2016 Slab City Prom

Prior & Current Year Prom Queens

Prom King Jordan & Prom Queen Andra

This year's Prom Night Under The Stars at The Range at Slab City was a great success. Everyone appeared to have a good time. The annual Prom at Slab City was initiated about 12 years ago by Robin (Builder Bill's girlfriend) with her friend Shannon. There have been newspaper and magazine articles about it, especially in the last few years given the popularity of social media, even here in the "off the grid" community out in the middle of the desert.

An event like the Prom Night Under The Stars at The Range at Slab City does not happen by magic. There is lots of hard work put into it each year and this year was no exception.

A little history: Prom Night Under The Stars started as an event at the end of the Snowbird season to give the residents and long time inhabitants at Slab City an event that would cap off the year and be an opportunity to go to a Prom Night, no matter how old you are, no matter your relationship status, whether or not you had a date, or a fancy dress or suit. It was aimed at all those that did not have fun at their own Senior Prom in high school for whatever reason.

At Slab City, there is a relation of social rules of engagement. This relation means that you can come and have a good time even if you don't have a date. You can come by yourself, with friends or a date. You can come dressed to the nines, or come as you are. Your choice.

To give people options, residents and snowbirds shopped the thrift stores for dresses, suits, shirts and ties during the year. These were brought out a week before the Prom for people to choose a dress. There were no rules about the dresses, just a suggestion that if you wanted to keep it at the end of the night, you brought another one back to replace it. Now, after 12 years, we don't have to shop so much any more. We get lots of donations. These are often the only fancy dress some people at the Slabs have worn.

A few years back, we started to take pictures. For free. We do a little fundraising before hand, put out a tip jar for the photographer and his helper. The fundraising helps with the cost of the paper and ink for the printer.

We usually help decorate The Range for the night. Sometimes a new coat of paint. Last year, it was new floorboards for the stage. Lights are strung up, sometimes beads. It will often depend on the weather. We were lucky this year. No wind. It rarely rains in the desert on Prom Night, but it can be windy.

Flip Cassidy & The Junkyard Gospels

Neil Malik & Barry Wayne

Megan Bee

The band is by donation. This year in addition to the Slab City Band, we had Flip Cassidy and the Junkyard Gospel. They were all great!






So, thanks to everyone who helped out.


With the decorating, getting the flowers, the crowns, the lighting, the photography, the music, the great audience and all levels of participation!

Have a great summer, and take care out there in the world!


Slab City 2016 Prom Pictures (pictures were taken by Bob Zahn

Builder Bill & Robin being photographed by Bob Zahn

If you want to know more about Slab City, visit our website www.sccgi.org
If you want to ask about Slab City, go to this FaceBook page: Slab City

and of course, if you want to make a donation (US tax deductible) go to our GoFundMe page.

The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan for Southern California, Invite Yourself to Participate

The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan is a document which will set out the path for the future of the deserts in Southern California. Called the DRECP for short, this is the first document of its type in a long time.

The DRECP is to be administered by the Federal and State of California governments. The players are the BLM (Bureau of Land Management - Federal), the US Fish & Wildlife Service (Federal), The California Fish & Wildlife Department (State), and the California Energy Commission (State Agency). These all form the umbrella of the Renewable Energy Action Team (REAT).

Two things are at its core: 1) welcoming green energy production into the deserts of Southern California; and 2) ensuring a smooth process for ensuring that the impact of green energy complies with environmental impact studies but does not get bogged down in that EPA process on a Federal and/or State level. In other words, it is a bureaucracy's attempt at streamlining a process.
Why the REAT wants a DRECP

In order to get a good plan, REAT has come up with a plan for including as many stakeholders as possible in developing the plan. This is the consultation phase of the process for the DRECP. We are here now.

Right now, between September 26, 2014, and January 15, 2015, the DRECP is in draft form, and is open for public comment. That means that everyone gets a say on some level. Directly.

That's a good thing.

Now get involved!

Its probably an overwhelming document, but if that is so, break it down. Get your neighbours and friends involved. Form a review committee. Everyone take a section, distill it down into an identifiable and digestible form. Review it. Decide on some comments.

Its ok if you don't all agree with your friends and neighbours on the comments, because you can each submit your own comments. Its pretty easy.

Here's the website:
Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan

and Here is both the access point for the document and how to comment:
DRECP Documents & How to Comment

If you can't get on line, you can request a copy of the document. They can sent you a CD disc, or a paper copy (try and save a few trees and learn how to access it on line though). You can also borrow it from the local libraries in the catchment areas (southern California), and at BLM Offices in Southern California. I think the US and CA Fish & Wildlife offices will also have copies (paper and CD) available.

Good luck... and may the GREEN FORCE BE WITH YOU... ok... a little carried away, but you get the idea.

Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan