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Call for New Board Member Candidates for Firefly Arts Collective
by The Firefly Official Announcement List 27 May '26

27 May '26

We're looking for motivated participants to add to the Firefly Arts Collective Board of Directors to expand the size of our team, and bring new enthusiasm and perspective for planning daytime and team-building events in 2026 and a refreshed camping festival in 2027! The Board is responsible for the financial and legal obligations of Firefly Arts Collective Inc. as well as planning the long term development and growth of the organization. Board members are expected to attend monthly meetings (in person in Somerville, MA or virtually) and contribute several hours of work per week on a year-round basis. *If you have interest in contributing to Firefly at this organizational level, please fill out this Application for Board Membership <https://forms.gle/Pptp4uhVqew9VzTe7>.* *If you would like to nominate someone else that you think we should encourage to apply, use the Firefly Arts Collective Board Nominations form <https://forms.gle/MkGfZqm3ZSBH1t2c7>.* Through the new board member process we want to find motivated Fireflies who are enthusiastic about building the future of Firefly: evaluating event sites, crafting practical policies (such as a Volunteer Bill of Rights) to build a safe and creative environment, and leading the efforts for year-round activities. We also wish to further increase the diversity of our organization, both in terms of demographics and ideas, to best represent both our Firefly community and the surrounding artistic and cultural communities from which we draw. Board candidates should have the ability to execute projects from beginning to end, participate in consensus decision-making (and the cooperation that entails), show initiative on new projects, be actively involved in the Firefly community, and have attended at least one Firefly in the past. To learn more about the specific responsibilities of Firefly Board Members, please review our Bylaws <https://www.fireflyartscollective.org/firefly-arts-collective/bylaws/>. Responses to this application will be shared to the Firefly Planning team, which consists of Firefly’s Core, Cluster, and Committee leads for discussion and feedback. If there are any responses you wish to be kept confidential to the current Board of Directors, please note this in responses or email us at board(a)fireflyartscollective.org. After you fill out the form we will reply to confirm receipt and may get back to you with some follow-up questions. We may invite you to attend a meeting to chat more about your responses and let you learn more about how we operate, or work with us during the 2026 organizational planning process. Once we've had a chance to review all responses, comments, and Planning Team feedback, we will solicit public comment on both final candidates and currently sitting board members. We're very excited to get new participants involved with the Firefly Board! 2026 has been a major year of transition for our organization and we look to define a stronger definition of community and new communication channels as we plan for new events closer to our home in Massachusetts. Beyond the yearly Firefly camping event we would like to expand the year-round activities of Firefly Arts Collective, particularly activities and town halls to engage in-person with others. We look forward to hearing from motivated participants with the time and energy to help expand and organize our community! Sincerely, The Firefly Arts Collective Board of Directors <https://www.fireflyartscollective.org/firefly-arts-collective/board-of-dire…>

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Community Message from the Firefly Board and Luna AEC
by The Firefly Official Announcement List 21 May '26

21 May '26

Dear New England Burner Community (and beyond), As Luna Burn work weekends approach, and as Firefly accelerates planning for Boston-area events and a renewed camping festival in 2027, our respective boards and executive committees would like to clear up any perceived conflict between our organizations and events. To be specific, we both fully support one another’s events, organizations, and planning efforts. We recognize both the validity of Firefly Arts Collective’s need to relocate in 2026 as well as Luna Burn’s deep fondness for and desire to hold an event at the location we have held dear for more than the past decade. On behalf of Luna Burn, we support Firefly and the FAC Board, past and present. We understand the deep challenges they have faced in producing a Bethel event and their decision to move. We also believe that public accusations of malfeasance, directed at Firefly leadership, are entirely without merit and destructive to our shared community. On behalf of Firefly and Firefly Arts Collective, we wish for the success of the inaugural Luna Burn, support the Luna Acting Executive Committee and Bethel Arts Initiative organization, understand the strong desire across the community and organizers for a summer camping festival in Bethel for 2026. We have shared knowledge, experience, and offers of site-specific equipment, and believe the Luna AEC and BAI have the best interests of all of our community members at heart. Luna and Firefly leadership alike condemn harassment, intimidation, threats, abusive rhetoric, or other hostile conduct directed toward organizers, volunteers, infrastructure, or participants associated with either organization. We believe this behavior is harmful to the broader regional Burner community and incompatible with the values of participation, civic responsibility, and communal effort that our events seek to uphold. Both organizations are committed to setting clear expectations for volunteers and participants, addressing harmful conduct when it occurs, and fostering a culture of respect. We look forward to collaborating on future events and shared regional Burner community resources for this autumn and beyond, and ask the whole community to join in recognition of the above and our shared goals. Sincerely, Firefly Arts Collective Board of Directors Max Alexander Tristan Brown Jon Evans Jered Floyd Iva Gishin Loverboy Jack Reid Luna Burn Acting Executive Committee Jeremy Butler Kit Cangardel Stever Robbins

