Volunteers are absolutely essential to making Transformus happen! Seriously – without volunteers, Mysteria wouldn’t exist. Check out the team descriptions below to help you decide with teams you’d like to volunteer for. Then, head to the Volunteer Sign-Ups to choose your shifts! (If you have additional questions about volunteering for any team, their contact info is provided below.)
Interested in leading a team?
Fill out our Community Participation and Collaboration form!
Accessibility
Email: [email protected]
Transformus is committed to Radical Inclusion – which means Burners of all stripes! The Accessibility team works to make sure that folks have what they need for placement in an accessible spot and for getting around Mysteria. If this sounds like you, send us an email and fill out our Accessibility Request Form!
Art Grants
Email: [email protected]
The Art Grant Team manages the submission process and the jury conference for deciding grant disbursements. The Art Grant Team facilitates artist installation and documents views of granted artwork throughout the event weekend. The community is encouraged to always be thinking of an art grant project for the next proposal cycle.
CAT (Consent Amplification Team)
Email: [email protected]
CAT is the new name for an old but important topic: CONSENT!
The Consent Amplification Team is devoted to exploring and addressing the boundaries of consent at burns and within social settings. We work to provide educational tools and experiences to all burners throughout the event. As a team, we encourage communication above all and want to ensure that all burners feel comfortable with expressing their limits and asking for clarification.
What a volunteer should expect:
Basically, you are a consent ambassador. Help people understand consent and converse with them about it. Helping the community feel good about boundaries and acceptance is the name of the game.
Department of Mutant Vehicles (DMV)
Email: [email protected]
DMV’s primary duty in the past has been inspecting all Mutant Vehicles (art cars) to make sure they are safe to travel the roads of Mysteria! This year, their responsibilities have expanded to include overseeing all vehicles in our city, as well as directing traffic and making sure folks unpack their cars quickly and get them off property as soon as possible.
What a volunteer should expect:
There are a few different types of volunteering for this team:
- Gate/Greeters liaison: You’ll check in folks who have pre-registered their vehicles and give them their permits. You’ll also be labeling each vehicle that is NOT permitted to remain on-site during the event with the date and time they entered to keep track of who needs to get their car back to the parking lot when.
- Traffic: You’ll be stationed at a key point within the city to help direct newly-arrived participants to their camp location and help to generally keep traffic flowing
Wear plenty of sunscreen, bring plenty of water, and be prepared to hollah at some Burners!
Department of Public Works (DPW)
Email: [email protected]
DPW (Department of Public Works) is one hardworking team! They work before, during, and after Transformus, providing valuable services that Transformus 100% could not exist without. Pre-burn, DPW helps set up all our stuff like canopies and tables and also hits up trouble spots on the land to make sure we don’t cause problems with all our hippie feet and cars. Post-burn, DPW really goes into action – taking down all the gear and repairing the land where all the dancing hippies, stuck cars, and large structures have caused a trace. Along with the LNT team, DPW truly embodies the Leave No Trace principle. They do hard work but they always do it extremely well, making sure our home looks as amazing when we leave as when we got there, if not better! Help DPW out by keeping cars on the designated roadways, and avoiding digging into the land or causing other unsightly messes.
What a volunteer should expect:
Hard but rewarding work. Everything from spreading seed to fixing holes and general land beautification. Work gloves and a will to put a little loving into the land are required. There are jobs for all skill levels on DPW!
Fire Conclave
Email: [email protected]
Fire Conclave volunteering is really just for Safeties (not performers!) What’s a fire conclave? That’s the bright shiny spinny people who put on a fire show at various times during the burn, most noticeably just before we burn the Effigy. Fire Conclave Safeties are the folks who help keep all the performers from setting themselves or the crowd on fire. Safeties are utilized during the Effigy Burn (Saturday night) and Temple Burn (Sunday night). Safety training is provided on site, and you’ll also get to hear all the super awesome plans for the burns!
What a volunteer should expect:
- Have a fire blanket! You can bring your own, or borrow one from a fire spinner (but make sure they get it back!).
- Attend safety training. All safeties must attend one of the conclave/safety meetings, even if you know how to safety already. Not just to learn to safety (if you don’t know how) but also so you can hear the plan for the burn and know what to expect. This is where you also get your cool swag to make all the other girls and boys jealous of your firey awesomeness! (The team lead will email volunteers to let them know when and where Safety Training will occur during the event.)
- Show up before the burn you are volunteering for, stand where indicated, and keep fire spinners from being set on fire. This isn’t that hard, but it does require paying attention.
