(Brian Evans, a welding instructor, shows “Dangerous Flower,” a metal flame-spitting art project Thursday during set up for the annual unSCruz arts and cultural festival that runs Friday through Sunday at the fairgrounds. Photo by Tarmo Hannula/Pajaronian)
WATSONVILLE — A woman in a peacock costume was greeting a line of cars waiting to enter the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Thursday, most of them full of people who were not at all surprised to be taking directions from a feathered female.
Just inside the gate, another woman wearing an evening gown and bunny ears — and sporting a giant tattoo on her back — was setting up a tent that would be her home for the weekend.
Both peacock and tattoo were part of unSCruz, Monterey Bay’s version of the infamous Burning Man.
That annual festival draws hordes of artists, oddballs and mortals of every ilk deep into the desert sands of Nevada for an event whose catalyst is art, but which spirals into the ether to include multitudinous methods of self-expression including music, dancing and flame-spewing sculptures.
The event at the fairgrounds is a somewhat tamer version; unSCruz currently lacks the necessary permits to set a giant wooden man-sculpture aflame.
An estimated 1,400 people are expected at the weekend event, who will have a chance to see some 80 theme camps and pieces of art.
“Sass” — not her “real people” name — said that number has climbed from 20 camps and 650 participants from the event’s beginning five years ago.
“We’ve grown quite a bit,” she said.
Sass is one of about 70 volunteers who run the event.
Organizers adhere to the “leave no trace” philosophy of Burning Man, and assign a special crew to make sure that the attendees keep the place clean.
The camps include the Silent Disco, where a DJ pipes music into 300 headphone sets and, with noise duly abated for neighbors, revelers can dance all night.
Upsie Daisium is a wooden tower which, when hung with ropes and swings, has been dubbed a playground for adults.
Visitors who walk into a Bedouin-style tent can be served non-alcoholic drinks, while people who run “Bear Nation” will offer lemonade and grilled cheese sandwiches (with bacon jam.)
And, for the first time this year, visitors can participate in adult tricycle races on an indoor course in the Harvest Building. This reporter took a ride on one of them and can say with authority that it is more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
There are sadly no barrels of monkeys at unSCruz.
But attendees might catch a glimpse of an RV fitted with several metal dragon’s heads, each of which move on their own and breathe fire.
Nearby, “Dangerous Flower” is a 15-foot-tall metal bloom based loosely on a lotus, which is designed to shoot flames into the air. Visitors can make this happen at the push of a button.
Brian Evans, who built the flower, teaches welding at Center for Employment Training in Watsonville.
“I’ve been making art as big as I possibly can, as long as I can remember,” he said.
Evans said he has been coming to unSCruz and Burning Man since his first “transformative” experience.
“I love the community, and I love the art,” he said. “People bring an openness you don’t see in everyday life.”
The unSCruz event — and its larger cousin in Nevada — have long billed themselves as promoting “radical self expression and radical inclusion.”
“We want people to be able to express themselves,” Sass said. “Freedom of expression is very important to us.
“There is more to do than you can do in a weekend.”
Tickets are still available for the weekend-long event, but are on the brink of selling out. For information and tickets, visit www.unscruz.com.