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Firefly Out in the World! Somerville Open Studios (SOS)
by The Firefly Official Announcement List 15 May '26

15 May '26

Firefly Out in the World! Somerville Open Studios As part of our efforts for year-round community engagement, Firefly Arts Collective artists recently participated in SOS, [ https://www.somervilleopenstudios.org/ | Somerville Open Studios ] . Read more about this event, and how to get involved with other Firefly plans through the summer and autumn! [“Firefly Boxes” and “Tarot Cards” (hanging), “Dancing Blobs” (on railing)] SOS is an annual citywide event that provides the public with opportunities to experience the breadth of visual art created by people living and working in Somerville. Through open studios, exhibitions, and community engagement, SOS encourages visitors not only to view finished works, but also to interact directly with artists, encounter creative processes, and engage with the diverse artistic communities that shape the city. The event reflects a strong commitment to accessibility, public education, and an expansive understanding of what visual art can be. This year marked FAC’s first participation in the Somerville Museum “ [ https://www.somervilleopenstudios.org/event-info/#firstlook | First Look ] ” exhibition, where our collaborative piece Burner Art Models highlighted Firefly art installations and previewed several works featured during open studio weekend. The exhibition introduced local audiences to participatory Burner art while helping connect FAC artists with the broader Somerville arts community. It also created opportunities for meaningful public engagement around interactive art, volunteerism, creative collaboration, and the kinds of civic-minded community building that often happen behind the scenes within Burner spaces. [“First Look” show display: Burner Art Models ] During Open Studio weekend, FAC transformed our studio space, Somerville Dojo, into a public-facing gallery showcasing Burner art in context. This featured work from multiple community artists alongside in situ photographs of the artwork installed at regional events and Burns, interactive prompts, and opportunities for visitors to engage directly with the pieces. Throughout the event, visitors were able to learn more about participatory arts culture and connect with artists about the process of building installations of large-scale collaborative work. The weekend was a chance to share the mission of FAC outside of regional camping events and Burns: building collaborative, participatory, community-centered art experiences year-round while strengthening positive relationships with our neighbors, local arts organizations, and the wider Somerville creative community. Huge thanks to everyone who helped exhibit, volunteer, hang out in the space, and represent the community so thoughtfully. [“A friend in the dark” (L), “Elvis” (C), “Manic Mirror” (R)] If you're excited to help build (or participate in) Firefly events throughout this summer and autumn, please get in touch with the Events Committee at [ mailto:events@fireflyartscollective.org | events(a)fireflyartscollective.org ] !

