What do we stand for?

And what makes out an Ostflimmern Convention?

As we meet up and mingle, we strive to embrace a set of values and ideas which add to a positive experience on our conventions, fire-jams and other events.

With a large portion of our values being inspired by the core principles of Burn events, and our own extensive experience with various flow & fire conventions, we feel confident that they are befitting the kind of gatherings that we want to experience together with the Flow Arts community.

Participation

The festival is YOU!

With many years of experience on the FireCircles & FeuerCamp conventions, we embrace the thought that the best events are those where everybody participates and is part of the larger picture.

Our events aren’t there to just be consumed, they’re meant to inspire you to join in and help create a wonderful experience!

We do not want to define mandatory tasks or shift duties for every visitor, but we absolutely need enthusiastic volunteers, workshop hosts, and involved guests in order to make everything work to everyone’s satisfaction.

This is an open space, a blank canvas, and a wild playground ready to be filled with your light and ideas. You’re very much invited to connect with us to help out with the preparation, or during the con itself!

Self-reliance & cooperation

As we won’t hold your hand

Just as everybody is invited to join in and participate, it’s equally important to remember that we’re counting on the self-reliance of our guests. In order to keep our events accessible to everyone within the Flow Arts crowd, we try to keep the costs as low as possible. As a result, we take care of the very basics, everything else is a communal effort.

Make sure to bring to the convention what you need – tents, mattresses, food, drinks, cooking equipment and so on. Join up with other participants to share the load and create travel arrangements to the festival location. Assist others with setting up their camp, keep an eye on new spinners on the fire space, and don’t be afraid to offer or ask for help as needed.

We provide the fuel; you bring the spark. Combined, we create a beautiful fire!

Non-profit

Money is a tool, not a goal

As we are a non-profit association our aim is to create an awesome experience for the community, while keeping the costs as low as possible. This is one of the reasons that we went in the direction of self-reliance, and don’t offer food or drinks on the festival ourselves.

Anything we do, create, and earn is for you – any monetary surplus we might have left at the end of the year flows right back into the community with the events we organize, the training meetings in winter, the next conventions.

Communal effort

We’re connected

And we’re legion! There are so many interests and characteristics that bind us together, be it flow and fire playing, crazy circus disciplines, our love of movement and the possibilities our bodies offer, or our connection to Berlin, Germany, and the whole wild world!

Interact with us, with your neighbors, with that couple who joined the workshop last minute, that colorful soul across you at the campfire, and see what you can offer and share with each other. You’re already connected even if you don’t know how yet…

Immediacy

Your day is your life

Act, move, share, dance, connect, or meditate and heal. But overall, decide to do something with the time you spend here and together, for it will soon be over and in the past.

There is only the now. Go, and do something with it!

Inclusion

Treat others as you want to be treated

We welcome everybody for their unique contribution to our community. Include others as you want to be included, with respect, consideration and tolerance.

Therefore, we leave heavy politics at the door. As much as we enjoy what binds us together, we should also be curious about the differences between people, discover what makes them tick and why. We celebrate their uniqueness and their otherness, for you might be just as fascinatingly strange to them as they are to you.

Self-expression

Show us your personal vibe

As others are free to be- and express who they are, you are equally invited to show and share the unique gift that is you!

Anyone from the human family is welcome and we strive to avoid any prejudice for any way that people live their lives.

Teaching & Workshops

Sharing is caring!

As almost all we learn comes from our fellow flow folks, teaching and sharing our knowledge is the way our community grows.

Everybody is encouraged to teach others their skills and share their wisdom. Ranging from small trick share moments to larger workshops, giving a demonstration of a new tool, initiating a massage circle, or doing a herb and plant walk in the nearby forest, we welcome your input. Remember, the festival is you!

(want to give a workshop? Sign up here!)

Safety

Be mindful of others and your surroundings

Apart from sharing a space with many others, doing awesome acrobatics and having a great time shaping this festival with our ideas and input, we also play with fire… which can, on occasion, be a wee bit dangerous.

Be aware of yourself and others on the fire space, near the tents, while cooking, strolling the grounds at night or if anybody needs help.

Leaving no trace

No matter out of place

It goes without saying that we make an effort to leave every space we’re invited to even cleaner that we’ve found it.  We take a care that no resources go to waste, no nature is harmed due to our presence and that we keep litter to a minimum.

We are aware that fire spinning is a potential environmental threat. Therefore we always follow our shake off protocols and clean out any oil accidentally dropped on the soil. Besides that, we also ensure to be conscious about the fuel and tools that we use while dancing with our beloved flames.

That includes you being careful with worn out or damaged Kevlar, making sure to be a bit conservative with that awesome tool which soaks up 5L of oil in one burn, and even compensate for the CO2 emissions (plant a tree! 😊).