Overview
The site consists of a mix of former farmland, commercial groves of decorative trees, substantial new(er) growth forest to camp in (was formerly logged many years ago), and older forest on a slope for the more ruggedly minded. There is also a creek and beaver pond that run alongside the event space. The site is fairly flat (other than the older forest which is uphill and the creek/pond which are downhill) and has significantly more event space (~100 acres vs Bethel’s 70) and parking space (~19 acres versus Bethel’s 5). The site is approximately 90 minutes from Boston/Somerville and Firefly volunteers would have access to the site for more work weekends over the course of the spring and summer than we have had historically.
The formerly cultivated groves (which constitute a small but centrally located fraction of the forested portions of the site) are organized into grids of various spacing, offering a novel kind of terrain for theme camps or art projects interested in making use of them.
The immediate neighbors on three sides are non-residential. Beyond those are homes and the town of Barre. The town is used to hosting large events and officials are favorably disposed toward our organization and event, but they have not yet hosted a burn.
Over the course of spring and early summer, volunteers plan to undertake a variety of projects to prepare the site for Firefly in July, including building trails through the more natural forested portion of the site so we can camp there, mowing the fields, and building up the existing access road so heavier vehicles can move into the core of the space. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact volunteer@fireflyartscollective.org.
Other Information
When is the soonest we could have access to the land?
For visits, essentially immediately (with prior notice to the landowner of course). The landowner is quite open to us going out on most weekends. For meaningful work, we would need to wait until the snow has melted and whatnot, which would likely be in mid-March.
Adult-only theme camp locations?
While this would ultimately be up to the Placement Core and theme camps, we anticipate that these camps would be in the western woods, at a sufficiently discrete location from the main fields.
Is the landowner okay with adult-only theme camps and related activities? What about Massachusetts law?
We have specifically asked about kink activities and the landowner is supportive. We don’t believe that Massachusetts law will interfere with the event or theme camp activities, but if you have a particular law (and ideally an actual court case) of concern, please let us know and we can consult with an attorney.
I don’t like fields; can I camp in the woods like I’m used to?
Yes! This location offers many more acres of relatively flat, wooded area compared to Bethel. There will be many, many spaces appropriate for woods-camping in quieter and louder areas, as well as some unique woods-camping opportunities within the two sections of gridded groves.
Will sound be a problem?
We are currently evaluating sound propagation beyond the bounds of the event. Sound core will establish volume limits for particular days and times, much as they do in Bethel, though the specific limits may be different.
Will fire (effigy, spinning, etc.) be allowed?
We have described our usual activities to local fire officials and they are supportive, with their final approval subject to a more detailed walkthrough of the site and our plans (just as it is each year in Bethel). Our fire safety core would develop rules and plans to ensure that we can safely carry out our activities (e.g. by making sure the effigy isn’t near the birch grove).
How would on-site storage work?
The landowner has a Quonset hut that they are willing to rent us half of, which is larger than our current year-round storage space in Bethel.
Would large vehicles (our own or from emergency services) have access to the site?
Our intent is to improve the Field Loop sufficiently for large vehicles to access the gridded groves and the main field. The driveway to the property is paved. The nearest fire station is a 3 minute drive away to the west on well paved roads.
How would vehicle access to the site in general work?
The details of this would be up to Arrival Cluster, but we anticipate that vehicles would be allowed on the site itself for unloading and then parked across the street. There is some possibility that box trucks could be parked onsite for the duration of the event in a designated area. The driveway to the event space is ~1.5 vehicle widths in places, meaning that we would likely need to have some form of phased direction control in place, though the abundant parking space means that we could set-up a queuing/staging area.