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Learn to Burn at Safety Third 🔥
by The Firefly Official Announcement List 06 Apr '26

06 Apr '26

Hey New England Burners, Join us to share and learn how to build Burns and strengthen community. - Safety Third is an educational and social weekend (May 8-10) with Burners from across New England’s regional Burns, to help everyone become more skilled at running Burns - Registration closes on April 10th - Come teach a workshop from your experience and expertise - You’ll make new friends and have a great time while doing so. Join us for Safety Third <https://safetythird.net/>, happening May 8–10, a participatory weekend where volunteers, teachers organizers, and curious community members come together to share knowledge, build skills, and connect across the New England burn scene. Register to participate today! <https://partiful.com/e/1JL1oAti2glLpmPSpOgE?c=l6QebQem]> Registration closes April 10th. Whether you’ve led a core, supported a team, or just want to learn how these events come to life, Safety Third is your chance to: - Share what you know - Learn new skills - Meet collaborators across burns - Strengthen our community (and have a lot of fun doing it) We’re bringing together folks from across the region—including Firefly, Luna, NECTR, Granite, and Wicked—and we’d love to see you there. This is being held at Tempest House in Winchendon, MA. Carpool and public transit options are available. Chef Clyde will provide the food! Featured sessions include: - Leadership & Organizational Development - Ranger & Fire Safety Trainings - Medical & First Aid - Radio & ICS Training - Fire Art Construction & Flame Effects - Conflict Resolution & Resilient Activism - Volunteer Coordination & Project Management - And more… Got something to teach? You can still jump in. 👉 Register now: https://partiful.com/e/1JL1oAti2glLpmPSpOgE?c=l6QebQem ⏳ Registration closes April 10 Come learn. Come lead. Come take care of each other. —The Safety Third Team

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Reminder About Firefly Board Office Hours
by The Firefly Official Announcement List 05 Apr '26

05 Apr '26

A brief reminder that members of the Board will be available for, well; anything you want to talk about this coming Tuesday, April 7th, 6pm-7pm at [ https://maps.app.goo.gl/TXzPEWMbrhM6XsRdA | Remnant Brewing ] in Somerville. Things on our mind right now are- what sort of events we would like to see for the remainder of 2026, and planning for a larger festival again in 2027. If you aren’t able to make this one, here are the dates for future occurrences. In-Person Office Hours will take place on the first Tuesday of every other month and are co-located with the first hour of the Greet+Meet at [ https://maps.app.goo.gl/TXzPEWMbrhM6XsRdA | Remnant Brewing ] in Somerville (i.e. 6pm-7pm). More specifically, the following dates: * June 2nd, 2026 Virtual Office Hours take place on the first Thursday of the other months at 8pm-9pm Eastern. The different time and day are intended to enable folks to be able to attend at least one. These sessions will run on Google Meet ( [ https://meet.google.com/knv-meet-uzu | link ] ) * May 7th, 2026 Office Hours sessions will be attended by at least a few board members, and are intended to be a time for casual conversation and Q&A. Please note that since the full Board is unlikely to be at any given Office Hours session and since these will not be formal meetings, Office Hours will not be a venue for getting official decisions made or resolving inquiries that may need the participation of the full Board. We are always open to such inquiries by email. Sincerely, The Firefly Arts Collective Board of Directors

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Update on Firefly 2026 and Firefly Arts Collective
by The Firefly Official Announcement List 13 Mar '26

