Episode 24: 2026 Kiwiburn A Work of Heart Review (Hippathy, Kym, & Shelley)
In this episode we review the 2026 Kiwiburn: A Work of Heart event with a panel of kiwiburners (Hippathy, Kym, & Shelley) to talk about the burn from their own perspectives. The panel reflects on the muddy yet magical Kiwiburn 2026, aptly themed "A Work of Heart". Despite the unpredictable weather and persistent rain, the challenging conditions actually fostered deep community solidarity by forcing participants to hunker down in shared spaces, eventually rewarding kiwiburners with spectacular rainbow displays. The discussion highlights the beautiful duality of the burner experience: the poignant, collaborative effort behind a faceted heart temple that provided a vital space for collective grief and healing, contrasted with the hilarious chaos of interactive telephone art, a dramatic Effigy lift malfunction, and the perennial Argentinian-style BBQ cookup that brings-in community. Ultimately, the episode captures the community's profound resilience and creativity, while candidly acknowledging ongoing logistical challenges like volunteer burnout and the need for future leadership.
Host: Stevan ‘Silent Disco’ Lay
Guest: Hippathy Valentine, Kym ‘Buggy’ Skelton, Shelley Watson
Produced by PY Wong & Stevan Lay
Theme music by Will & Kate
2026 Kiwiburn: A Work of Heart | 22-27 January | Huntersville, New Zealand
Photo: Heather Schafer
USEFUL Links:
Kiwiburn: https://kiwiburn.com/
Ignition Festival: https://ignitionfestival.co.nz/
Raglan Burn: https://raglanburners.wixsite.com/raglan-burn
Northern Burn: https://www.northernburn.org/
Blazing Swan: https://blazingswan.com.au/
Common Arts Victoria: https://commonarts.org.au/
Underland: https://underland.au/
Bonza Community: https://bonzacommunity.org/
Burning Seed: https://www.burningseed.com/
Afrikaburn: https://www.afrikaburn.org/
Burning Man: https://burningman.org/
Kym's Kiwiburn 2026 temple pitch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-G44636J6g
Timestamps:
[00:00:00] Intro theme music
[00:00:30] Panel intro
[00:03:29] Less art this year
[00:05:11] Rainbow year
[00:08:15] Community coming together
[00:10:46] A Work of Heart theme
[00:12:00] Temple build
[00:24:07] Temple burn
[00:27:37] Effigy burn
[00:37:50] No burn plan
[00:42:06] Fire element at kiwiburn
[00:45:32] Interactive telephone art
[00:48:39] Other art this year
[00:51:37] Town planning
[00:53:16] Kiwiburn events
[01:00:43] Intercamp shenanigans
[01:03:55] Outstanding theme camps
[01:06:37] Food camps
[01:10:40] Memorable moments
[01:15:00] Population threshold
[01:18:53] Kiwiburn AGM
[01:29:34] Path forward
[01:39:36] Regional NZ burns
[01:43:46] Shoutouts & outro
[01:51:03] Kym’s temple pitch
[02:00:50] Outro theme music
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 March, 2026
