Episode 16: 2025 Simplifyre Review (Angela & Jeff)

This episode of the podcast features a discussion with members of the Brisbane and Queensland burner community about the Simplifyre event, a scaled-down, community-driven version of the traditional Modifyre burn. The hosts and guests reflect on the event’s origins, challenges, and successes, highlighting the importance of rebuilding community after pandemic disruptions and burnout, the influx of new participants, and the evolution of organisational structures. They discuss the logistics of the event, including its new location, simplified format, and focus on inclusivity and sustainability, as well as the significance of art, theme camps, and the effigy burn. The conversation also explores the broader history of the Modifyre and Australian burner scene, the value of regional and national collaboration, and the ongoing efforts to foster engagement, learning, and resilience within the community.

Host: Stevan ‘Silent Disco’ Lay

Guests: Angela ‘Rainbow Anj’ Farrar-Tilley & Jeff ‘Chau’

Produced by Stevan Lay

Welcome Home | Simplifyre | 25-27 July, 2025 | Gootchie Creek Escape | Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Photo credit: Paul Vorrasi

USEFUL Links:

Modifyre: https://www.modifyre.org/

The Third Degree: https://the3rddegree.org/

Burning Seed: https://www.burningseed.com/

Blazing Swan: https://blazingswan.com.au/

Underland: https://underland.au/

Kiwiburn: https://kiwiburn.com/

BoNZA Community: https://bonzacommunity.org/

Afrikaburn: https://www.afrikaburn.org/

Aurora: https://peoplesartcollectivetas.org.au/

Capital Incendiary Authority: https://capitalincendiaryauthority.org.au/

Common Arts Victoria: https://commonarts.org.au/

Wonky Queenslander: https://www.facebook.com/TheWonkyQueenslander/

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Intro

[00:00:35] Roles in community

[00:01:29] Simplifyre ideas

[00:05:03] Highlights of simplifyre

[00:07:11] Post-pandemic

[00:09:00] Simplifyre event

[00:12:00] Arts and grants

[00:13:17] Site

[00:15:29] Effigy

[00:16:50] Weather

[00:18:33] Tickets

[00:21:23] New burners

[00:25:29] Rainbow Anj origin story

[00:30:00] Chau origin story

[00:32:24] Wonky queenslander

[00:34:23] Burn Arts Inc.

[00:39:18] Previous locations

[00:42:33] Winter burns

[00:46:54] Modifyre quiz

[01:03:36] Brisbane burner community

[01:08:53] Generational burn

[01:19:51] Shoutouts

The information presented in the following audio program is for informational, educational, entertainment, and archival purposes only. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed on the Bonzaar Podcast are solely those of the hosts and the guests and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of the entire burner community. Bonzaar Podcast is an independently-produced, volunteer-led, and community-funded project and is not associated or affiliated with the burning man organisation or it's world-wide subsidiaries.

This episode was recorded on 17 September, 2025