- After the conclave performance, you generally get front row seating for the effigy burn itself while helping hold soft perimeter (this is where that nifty swag comes in handy, as only those showing the swag get to sit right in front and hold soft perimeter)
- On Saturday and Sunday nights, before the burn(s), you must be sober, wear natural fibers, and bring a duvetyne fire blanket (of your own, or sourced from a friend) to the effigy/temple. You will be placed in a location around the burn field, and will watch the zone in front of you for fire spinner safety during the performance. Once the Conclave is over, you will be guided out of the field by the Conclave Co-Lead; you will return the duvetyne blanket to its owner or original location, and then are free to enjoy the rest of the effigy/temple burn!
Fire Art Safety Team (FAST)
Email: [email protected]
We all like fire, right? The problem with fire is that it’s dangerous if not handled properly. That’s why FAST exists! If something at the burn involves fire, then FAST is in charge of making sure it doesn’t wreck someone’s day… or worse. All fire art must be inspected and approved by FAST; if you leave a campfire unattended, FAST is gonna put it out; when the effigy and temple get burned, FAST are the people in the silver suits making sure it all falls down properly and doesn’t harm the crowd. It’s a super important job that is right at the center of our event!
What a volunteer should expect:
Most FAST shifts are centered around the effigy and temple burn. Some volunteers (with training) are watching the burn and making sure it says in the center of the field and doesn’t fall into or blow up onto the crowd. It’s hot out there, so other volunteers pass water to the fire watchers and make sure everyone is on their game. FAST lets the crowd know when it’s safe to get closer once the fire gets low enough. Outside of that, FAST is responsible for handling any fire-related issue that comes up, from inspecting fire art to putting out dangerous fire situations if they occur, so training around these areas is necessary.
Gate
Email: [email protected]
Gate team is the very first team (well, along with parking) that any Mysterian will interact with. This team runs the Gate (believe it or not) and handles the ticketing, waiver collecting, and wristbanding of Transformus participants. When you bring your PRINTED ticket and PRINTED waiver (you do have both, don’t you? on paper? readable?) to the Gate, the smiling volunteers will get you all scanned in to make sure the ticket is valid and then you get a nice shiny wristband proving that you are allowed into the event. If you DON’T have a printed ticket and waiver, or if the ticket is invalid, then you will be turned away from the Gate and asked to leave or to go print a new one in town. Don’t be mad at the Gate workers for this – it’s policy, and good burners know the drill! Gate also often has good info for you regarding the ingress and exodus process. This team runs for many hours during the burn and is vital to Transformus operations.
What a volunteer should expect:
Generally you will be able to sit inside a large canopy that will keep the sun and rain off of you, so that’s awesome! You will be responsible for being responsible and scanning tickets and taking waivers from every Mysterian who comes through. Gate can be super busy or super slow, depending on the time and day. Gate shifts aren’t physically strenuous, so this is a great opportunity for sun-sensitive or mobility-impaired volunteers! You get to be first to see all the excited Mysterians as they get ready to enter the city, so prepare for lots of hugs and thank yous. Sobriety isn’t required but responsibility is, so moderate as needed.
Greeters
Email: [email protected]
Greeters is arguably the most popular team to volunteer for. These are the folks who grab you upon entry and help educate you on the Principles, make sure you have everything you need before heading in, and ensure that burn virgins get their proper greeting. Great costumes, educational games, important information, and really fun people can all be found at the Greeters station – these smiling faces are your welcome home and how you know that you have arrived in Mysteria.
What a volunteer should expect:
Lots of action! You greet everyone coming in during your shift and do all of the things listed above. Knowing the Principles and being able to explain them to Mysterians is important. Helping them understand any procedures that may be new is also necessary. Can you hand out a few spankings? Smile while doing it? Hug people fiercely while explaining how Mysteria works? Then Greeters is for you!
Inventory
Email: [email protected]
The folks of Inventory take care of all of our stuff. We count it, we mark it, we store it. We deliver the city infrastructure and team supplies to the site for set-up and then we collect, count, and transport it all back to our lovely storage home after the burn. All of the teams depend on us for the care and transport of their necessary equipment, supplies and infrastructure.
What a volunteer should expect:
Most of our work shifts are off-site, before and after the burn. Team members will meet at our Raleigh, NC storage facility to pull team inventory as requested and load the inventory truck for transport to the burn site. Once on site, we drop inventory for each team. Then on Monday after the burn, we will collect the inventory items and load the truck for transport back to storage. Unloading at the storage unit in Raleigh will take place on Tuesday.
Expect some lifting, counting, organizing, stacking, and recording (written and photographic) of boxes, bins, totes, other inventory items. We’ll be loading and unloading the truck and storage unit, so folks with good organization skills are welcome! (Plus – there will be snacks and drinks!)
