Background
McCloud Ballroom
In September of 2011 I happened to visit a little village on the south slope of Mt Shasta called McCloud–an old company mill town with a quiet charm and population of about 1000. Near downtown I discovered the beautiful 100 year old McCloud Ballroom with a 5000 sq ft maple dance floor. As soon as I saw it I knew we just had to dance tango there. As it turns out, you can’t in the winter because it costs too much to heat. However, it is available in the summer so I rented it the weekend of Aug17-19, 2012 and held a festival I called “Burning Tango™”– yeah, sort of like Burning Man, only for tango dancers. It was a smashing success and as they say, “the rest is history!”
Mercantile in downtown McCloud
The Concept
From the get-go I knew I wanted to make this festival different. Given the unique setting and environment (Mt Shasta in the background with lots of hiking trails, waterfalls and quaint B&Bs), I wanted to make the festival fun, non-competitive, simple, friendly and affordable! So check out the schedule and you’ll see that there are two sections–Pre-Burn and Main-Burn events.
Pre-Burn events (Thu-Fri) are held in the Mercantile, organized solely by the teachers and DJs who receive all the profits, and you’ll have to pay separately at the door for each event–the Full pass does not cover them.
Main-Burn events (Fri evening-Sun evening) are held in the Main Ballroom and require a Full Pass to attend–i.e., there is no separate admission price for individual events.
Oh, also, note that the schedule of classes and milongas run non-stop–i.e., you’ll have to choose when to rest and go eat. This is done for two reasons: (1) it provides the most options and choices for the attendees and (2) it helps avoid jam-ups at the few available restaurants in the areas.