As the dust settles, the smoke clears, and the embers burn out, the Fernley ACES have had but a moment to reflect on this weekend’s InFERNo Festival.
What happened out there was something we’ve been working toward for months. Thousands of hours, countless decisions, and more dollars than we care to discuss at this moment. To finally see it all come together, to see people show up, experience it, and be part of it, it was overwhelming in the best way.
This was a massive undertaking and one that was pretty risky for our small nonprofit organization. We took that risk because we believed in the idea, because we believed in what this community is capable of when it comes together, and because we believed in ourselves.
In the room where it happens, where the decisions are made, the plans laid out, and the impossible is undertaken, there are just a handful of people. Each person comes with their own ideas, visions, and passion for making things happen. Those few also spent days on end hauling things out to the Reno-Fernley Raceway, measuring, setting up cones and signage, collecting tumbleweeds, building the pyres, meeting with permitting agencies for inspections, making last-minute decisions and changes, and then undoing all of it once it was over.
InFERNo is an example of what is possible for Fernley, and we are incredibly proud of what we accomplished and massively appreciative of everyone that came out and believed in the ACES to pull this off.
As a first-year event, it was hard to convey the vision we had in our minds to the public since we lacked any media to show people what it would look like. It was a bit of an uphill battle to convince people that Drowning Pool, an internationally-known celebrity band, really would be playing for us in Fernley. We constantly battled the idea that this was somehow a mini-Burning Man; no hate to Burning Man, but it’s not the same. In the end, the vision came to life, and the InFERNo festival burned bright.
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and we are bursting with pride.
This wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our many volunteers who showed up for the weekend to make things run. Sebastian Martinez, Fernley resident and festival volunteer, said, “By the way, I have worked more events than I can count and I have never seen such a large event pulled off so professionally with so few staff members. You guys should be super proud of yourselves.”
Seeing county officials, North Lyon County Fire personnel, Lyon County Sheriff deputies and other supporting crew out there, enjoying themselves and smiling through their workday was pretty great. Support and cooperation with those agencies and others made this all possible. In addition, the Reno-Fernley Raceway put in a lot of work to get the facility ready and to help us when we needed it. We owe them and the crew a huge thanks for making this possible. Scrap Metal Recycling donated three cars for people to smash, and the car smash was run by Reno Punk Rock Flea Market, with proceeds benefitting their nonprofit. Waste Management donated a dumpster for all the trash. Desert Pigs came in clutch with volunteers cleaning up and staying on top of emptying trash cans. Vet Mech Arms donated the flamethrower, autographed by Drowning Pool, that lit one set of fires, and which people will have a chance to win.
Truly, this massive undertaking wouldn’t have happened without their support.
We would absolutely love to do this again, but we are going to need help.
Conversations have already begun about how we take this to the next level, how we build on what worked, and how we make next year even bigger and better. But the reality is, something like this takes a tremendous amount of resources.
If InFERNo meant something to you, if you felt that energy that was palpable, that chaos, that spark, and you want to see this grow into something even more incredible, this is where we ask you to be part of what comes next.
Support comes in many forms: showing up, spreading the word, volunteering, partnering, sponsoring. It all matters. It all adds up.
Because this wasn’t just a one-time event. This was the beginning. InFERNo will rise from the ashes in the desert and burn once again.
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