



Ephemerisle 2014

We are a gathering of thinkers, doers, artists, dreamers, muckrakers, and builders interested in life on the water.

We construct a floating city on the Sacramento River Delta at Mandeville Point and live on it for seven days.

There are no tickets, no central organizers, no rules, and no Rangers to keep you safe. You must practice radical self-reliance, if you want to have a good time.

What's it like to attend? Here's a slideshow from past years of Ephemerisles. Also see Judd Weiss's pictures from Ephemerisle 2014.

Since there's no central organizer, the event only happens if people contribute.

Culture [ edit ]

Siren Island: Apotheosis 2019. Photo Credit: Carter Grimes

After lively discussion in 2012 about the values that connect Ephemerislers as a community, the following received broad support:

Seasteading . Ephemerisle was started by The Seasteading Institute (TSI), a non-profit devoted the creation of long-term human communities on the water (aka seasteading). Although the event is now entirely community run, many of the attendees continue to be enthusiasts of living on the water.

. Ephemerisle was started by The Seasteading Institute (TSI), a non-profit devoted the creation of long-term human communities on the water (aka seasteading). Although the event is now entirely community run, many of the attendees continue to be enthusiasts of living on the water. Art . A society without art has no soul. Just as Burning Man has inspired art in the desert, we want to inspire art on the sea.

. A society without art has no soul. Just as Burning Man has inspired art in the desert, we want to inspire art on the sea. Learning . One of the goals of TSI in starting Ephemerisle was to give people who may not have much boating experience the opportunity to gain nautical skills: anchoring, sailing, ropework, etc in a relatively safe environment. In addition, many of the attendees are scientists, engineers, artists, entrepreneurs and activists, who frequently have fascinating stories to tell. There are many opportunities to learn from each other at Ephemerisle.

. One of the goals of TSI in starting Ephemerisle was to give people who may not have much boating experience the opportunity to gain nautical skills: anchoring, sailing, ropework, etc in a relatively safe environment. In addition, many of the attendees are scientists, engineers, artists, entrepreneurs and activists, who frequently have fascinating stories to tell. There are many opportunities to learn from each other at Ephemerisle. Community. Spend a week rafted up on the Delta with awesome people, and you can't up but connect with old friends, and make new friends.

Ephemerisle 2020 [ edit ]

Ephemerisle 2020 was supposed to take place July 20 - July 27. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most in the community have expressed that they are not gathering in 2020.

See An Open Letter to the Ephemerisle Community - July 2020 for community leaders' perspective on gathering amidst COVID-19.

The TL;DR- don't do it.



The Survival guide contains important "how tos" and information on having a fun, safe time. The survival guide has not been updated for covid related safety issues.

Join the Ephemerisle Announcements Only mailing list to receive important announcements via email. For active discussion for all things Ephemerisle, check out the Facebook page.

Looking for a berth? Join a crew!

For several years, Ephemerisle began on the first Monday after July 11.

However, as Ephemerisle grew, the amount of build time required for some islands, such as Elysium, grew as well.

As a result, the start of build began pushing up against the July 4th weekend. Many of the build crew members attend events during Fourth of July weekend, such as family reunions, Priceless, Camp Tipsy, etc. Immediately starting Ephemerisle build after those events became difficult for those crew members.

Therefore, many of the island leads requested to change the start date for Ephemerisle to the Monday of the last full week in July. After some discussion, a survey of the community found that most were either supportive or neutral towards the proposed change.

As a result, beginning in 2019, and continuing into the indefinite future, most islands plan to start on the Monday of the last full week in July

Note that as a decentralized gathering, it's up to each island to decide for themselves when to show up, and other islands may show up before or after those dates. Here are the dates for the next few years:



2020: July 20 - July 27

2021: July 19 - July 26

2022: July 18 - July 25

2023: July 24 - July 31

2024: July 22 - July 29



Get involved [ edit ]

Here's a few things you can do: bring art, give talks, build your own boats and platforms, rent a truck and help carry floating platform parts, build illumination, make music, bring a wakeboard, and help build this wiki.