Camping

Theme Camps may register for camp placement. Sound Camps must register for placement. If you are not part of a registered theme or sound camp, you may camp anywhere that is not marked off for infrastructure or camp usage. There is also no camping within The Orbit.

If your campsite occupies a huge amount of space, you should consider arriving at InterFuse on Thursday or early Friday morning. After that you might find all the large-area prime spots taken.

Register your Camp, Village or Art here.

Theme Camps

Theme camps can be as simple as a massage table or as elaborate as a geodesic dome art gallery. If your theme camp is exceptionally large, you should plan to set up on Thursday or Friday morning. The Shriners Club Campground is large and ticket sales are managed to try to ensure plenty space for everyone, but you are not guaranteed any particular camping spot unless your camp has registered for and received placement from the ECs.

Sound Camps

Camps intending to use large sound systems with sub-woofers for musical performances must register and and be pre-approved. The ECs will help coordinate your camp placement so that major sound systems don’t interfere with one another. To minimize complaints from our neighbors, only a set limit of sound camps are allowed per year. If you do not coordinate your sound camp setup with an Event Coordinator and show up at the Front Gate with an unregistered sound system in tow, you will not be allowed to use it. You can enter and not use it, or leave without refund.

If you are unsure of whether your sound system falls within this category, save everyone, including yourself, a headache by contacting the Event Coordinators to find out.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER SOUND CAMP!

Nudity

InterFuse is NO LONGER a completely clothing-optional event. Once you are in a public space (i.e., anywhere outside your tent) your genitals must be covered, with the exception of the shower areas.

Keep in mind that those who costumed are not necessarily aiming for your entertainment and no amount or type of clothing should be construed as an invitation. This is how certain persons radically express themselves. Be respectful. And always ask first before touching or hugging and before taking photos or video.

Leave No Trace

InterFuse is a “Leave No Trace” event. This means you need to leave with all the stuff you brought (aka Pack it in, pack it out). There will be recycling containers at the Earth Guardians station that accept the following (without food residue):

- Aluminium cans, preferably crushed.

There is no trash dumping at the Earth Guardians station or elsewhere at InterFuse. You must take your trash home with you. And absolutely do not toss it in a neighbor’s trash or along the side of the road. Take. It. Home.
The Earth Guardians have prepared a list of suggestions to help you reduce your waste and prevent MOOP.

Fire

Camp fires, Tiki torches, fire tools, and art burns are all welcomed at InterFuse. You must bring all of your own wood/fuel with you as none will be provided on-site and you cannot leave and return once you have signed in.

Practice fire safety procedures and do not leave a fire unattended or burn toxic materials. Please read this note about firewood. Fire performers are welcome to light up at their convenience (if you would like to participate in the PreBurn Ceremony, sign up on the Volunteer page). Please be aware of your surroundings and considerate of your neighbors. We also ask that fire safeties be present.

Art burns must be pre-registered. Visit the Art & Events page to register your art burn with the Event Coordinators.

Driving and Parking

When you arrive at InterFuse, you may drive to your campsite and unload. If you are camping near a walking path, you may temporarily park off the nearest gravel road as you walk your belongings to your campsite. Unless you have a parking pass, you must then park your vehicle for the weekend in one of the designated parking areas.

If you need your vehicle at your camp (because you are sleeping in it, need it for medical usage, etc.), you must register for a parking pass before InterFuse to apply for a parking pass.

Parking Pass Registration Click Here!

Department of Mutant Vehicles

A Mutant Vehicle (MV) is mobile art. Sometimes they are built to transport people and sometimes they are built solely to be art pieces. Some have sound and some have fire; some drive only by day and some only by night.

If it has a motor and is powered by fuel or by battery, it must be registered with the Department of Mutant Vehicles (DMV) to be permitted to drive during InterFuse. Human-powered mutant vehicles do not need to be registered.

The owner of the MV assumes ALL responsibility for the MV while at IF! The MV must be operated by competent, sober individuals; it must yield to ALL pedestrians, bicycles, event staff carts and emergency vehicles.

InterFuse has a 5 MPH speed limit! MVs going faster than that will be warned or parked at the discretion of the Event Coordinators, the DMV Lead, or the Rangers.