13 Mar '26

Update on Firefly 2026 and Firefly Arts Collective Dear Fireflies, The Festival Committee (FestComm), the volunteer committee that is responsible for the operation, administration, infrastructure, and services (etc.) provided by Firefly Arts Collective around the main Firefly event, and representatives of the FAC board, have met to discuss our respective capacity and determine next steps for Firefly in 2026 and beyond. We took time to consider both the resources available to us in terms of land and the volunteer labor of people who dedicate countless hours of work towards making Firefly happen. Our current plans: - We will not be organizing a large-scale festival in 2026. - We are organizing Firefly in 2027, and are already working on preparation for 2027. - Firefly Arts Collective will be supporting a variety of different events and arts initiatives throughout 2026. - This includes supporting existing events, such as Safety Third, FIGMENT Boston, and Somerville Open Studios - The potential for small camping event(s) - Firefly will be clarifying a code of conduct for volunteers, as well as a volunteer bill of rights to ensure a healthy working environment for all volunteers. Q&AWhat kinds of events is Firefly Arts Collective going to work on? This depends on what people want to make happen! This currently includes Safety Third, FIGMENT Boston, and Somerville Open Studios. The limit is what people decide to do. I have a great idea, can you help me? The next steps for the Festival Committee and the Board are building out a process that will allow people to pitch events and request support. We are working on what that process will look like and what resources might be available and are excited to share with you when we have a process. That will include how we will budget for events while preparing for Firefly 2027, setting up a submission process, and determining available infrastructure. What about our vendors, contracts, other boring but important stuff? FestComm is still meeting, working on Firefly 2027, and maintaining our existing vendor relationships. We hope to be able to provide art grants and support creative community building. What about Luna Burn? Luna Burn is an independent organization with its own corporate structure and volunteers and most importantly, its own goals. There are currently individuals who are excited about and involved with both organizations, the same way plenty of Burners are also part of other organizations including arts collectives, other burns, and community groups. That means people who want to work with Luna are already doing so. We all benefit from having twice as many awesome arts organizations. The most considerate way of supporting both organizations is to support both organizations, and other regional burns such as Wicked Burn, Granite Burn, Green Mountain Burn, etc. – plus other organizations that have a lot of overlap in the broader Burner community. Best, Oriana Service core co-lead on behalf of Festcomm

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Important Firefly 2026 Planning Update
by The Firefly Official Announcement List 02 Mar '26

02 Mar '26

Dear Fireflies, We regret to share that all planning for the Firefly 2026 event is currently on hold. On February 27th, the Barre landowner notified us they were no longer able to host Firefly 2026. While we are attempting to learn more about the reasons behind this abrupt change, we think it is now unlikely that an event in Barre is possible. We are currently working with the Festival Committee to determine our best paths forward regarding 2026 events and will share more information as that discussion continues. We will also be working to further ongoing constructive exploration with the larger Planning Team on options and activities aligned with our organizational mission for 2026 and beyond. Sincerely, The Firefly Arts Collective Board of Directors

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Firefly 2026 Creativity Grant Submissions Are Now Open and an Extension for the Temple Grant Deadline
by The Firefly Official Announcement List 12 Feb '26

12 Feb '26

Over the years, the Firefly Arts Collective (FAC) has been proud to provide grant support to Firefly artists to enable them to express and fulfill their varied creative visions. These grants are intended to support and promote radically-expressive, community-based, interactive and/or collaborative projects that help define and shape the creative core of the event. We acknowledge that this is a difficult time for the community and the move to a new location brings with it a host of questions and unknowns. Art Grant Core is committed to helping art thrive in the new space and is excited at the possibilities that an entirely new venue presents. Creativity Grants Are Open! Art is a central part of Firefly, and it wouldn't be the same without the wonderful pieces experienced at the event over the years. Bringing art is a great way to add a piece of yourself to the event and contribute/participate in a meaningful way. We are now accepting applications for our primary grant category, the Creativity Grant! This grant is intended for all your ideas for new art - everything from traditional art like sculpture, to immersive spaces, to silly little games. For more details, check out the Creativity Grants <https://www.fireflyartscollective.org/participate/art-at-firefly/art-grants…> page. Creativity Grants are available in tiers from $150 to $3000. Please indicate which tier you are applying for in your grant application (you may apply for multiple tiers!). There are a lot of unknowns about the event space this year. Where will the art live? How will placement work? Unfortunately, we don’t have the answers to all of that yet, so we ask that submissions take those unknowns into account. We’ll share whatever information we get when we get it, and remember that if you have questions, you can always ask us. We want to help however we can. Submissions Due: 3/22/2026 Temple Grant Reminder We also want to announce that we’re pushing back the deadline for Temple Grants by two weeks. There have been a lot of things in flux recently, and it’s not surprising that we haven’t received any submissions yet. The temple is vitally important, especially this year, and we want to make sure that participants have the time they need to put something thoughtful together. The new deadline is 3/8/2026. As always, let us know if you have any questions! Submissions Due: 3/8/2026 How to submit Submit via the Art Grant Portal <https://grants.fireflyartscollective.org/> If you’ve submitted a grant proposal, your account will still be active. Just sign in with your previous username and password. What to know more about Firefly Art Grants in general? See the Art Grants <https://www.fireflyartscollective.org/participate/art-at-firefly/art-grants/> page on the Firefly website. Other questions? Email us: grants(a)fireflyartscollective.org <3 Firefly Art Grant Core

