Bohême Système is a charming participatory art festival held in the Laurentians near Montréal. This year’s edition welcomed 250 people to a coop-run campground nestled in a mountain valley.
The festival has no paid staff, including the two organizers Sic and Nimon, who have put in thousands of hours towards creating the perfect experience for the attendees people. I was honoured to help them in the following ways:
Fire Art Safety Team – a team of 
, responsible for ensuring the safety of the event’s bonfires, fire pits, and fire art.- The NX, a tea lounge and chill space.
We were originally just going to do a fairly standard bonfire on Caturday night, but when I saw the 2 face cords of perfectly dry wood waiting for me in the storage shed, I got a better idea. (No, Dave, you got a different idea.) On Caturday the Fire Art Safety Team recruited 6 new volunteers (all sober and fire trained), and gave Sic and Nimon a crash course in torch etiquette.
3 of the new volunteers built a beautiful tetrahedral pyramid in the 14 minutes it took me to head back to my tent and grab a pair of natural fiber pants for the safety of one of the organizers!
After the annual talent show on Caturday evening, Sic, Nimon, and I entered the perimeter carrying torches, surrounded the pyramid, and set it ablaze simultaneously. It burned super well, and after 5 minutes we released the perimeter and let in the participants to enjoy the fire!
Here’s me making sure the last of the kindling got burned. (Note that of course we had a burn safety plan approved by the local fire department, an ignition plan drawn up by me and reviewed by a competent and experienced individual, and all the needed safety gear. Plus I have a government-issued license to do this.)
And this is my favourite photo so far: fire, friends, firetiger!
Until next time, Bohême!
– 😻❤️🔥🐅