Mutant Vehicles are usually built on or around the frame of a motorized vehicle. The defining characteristic of ALL MVs is that they have either been modified to the extent that they no longer resemble their default form or they have been custom built from the ground up. If your MV has music, fire, or flame effects, it must operate within the parameters of the rules governing fire and sound usage at InterFuse.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YOUR ART CAR WITH THE DMV!

MVs must utilize certain safety and design features, such as:

- - Adequate mutation level – we’re looking for a full transformation, not just a few stickers or streamers slapped on here and there.
  - Adequate accommodations for loading and unloading passengers.
  - Well-lit steps if night operation is requested.
  - General lights for night time travel safety.
  - Flame effects must be inspected by the appropriate department.
  - All sound systems must adhere to the sound rules of the event.

Setting Up Camp

Some basic safety guidelines for all InterFuse structures:

- - Cover all exposed tent stakes and rebar with something protective, like rubber balls or plastic bottles. Exposed stakes are a primary cause of accidents.
  - Mark your strings, wires, and guidelines so people don’t trip. Brightly coloured tape and glow tape are ideal for this.
  - Collect or mark things so that people won’t trip over them at night.
  - Keep paths and walkways clear.
  - Be sure your tiki torches are planted in solid ground.
  - Add lights to your structure so people can see it.

Sound

We have a sound policy. Read it Here

Power and Lighting

The Missouri Ozarks get really dark at night, so you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of lighting for you, your art, and your camp site. There is no on-site power available to campers, so you’ll need to bring your own batteries, solar chargers, or generators. Remember to bring enough fuel because you will not be allowed to leave and return once you have signed in.

- - Newer generators are fairly quiet, but some generators can be obnoxiously loud. Be aware of your sound output.
  - Don’t dig a deep pit for your generator – it scars the land.
  - If necessary, consider baffling your generator’s sound with some kind of encircling wall, or maybe by placing it in the bottom of a box. This forces most of the sound upward.
  - Ask your camping neighbours if your generator is too loud. If so, try moving it farther away and running longer power cords to your camp.
  - Again, bring sufficient fuel.

Food, Water and Ice

Since there is no vending at InterFuse you must already have all the food you intend to eat when you arrive. BBQs and personal camp fires are allowed at the Shriners Club Campground (but remember to bring your own wood or fuel).

There are more than 25 drinking water spigots located at various areas around the campground. These are marked on the campground map. Take as much as you need but remember to turn off the tap.

To enable participants to keep their food properly chilled, ice is the exception to our decommodified space.

Showers & Relief Facilities

In addition to the flush toilets in the shower house, there are multiple porta-loos scattered throughout the grounds. Their locations will be marked on the map.

Remember – if it doesn’t come from your body, don’t put it in the potty! No condoms, lady products, ciggie butts, or trash of any kind should be put in the toilets, urinals, or porta-loos.

Hot showers can be had at the shower house. Do NOT leave any personal belongings in the showers or on the sink counters. If you wish to gift condoms or facial scrub or something bath-like, bring a container to keep it in and make sure to pick up any leftovers before you leave. Better yet, place your gifts at the Giving Tree or personally distribute them.

Some Tips from InterFuse Veterans

- - - Bring your extra socks in a sealed baggie. The comfort a pair of dry socks can bring you cannot be overstated.
    - If you have the space, pack in totes instead of duffel bags or backpacks. Your stuff is more likely to stay dry and they can act as tables in your tent.
    - Bring more batteries and (if you smoke) cigarettes than you think you could ever need in four days. Better safe than sorry. (Also – use your butt can!)
    - Pack for hot days and cold nights. Or cold, wet days. Or warm nights. You really never know – layers are your friend.
    - Bring a mat so you can pull your shoes into your tent at night. Waking up in the morning to dew-soaked, critter-filled footwear is no fun.

