The Sarah Party, Sunday 29th June 2008

Having a name that seemed to be shared by many means that I work hard to differentiate myself. I never really enjoyed being a Sarah until I went to the Sarah Party at Burning Man. It transformed the way I felt about my name. Suddenly it was fun and exciting, and I wanted to pass on the experience to others.

We agreed to host a Sarah Party on a whim. It never occurred to me that it might be difficult to find enough Sarahs to make it happen, as there always seemed to be plenty of them in my life, but as the day grew nearer, it became the biggest challenge. Literally hundreds of Sarahs were approached and invited to the party. I e-mailed all the Sarahs I knew, then my whole address book. I asked everyone I met if they knew any Sarahs. I googled them, and I made a sign to try and track them down at a festival. Most of them were wary of my strange approach. They could be forgiven for thinking I was mad.

The Sarahs brave and lucky enough to be able to be there were an extraordinary and diverse group of wonderful people. It really was a delight to meet them. It seemed that the Sarahs who responded to the challenge were open and ready to embrace the experience.

We tried to theme every aspect of the party within our limited budget. On arrival everyone received a name badge, and a tiara. There was a shrine to honour past Sarahs. Poems were written and read, there were Sarah songs and the extraordinary singer Sarah Jane Morris performed with guitarist Dominic Miller. There were games, a quiz, yoga, massage and juggling, a raffle with MC Sarah Bennetto. We showed a film starring Sara Dee who played 'Sarah'. Sara Leigh Lewis took photographs, and we ate food that spelled our name while drinking 'Sarandipity' cocktails.

We don't know exactly how many came, but there are 59 in the group photo and we know of quite a few who left before or arrived after it. Our guess is about 75. Everyone who came participated and added to the spirit of playfulness. We couldn't have done it without all of you!

I didn't expect the whole experience to be quite so fulfilling, and quite such hard work. Through the Burning Man community - which has an ethos of 'gifting' and participation, I have discovered new possibilities for enjoying life and expressing my passions creatively. Doing something for fun can be surprisingly radical. My aim was to inspire and please, and in so doing send out ripples for others to taste and follow their own pleasure. Celebrate your Sarahness, express your uniqueness!