For some people, a week at the beach isn’t exciting enough to count as an escape. There are those of us who want to nap on the sand to recharge, and there are those of us who want to dress up in leather and feathers and camp out in the middle of the desert while fighting in a Thunderdome and gambling for bottle cap currency in order to find refreshment.
If you fall into the latter category, you may want to sign up for Wasteland Weekend.
The Fully Immersive World of Wasteland
Wasteland Weekend is the largest post-apocalyptic festival in the world, and it takes place in California City, CA every year. Drawing more than a thousand attendees from all over the world, it’s the perfect event for more adventurous types who want to immerse themselves in an environment heavy on rust, dust, beer, and Mad Max movie references. Over the course of five days, groups, or tribes, of people (adults only) gather to cosplay using invented names and backstories to reenact a post-apocalyptic world, and make new friends.
Cosplay means “costumed play,” and half the fun of Wasteland Weekend is getting ready. Participants spend a lot of time before the event working on their costumes, cars, and props, including giant metal horses. Wasteland has a mandatory dress code—in order to get in, you have to look like you’ve survived the apocalypse, and this makes the atmosphere very authentic.
If you just browse photos online, it can look, you know, a bit terrifying. But despite the abundance of skulls and studs, Wasteland is really a fun and friendly environment. In fact, one of the main draws for returning participants is the people they meet every year. The immersive, make-believe spirit of the festival lends itself to meeting new people—you can’t help but talk to someone when you’re chasing them down to collect a bounty.
(Yep, bounty hunting. I personally can’t think of a more unique and exciting ice-breaker. It definitely beats sitting in a circle and saying your name backwards or lining up according to hand size.)
Despite how it may look to outsiders, at Wasteland, the scary is just for show, and the danger is all drama. Matt Hackney, a Wasteland participant from Fresno, explains:
“It’s all theatrics. Everyone is walking around with scary outfits and weapons. There’s these big, mean cars, but everyone is just a cosplay nerd at heart. I’ve had long talks with a Civil War re-enactor buddy of mine and there’s not much of a difference between a Renaissance Faire, Military Reenactment, or Wasteland.
“We call it a pre-enactment for the end of the world. You get to live in another world for a weekend. Most people take on a Wasteland name and persona. Much as you would be a lieutenant in an army, for Wasteland, you’re a raider for your tribe.”
Fresno’s Canes Machina Tribe Prepares
Tribes are what groups of friends call themselves. Usually, each tribe picks a theme and then creates a backstory. For instance, there’s the Tread tribe, who make their costumes from tire treads.
Hackney’s tribe is called Canes Machina, or Dogs of the Machine. Their backstory is that their leader was orphaned by the apocalypse and raised by Dobermans. The entire tribe references this by wearing dog collars.
This kind of quirkiness and creativity is part of the fun. “My favorite part of Wasteland is being in this group and working together,” says Hackney. “It’s much like being on a competitive team, except you build fake guns, cut holes in your clothes, and put dirt on everything. The immersive environment is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. You’re required to be in some sort of themed outfit and it’s not open to the public. There are times where you feel like it’s really real.”
Canes Machina’s Tribe Leader, Kevin “Mech” Sawyers, agrees. “I got started about May of 2015. I heard it from a friend of a friend. As soon as I heard about it, I thought, ‘Oh my god. My people. Where have you been?’ I’ve always been into Mad Max. And to see the custom cars and hot rods… I bought a bus and we went for it.”
When I visited the tribe working on their camp for this year’s event, it was obvious to me Sawyers and his crew really enjoy the creative and creating aspect of Wasteland. In his front yard is a Greyhound bus and an old car with giant Russian guns on top of it (the guns are disabled). These are not yard art taken to an extreme; the bus and the car both travel with him to Wasteland Weekend.
In fact, Sawyers has used his skills as a mechanic to trick out his rusty station wagon to be capable of unholy speeds. Despite its apocalyptic survival capabilities, while in Fresno, he takes the wagon to the hardware store and runs errands in it. He says he gets a lot of stares.
Aside from the car, Canes Machina’s preparations include the campsite itself, costumes, and even a water tower prop. I asked Sawyers how long it takes to prepare for the festival and he replied, “All year. We take about three months off from building, but we’re still talking about it. Come January, we’re getting together and by July we’re sweating in the sun.”
To him, the hardest thing about attending Wasteland is, “Basically the whole damn thing. The time and the expense and pissing your neighbors off. You’ve never worked so hard to have such a great time.”
All of this effort is done to create a performance of real life to play in for five days. Sawyers says the work is worth it when, “At night when it’s dark and you look around, there’s nothing to tell you it’s not real.”
Hackney agrees that the tough part is the time he spends prepping. “[The event is] over in a blink. Also, breaking down camp on the last day. You’re most likely hungover or at least feel that way from camping in the desert for five days. The best part is the amazing people you meet from all over the world. We all come from such different backgrounds, but have so much in common.”
Creating Art in the Desert
Clearly, Wasteland Weekend is for those who are willing to put in the work to take their enjoyment to the next level. There’s an art to these preparations—and I mean that literally. The attention to detail paid to all of the props, cars, and costumes is really unique and exciting.
Participants don’t just grab some trash and glue it to a shirt to make a costume. Instead, often they look at the aesthetic value of things like rusty barbed wire, and build sculptures. There’s a significant amount of repurposing that follows in the tradition of found-object artists.
Additionally, the more dedicated Wasteland participants have costume shops with costume designers ready to help. Hollywood makeup artists are on hand to enhance characters, and props from movies have been transported for the event. Despite the professional résumés of many, the best stuff comes from garbage. By blurring the lines of trash and treasure, it seems that Wasteland Weekend is not so much about the destruction of apocalypse as it is about rebuilding.
For More About Wasteland Weekend 2017
If you’re looking to make new friends, or just have a crazy/interesting vacation in the desert, consider signing up for Wasteland Weekend.
The five-day festival runs September 27 through October 1, 2017. To purchase tickets or to find out more, check out the Wasteland website here.
To follow Canes Machina’s preparations for the event on Facebook, click here.
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