Leave No Trace (LNT)
Email: [email protected]
Not only is LNT an important principle, but it’s also a team at Transformus. This team takes ownership of making sure we as a community are not only educated about how to not leave a trace, but ensures that every trace is removed at the end of the event. From hanging signs on the portos about LNT expectations to making sure theme camps do an LNT sweep on Monday exodus, LNT keeps our land clean and green! LNT isn’t just some fancy talk we burners spout off about – it really is a way of life at Transformus. It is everyone’s responsiblity to pick up everything from the grounds that isn’t naturally there. The simple way to do this is NEVER let it hit the ground in the first place. Butts from cigarettes, glitter, pieces of plastic, waste food, grey water, feathers, whatever you might drop… DON’T. If it came to the burn with you, it must go home with you, no matter how small – no exceptions!
What a volunteer should expect:
LNT volunteers promote LNT and also participate in actively removing any traces that are found. No burn is perfect, and no matter how hard we all try, some things might slip through the cracks and hit the ground. During a LNT shift, volunteers patrol the grounds looking for MOOP (Matter Out Of Place) and picking it up. LNT shifts are largely towards the end of the burn. A keen eye for MOOP, a passion for the community, and an understanding of the importance of LNT are key qualities for a volunteer with the LNT team.
During Transformus, teams of two volunteers will do trash pickup daily together around all of the portos (gloves, trash bags, and hand sanitizer will be provided!) After everything is spruced up nice and clean, the team can wander about Mysteria to pick up random trash until the shift is over. On Monday afternoon, a team of 10 volunteers will MOOP Mysteria once, surveying every space until the MOOP map is completed. These 10 volunteers will be allowed to stay on Monday night and can leave Tuesday morning before noon.
Mission Control
Email: [email protected]
Mission Control is located in the Center Camp tent at the edge of Eden near the bridge. They are the hub for on-site volunteer sign-ups AND radio and golf cart checkouts for team leads and volunteers. In most cases, volunteers for most teams will meet their leads at Mission Control at the start of their shift, so there’s plenty of opportunity to meet new folks and get involved in the hubbub of Mysteria’s inner workings.
What a volunteer should expect:
During your shift, you will:
- Check out radios and golf carts, and maintain records of who has what and when
- Sign folks up for volunteer shifts (and help them remember which ones they signed up for online before the event!)
- Direct folks to when/where they need to be for a given volunteer shift
- Help recruit volunteers for teams as needed
This is a great volunteer opportunity for folks who are sun-sensitive or have mobility issues! You’ll be seated at a table inside our large Center Camp tent.
Moonshiners
Email: [email protected]
Moonshiners set up the light poles and LED lanterns all over the city of Mysteria, ensuring you know where the paths are when it’s dark. This is an old tradition that is still around due to its usefulness and simplicity. Hang the lamps about sundown, replace batteries in the morning, etc. This is a definite teamwork-centric job, as carrying the lights all over Transformus requires several people at once.
What a volunteer should expect:
Carrying lamps around the burn strung on big poles, putting them on the lamp posts and lighting them up when it gets dark, and changing batteries as needed. Any person big or small can help with this. The shifts aren’t super long, but they are daily tasks that need doing. On top of that, Moonshiners get to wear nifty ceremonial robes so everyone knows what you are up to!
Parking
Email: [email protected]
We park the metal mammoths that trek in from hippiewhoknowswhere and make sure they are all in neat and tidy rows to make the most of our limited parking lot!
What should a volunteer expect:
In the lot, you will carefully be guiding excited arrivals to their completely customized parking place, waving those glorious LED wands at night to safely guide them to their new home away from home. Whatever your task, there will always be one or two leads running around to make sure you have everything you need to be a parking pro.
We recommend you try to bring an umbrella or shade device of some kind, sunscreen, a chair or blanket to sit on during the down or slower times, plenty of good old fashioned H2O, and finally and most importantly, comfortable shoes. Water and snacks are happily provided but we cannot account for all allergies and diet restrictions, so feel free to bring what you would like!!
IMPORTANT: Volunteers will meet at Gate for their shifts!!
Rangers
Email: [email protected]
Rangers are some of the most recognizable volunteers at the burn, while at the same time being some of the most incognito. Rangers are *not* cops, they are *not* your mom, and they are *not* security guards. Rangers are the community’s go-to people for when things get tough. Resolving conflicts, helping disoriented burners, ensuring everyone stays safe, being available when someone needs a hand with a situation – these are Ranger jobs. These folks are awesome! Rangers all get trained in the best ways to help burners when things get rough, and they follow a set of protocols that has been fine-tuned over many years. Look for their Ranger shirts and you know you’ve found someone who can point you in the right direction or help you resolve a conflict with your neighbor whose generator is too loud. Rangers are on EVERYONE’S side and should be treated with respect, as they provide a valuable service out of the goodness of their heart. Rangers must be sober on shift, carry a radio, work in pairs, and be prepared to patrol all of Mysteria during their shift should a community member need them. Additionally, Rangers help with perimeter on burn nights, keeping everyone safe.
