Announcing...Saddle Up!

We have been a bit vague about what we are working on but now we’re ready to reveal all that we’ve been noodling on for the past year. Todd and April have formed a non-profit art-focused group called the Yellowstone Burners and we are based in the Cody, Wyoming area. We are going to lead the creation of an art car, or Mutant Vehicle, which we call Saddle Up!

The base vehicle is a 35 foot long school bus. We will build a deck on top of the bus with support beams that will hold a canopy above that second level. The exterior decor will then be designed to look like a saddle resting on a wooden saddle rack. The interior of the bus itself will be transformed into a high dollar old west poker lounge and we’ll call that The Lounge. The upper deck will become a wild west gunslinger saloon called The Watering Hole.

More than just transportation, the Saddle Up! will provide some humor along with a valuable community service; The Watering Hole saloon will serve...water. We will have a 50 gallon container of potable water on board each day/night and we will serve electrolyte drinks, teas, and just good old plain water. We plan to lure people in from deep playa under the guise of a saloon and trick them into making sure they are well hydrated. Todd and April have both experienced issues with a lack of water far from the city, as have several of our friends, and dehydration is the number one health issue at Burning Man.
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Our simultaneous goal is to build a thriving community of collaborative artists here in Park County. The town of Cody loves to have parades and our most popular one is during 4th of July. We hope to have Saddle Up! ready in time to debut in this parade, and then bring her to Burning Man the following month. This piece is designed to honor our new home and the deep history of horse and rider that has made this part of the country so unique. We are very excited to introduce collaborative unconventional art to our new hometown and bring some new folks along with us to also experience the playa.

Here’s where the project stands now:

1. We have a bus! It is a 1989 GMC 6000 Carpenter model and we got it from a very lovely couple in Powell, WY who are 100% supportive of our project. They have been a joy to visit with over the past few weekends.
   
2. We turned in our application to Burning Man in time for Tuesday’s deadline. Friday morning, we woke up to find we had already been approved! The Borg wants to see Saddle Up and we are eager to deliver :).
   
3. We have a logo that was created by a local marketing group, Meridian Partners. They will continue to be our go-to place for signage and branding. We are grateful for their help so far!
   
4. We have a budget! Todd pulled out his budgeting expertise and we came up with what we think is a solid goal to get her built, get her to the playa, keep her filled with with valuable water, and get her safely back home from Black Rock City.
   
5. We are fine-tuning our fundraising plans. We have one local artist confirmed to make some beautiful handcrafted leather swag and we are ust waiting for confirmation from another local artist who works with metal. Please watch this space for fundraising details as we will need a lot of help in spreading the word.
   

This is the first project that Todd or April have worked on where they are also the leading artists. This is our original idea and we’re so incredibly excited to form a team here in Cody to build it, to amaze our local community members as they see Saddle Up! in the July 4th parade, and we can’t wait to arrive on playa to give people rides to see incredible pieces of art while staying well hydrated. Let us know how you’d like to help us make this happen <3.