Every year, on a windswept patch of land in Homer’s Mariner Park, community members build a beautiful handmade basket. A really big one.
And just a few days later, they burn it to the ground. It’s part of Homer’s annual Burning Basket celebration.
Homer artist Mavis Muller describes this year’s basket lovingly, almost as if it’s a person.
“From the knees on down, it flares out a little bit like it would be a skirt. Kind of like we’re putting on a party dress. It’s all fluffy and ruffly and feathery. And then from there, we go up into the weaving of the body of the basket, which is much more intricate,” she explains.
Slender branches of alder and willow are used to build the ribs of the basket. Volunteers weave bunches of fireweed, wild grasses and curly dock to create the body. It stands about 15 feet tall, silhouetted against the setting sun.
Some people might think it’s odd to spend a week building such a beautiful piece of art, only to burn it down. But not Mavis.
“It’s human nature to want to become attached to things. It’s like when we find ourselves investing in something, we want that investment to last forever. I think what happens with this kind of art, it reminds us about the truth of the matter, which is that all things are impermanent and nothing will last forever,” she says.
Mavis began the Burning Basket tradition in Homer in 2004 as a collaborative community art project. Since then, she’s created 34 baskets in Alaska, California, Oregon, Louisiana, Spain and Hawaii.
Homer artist, Charles Aguilar, attaches bundles of dried fireweed to the basket. Like many of the volunteers, he has a special kind of reverence for it.
“We’re creating magic here, is what we’re doing. It’s not just something pretty to look at, it’s something to become a part of,” he explains.
As part of the tradition, people tuck private notes inside of the basket, including wishes and letters to lost loved ones.
For the last two years, vandals have tried to destroy the basket before the community celebration. This year, someone snuck into Mariner Park before dawn and tried to set the basket on fire.
But the basket builders are not easily deterred. They mend the basket and spend the night guarding it.
The following day, in a torrential downpour, over 200 people gather in a circle around the basket. Mavis perches on a ladder and rallies the crowd.
“Every setback is a set-up for a stronger comeback,” they chant together.
As the last light fades away, the torches come out. It’s time to burn it down.
Despite the rain, the basket is quickly engulfed in flames. A wave of heat radiates from the fire and the crowd shuffles back a little. Firecrackers hidden inside the basket ignite, sending a shower of sparks into the air.
A group of women gathers together, singing as the frame collapses.
The rain begins again. And it’s clear that this time, it means business. But no one makes a move to leave. Instead they pull up their hoods and press a little closer together, singing and watching the flames.
Shahla Farzan is a reporter with KBBI - Homer.
Shahla first caught the radio bug as a world music host for WMHC, the oldest college radio station operated exclusively by women. Before coming to KBBI, she worked at Capital Public Radio in Sacramento and as a science writer for the California Environmental Legacy Project. She is currently completing her Ph.D in ecology at the University of California-Davis, where she studies native bees.
When she's not producing audio stories, you can find Shahla beachcombing or buried in a good book.