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Do you want to build the Bug?
by The Firefly Official Announcement List 11 Feb '26

11 Feb '26

Yay effigies! Yay fire! Due to *waves hands all around* we've decided to extend the deadline to Monday, Feb 16 to give crews an extra week to put together an effigy proposal. As always, reach out to bug-search(a)fireflyartscollective.org if you have any questions or would like any advice!

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Dates and Location for Firefly 2026; How to Get Involved!
by The Firefly Official Announcement List 05 Feb '26

05 Feb '26

Firefly will be held at a new location on the same dates as usual (Tuesday, June 30th to Sunday, July 5th). Although arrangements are still being finalized, we can share that the intended site is in Barre, MA, an approximately 90 minute drive from Boston. Read on for more details. This decision comes after almost a year of research and difficult deliberation. The Bethel site has been dear to us and our community for nearly twenty years and is truly irreplaceable in our hearts. Despite the decision to move the July 4th Firefly event, we are hopeful that the wider Firefly community will remain connected to this place that has given us so many amazing memories (and Firefly Arts Collective is planning to support such efforts). At the same time, we are excited to begin the next chapter for Firefly and look forward to the opportunity to make new memories together! You can read more about the new site [ https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSFSszUWs7da-Yp9d1yc3A-XXcomeUm… | here ] . The event planning process now kicks off for 2026. As with every year, the folks who show up to build Firefly together are the ones who decide what it looks like, how it works, and how we shape the space to our needs and desires. If there are things you’ve wanted to see as part of Firefly but couldn’t achieve in the past, or if you’re excited to try something new in the ongoing experiment that is Firefly, please let us know. Reach out to our volunteer coordinator [ https://forms.gle/itybSZqvpJv37Ver5 | via this form ] to get involved. We’re sure you have plenty of questions, opinions, concerns, and other feedback! Why did we decide to move in 2026? How did we reach the decision on a site? How can we continue to be engaged with our friends in Bethel? The process leading to this decision has been going on for almost a year, and there’s a lot to discuss. To that end, we wanted to provide a variety of venues to exchange information and perspectives. * First, we have started an [ https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSIvmPXWuEnd-2d3SNhiCqwjZeD3twL… | FAQ ] where we’re putting more information on what this decision means and how we got here. We will be adding to that document as we receive more questions. * We are planning an in-person town hall to both hear feedback and answer additional questions. More details on that to follow. * The Board hosts [ https://www.fireflyartscollective.org/news/reminder-about-firefly-board-off… | monthly office hours ] that are open to the community. That is a great venue if you have questions or topics to discuss with board members in an informal setting. * You can also reach the Board at any time by emailing [ mailto:board@fireflyartscollective.org | board(a)fireflyartscollective.org ] . Please note that neither the Board nor volunteer Core Leads regularly monitor any particular social media platform. If you have questions for any particular group of Firefly volunteers, we suggest reaching out directly to that group via email (see [ https://www.fireflyartscollective.org/join-a-core/ | https://www.fireflyartscollective.org/join-a-core/ ] for Core contact addresses). Keep in mind that all Firefly volunteers are people you probably know, from your community, with whom you have personal relationships. You can always reach out to your friends, as individuals in our community, to get more information and background on Firefly 2026 planning. From our camp and planning leads survey we know there are concerns about how to adapt to this new location for event structure, camp layout, and sound direction and propagation, as well as substantial excitement about better accessibility, new experiences, new creative opportunities, varied terrain, the ability to gather and build community more often throughout the year, and the opportunity to collaboratively create a more expansive, radically inclusive, and engaging event. We look forward to working with all of you to continue to evolve the future of Firefly!

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