty the stage would have drowned in empties, leaving many a raver with a broken ankle or two. Then I noticed a shift, all the drinkers seem to stagger away to their dreamless drunken slumbers, toward the hangovers their dehydrated bodies would inevitably experience.
PRO RAVE TIP
If one is inclined toward alcoholic consumption, remember TO BRING A LARGE WATER BOTTLE. Personally, I have a beefy 1.5 litre stainless steel beast I carry in a backpack. For every alcoholic beverage I consume I drink 1-2 glasses of water.
REMEMBER
Your liver can ONLY PROCESS 30ml of pure alcohol an hour. or 1 standard drink. The rest gets absorbed into your blood directly, making the health risks a lot higher. I am a beer drinker, but my preferred choice of beverage is a coopers extra stout, which has 1.7 standard drinks in a 375 ml bottle-after learning this fact.
The Last Rave I Went To
DIMENSION@BAR AFRICA(shoutout BIG DAVE and DIMENSION CREW, also the crew at BAR AFRICA, Thank you for the amazing service, everyone was so chill and accommodating, if you’re looking to throw a rave at a bar at an industrial north shore location where you can turn the speakers up, look no further- over all was an absolute pearl of an experience, I highly recommend any of the DIMENSION events to fans of PSY TRANCE!)Also a shoutout to the DJS at the night, everyone was on form, the progression was absolutely incredible! – and I remembered this factoid, so instead of my usual 6 pack of beers, I bought a cheap Korean pack, where each can had 1 standard drink.
For later in the night I bought 200 ml of gin. with no mixer. now I didn’t time my alcohol consumption, but went by the rule of , 1 drink, 2 waters, and of course danced in between-and when it came time for the gin, I just would have a capful, around 30 ml id imagine, and it was a gorgeous burn, followed by a water, a dance, and another water, another dance until I was thirsty, then another capful and water) This regime, paid off alright!
I awoke having one of the best after party mornings I had ever had!
Back To The Rave
Now were at 3 am New Years morning, 2024 was upon us all, me and the other volunteers resolutely sober, everyone around us, well the drunks were gone, but the trippers somehow remained, and to their credit, the small amount of alcohol they were consuming, they *mostly, put in a little pile, or sometimes even in the black sacks we left strategically around the dancefloor.
Now another sort of litter started to make it’s unwelcome appearance…all the colourful outfits that the ravers were festooned with were sure a welcome sight to my slightly disillusioned eyes, but some were not so cleverly constructed and began to drop things on the dancefloor, various types of plastic crap, sequins, those glowing bands, colourful plastic feathers, the list goes on. So from 3 until roughly 5 I was still quite busy. At 5 I was told I could relax until the dancers thinned out and do a final clean at the end.
Back To Work
SO I had a boogie for an hour, and was informed its time to get back to work. I was flat out cleaning up for the next hour. Being quite close to completion by the time my shift was over. I was exhausted, and kicking myself for the seemingly thankless task. I did later hear that the house stage on new years morning. Was one of the cleanest stages they have had to date!!! I returned to my tent to try get some kip before the final night, and was determined to make the most of. I was too worried about missing any more of the festival. So I woke up after a dreamless lay down in the baking sun.
Raver Returns To Rave
And so I returned toward the house stage I had recently cleaned up. Then ran into two ladies from wellington. Whom I had met on the first night of the festival. We had a quick chat, and decided upon a wander. Me sleepless and jaded, we headed toward the main stage and sat down. As I looked around, I saw two of my favourite people, very creators of this website, Gareth and Justine! After ecstatic hugs, we decided to have a team meeting in their very luxury tent.
The Home Stretch
Explaining my situation, the sacrifice I made to the festival gods. Still so fresh in my mind, but fear not, young reporter, there is hope! This day, this night will be fantastic! Just think, you’ve sacrificed your new years night, therefore you must make your new years day absolutely sensational! The logic was infallible. Andre, we think the problem is-you’re short on nutrients! This prickle free green smoothie will cure what ails you they said. And wouldn’t you know it! It was exactly what I needed.
This reporter, now uplifted by the wise advice of his fellow ravers. Quickly and thoroughly proceeded to make the most of this fine final day of AUM. Exploring, chatting, dancing like a mad man. Even upgrading my sleeping arrangement to the tent of one of the gorgeous ladies from wellington! She even drove me home, and spent a lovely few days with me. Until I was ready to head to Ignition!
WHICH YOU WILL HEAR ABOUT IN Reporters Rave Tales Issue 2….. where I finally make it to my first burn. I get an unexpected call from reality. Then find out how the rave community helps fix the problem that reality decides to drop in my lap!
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