Howdy y’all. First off, deep breath: *No decisions have been made to move Firefly.* In response to the post-event survey, we have received a number of questions regarding why Firefly would investigate another space at all. We recognize that talk of potentially having Firefly at a different location came as a surprise to some, and that questions about preferences about the event site in the survey without additional context was not the best way to start this conversation with the whole community. While we were always planning to make a statement like this, we weren’t ready with it at the same time the survey (which is run by an independent team), and we apologize for any confusion and alarm that was caused by this. A key component of the decision to consider alternate locations was ongoing challenges with the new landowners, who have demanded contract terms exceptional to a rental agreement, and that conflict with our organizational autonomy and values. For more detail on how these negotiations shook out, you can see the Appendix B to the Use Agreement <https://www.fireflyartscollective.org/news/firefly-2025-ticket-registration-and-important-policy-changes/>. The appendix terms were accepted under extreme time pressure in mid-May, with the alternative being the cancellation of the 2025 event. The Board decided at that time that for 2026 and beyond we will only accept a standard land use agreement as has been in place with other past and present landowners. The autonomy of Firefly Arts Collective requires that contractors and suppliers, including landowners, not have policy-making rights granted to them by Firefly by virtue of their role—decisions about sharing Firefly data and who may attend the event should be made by Firefly, including the Festival Committee, Operations Cluster, Board, and Conduct Committee. We recognize that there are still a lot of questions about the process by which this year’s Use Agreement was made, the relevant history, and other details about the current conflicts and potential paths forward. We will address these topics in a forthcoming message. Regarding investigating alternate location options, however, there are several additional reasons for Firefly to evaluate alternatives, including but not limited to: - Accessibility: Firefly is on a huge hill! Every year we have more requests for accessibility assistance, both gear hauling and transport, and that Core has been pushed to the limit of its volunteer capacity. - Land cost: Firefly spends a huge percentage of its budget on land rental and maintenance, moreso (as a percentage and in just overall dollars) than other equivalent events. - Placement: A top negative item in the survey every year is stagnation of theme camp placement, and lack of opportunity for new theme camps. - Parking: Parking is difficult! It's far away, it fills up, people get parked in, people don't have access to their cars, all of which contributes to huge backups at Exodus/GTFO. - Vehicle Access: Getting box trucks to specific theme camps could really be a gamechanger in what kind of spaces and art the community can create. Being able to use golf carts instead of exclusively UTVs would be significantly safer and quieter. Those reasons alone have prompted regular community discussions about finding a new site sometime in the future – many of us think the event could be changed for the better with a new site. At the same time, we recognize many Fireflies have only known the event at the current site, and have fond memories and attachments to the current event terrain and facilities (we certainly do!). All of this said, no decision has been made about locations for 2026! It is possible that we will be able to come to an agreement with the new landowners, but equitable contract negotiations require both sides to have reasonable alternatives. We think this is a good moment for Firefly to investigate our values concerning the land; whether we have to move soon, or in 10+ years, and whether we move because of changes to the land, because of changes in attitudes within the Firefly or Bethel communities, or due to any other issues arising that are out of our control. When the land search begins in earnest it will involve many Fireflies, and we will continue to share information and collect feedback along the way. Currently it has not started -- Firefly was only 2 weeks ago. When it does, there will certainly be wider communication via email with the extended community. Please contact the Board at board@fireflyartscollective.org if you have questions. Sincerely, The Firefly Arts Collective Board of Directors