Some Tips from The Earth Guardians

- - - PLAN. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES put your trash bags in the neighbours’ trash on your way home. We are guests in this area and want to maintain a good relationship with the neighbours. Dumping your trash in the neighbourhood is very unfriendly and can endanger the existence of InterFuse.
    - PREPARE. Plan your packing with trash hauling in mind. Make sure you have room for your trash. Consider using 5 gallon buckets with lids for carrying stinky wet trash in cars. You don’t want to end your InterFuse experience figuring out how two bulging stinky trash bags can be squeezed into a packed-to-the-roof car for a 5 hour trip.
    - REDUCE. First before your buy something, ask yourself whether you really need it. When you do purchase supplies, buy in bulk to reduce packaging and your expenses. Strip your gear and food of all unnecessary excess packaging BEFORE coming to InterFuse, to reduce your trash load. Burn non-toxic and paper trash.
    - REUSE. Reusable cups, personal water bottles/canteens, camel baks, and large refillable water containers are much easier on the environment and your trash load than disposable cups and plastic water bottles. If you’re running a bar camp, consider making people be self-sufficient and bring their own cups or make nice InterFuse gift cups that people won’t want to throw away. The same goes for reusable dinnerware vs. disposable dinnerware. If you must use disposable dishes, use paper products that you can burn to reduce your trash load.
    - RECYCLE. Check out the items that the Earth Guardians will take for recycling. You can further reduce your trash by keeping these items separate from your trash and giving them to the Earth Guardians. Do NOT throw metal and glass into fire circles. The Leisure Army will come beat you with their shovels and full cans of warm PBR. You will feel shame.
    - When planning the drinks you’re going to bring, please remember: cans are better than bottles. Cans can be crushed to take up less space in your recycling bag and they weigh far less than bottles when empty. Also, bottles can break. Broken glass is a real danger and an accident waiting to happen. Kegs are even better for beer as they are reusable.
    - Never let your trash hit the ground.
    - Clean up your camp throughout the event, so there’s not a huge mess to clean up when you’re tired and want to go home. Make yourself the Earth Guardian for your camp and lead your camp mates in camp LNT efforts.
    - Use tarps and large pieces of carpet or rug as ground cover in common areas of your Theme Camp. Roll it up carefully after InterFuse to catch all of the tiny MOOP in one fell swoop.
    - Did you know that bottles, bottle caps, and cigarette butts are the most common MOOP found? Bring portable containers to put your butts in, like empty prescription bottles, Altoid tins, or in an emergency, empty beer bottles. Drop your bottle caps in your pocket for recycling later. Empty glass and plastic bottles should be taken back to the recycling bag at your camp or the Earth Guardians Station.
    - Think about your costumes as you create them. You want to avoid costumes with loose things attached to them like boa feathers. You don’t want your fabulous costume to be a walking MOOP machine! Leave your feather boa at home and bring fur boas instead!
    - Do not discharge wastes, pesticides, herbicides or other agents to repel insects or kill noxious weeds. The only exception is trace run off from your body of insect repellents. Consider buying organic bug repellents usually sold at your local health food store.
    - If it didn’t come from your body, don’t put it in the potty. Anything but 1 ply toilet paper and body fluids will clog the machine that cleans out the porta potties.
    - After the event we must return the land to its original condition. So do not discard anything that does not occur naturally in the Ozarks, including biodegradable trash like fruit rinds.
    - Consider using rechargeable batteries, battery powered glow sticks, and LED rope or Christmas lights to sustainably light up your experience and save energy so you can have a smaller power source.
    - For large projects, look into local places that recover and resell building supplies. The InterFuse effigy uses some recovered building supplies. Freecycle.org is also a great resource since it will save you money and ensures that all types of things are reused.
    - Consider purchasing carbon offsets to cover the carbon you produce travelling to InterFuse. You can easily calculate your carbon footprint and purchase offsets cheaply and quickly online through a variety of companies.

A Note About Firewood

Emerald Ash Borers and other pests are decimating forests around the nation. Midwest Burners asks that you source your firewood locally (within a few miles of the Shriners Club Campground, or at least within Pulaski County) if possible. More information can be found here.

Weather

The weather in Missouri is unpredictable: in one day it can range from sunny and 92°, to high winds and rain at 50°. Missouri mornings can be chilly with heavy dew. But most of the time it’s warm and partly cloudy with mild evenings. You can’t say enough about the importance of being prepared for fast, extreme changes in the Ozark area weather. Here is a list of some weather related items you might consider bringing:

- - A warm shirt with long sleeves
  - A light raincoat
  - Rubber rain galoshes
  - Extra pair of dry socks (in a container that will keep them dry)
  - Warm, water-proofed shoes
  - Extra towels
  - Suntan lotion and sunglasses
  - Umbrella, ponchos
  - Longjohns
  - Hat, scarf, gloves, warm coat or jacket
  - Anything else you need to weather (heh) the weather

InterFuse 2018

Lost In Space - May 10-13