What a volunteer should expect:
Lots of walking, lots of chatting, lots of hanging out at every theme camp around. Rangering is arguably one of the best ways to get out there and meet tons of people! You get to walk around checking out theme camps and helping out where needed on a variety of issues. People love having Rangers grab a chair and chat with them for a bit before continuing on patrol. Also, you get a radio and get to look all official and stuff, which is pretty badass. Being a Ranger means being responsible and able to assist in potentially tough situations. It’s not a job for everyone, but those who do Ranger often form a very tight-knit bunch of people who become great friends.
Rangers patrol the grounds in uniform (i.e., a Ranger shirt) with walkie-talkies and act as the first line of communication between participants and EMS, Sanctuary, and Security. Each shift is 4 hours long. Shift sign-in is at the Ranger Station near Center Camp & is available online a week before the burn. The Rangers are dedicated to the safety of the citizens of Mysteria and its environs by addressing situations within the community that might otherwise require outside intervention. Volunteers must have completed Ranger Training in the past 3 years at Transformus, Ignite, To The Moon, or any of our offsite trainings. This year, Ranger Training will be on Thursday and Friday at 1 pm (at the Ranger Station near Center Camp). We will also be scheduling online Ranger training, so please click here to be added to our email list for notification of when it's scheduled! Rangers must be clean and sober during their shift (able to talk to outside authorities) and in your Ranger Costume (dressed to talk to outside authorities).
Ranger Training for this year will be on-site Thursday and Friday at 1:00 pm -- meet at Rangers HQ near Center Camp!
Sanctuary
Email: [email protected]
Sanctuary is there when the burn becomes too much for a participant. Every year some people hit their breaking point, perhaps due to stress, perhaps a natural cause, perhaps chemical related… whatever the reason, it’s no fun being stuck in a place with tons of people when you just can’t handle it right then. That’s when you go to Sanctuary, a calm, secluded place where you can relax and get yourself back in a better state of mind with the help of some super caring volunteers. Believe it or not, some of the busiest times for Sanctuary are during the burn set-up days like Wednesday and Thursday; these days are when people are SUPER stressed out, apt to get into big arguments and blow their top. Some people get angry, some cry, some just can’t deal and want to walk away from it all for a while. Sanctuary is there to help you through this and get you back on your game. Any EMS or Ranger volunteer can point you to Sanctuary and help you get there when you need it, as these teams work closely with Sanctuary to ensure the wellbeing of all our participants. Volunteers will work with other teams to help provide support to those burners in need. There will be several training sessions available during the burn, and details will be released by email closer to the event. Please feel free to contact our leadership team with any questions!
What a volunteer should expect:
In general, your job is to help those who need help. Sanctuary is always located in an out-of-the-way quiet spot so it can be as calm and relaxing as possible. The kinds of people who end up needing Sanctuary come from all walks of life and for a variety of reasons. Your job is to be a calm presence to help that person get settled and back to a centered place of being. Training is provided as needed. Sanctuary volunteers are almost never seen because they are so ninja, but they are immensely valuable and the burn would be a much worse place without them!
What is a Paisley?
The Paisley team assists volunteers with their shifts, provides mobile support and outreach, and assists the Lead on duty with meeting the needs of our community. They are the initial contact for many Sanctuary participants, and will work closely with other teams at the burn to provide the best possible support to those in need. Volunteering for this role requires prior experience as a Sanctuary Volunteer or Paisley Volunteer at a previous Ignite! or Transformus event.
Sanctuary Training will take place on-site on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 2:00 pm – meet at Mission Control in Center Camp.
Shuttle Team
Email: [email protected]
The Shuttle Team is here to solve your accessibility and transportation needs! For the majority of the event, the Shuttle Team will have carts cruising around Mysteria, picking up burners and dropping them off at designated Shuttle Stops around the city. And for those of you planning to arrive after dark this year, Shuttle Team will be transporting you and your goods to your campsite as well.
What a volunteer should expect:
Your shift will involve driving a 6-seater golf cart around Mysteria, stopping at designated Shuttle Stops to drop off and pick folks up. You MUST have a valid driver license! This is a sober shift – just like in Reality Camp, there is no drinking and driving in Mysteria.