The event announcement promised: "Learn (almost) everything you need to know to escape civilization." And the public came, to learn about such things as the history of the back-to-the-land movement (from original back-to-the-lander Hank Meals), the construction of simple domes, how to make rope from twigs, and "wildcrafting," or foraging from nature in a way that sustains local ecologies.

Matt Berry demonstrated how to make a small fire in the palm of your hand. Starlight Compost explained how to shave the fat off a buffalo's hide before tanning. And Joe Meade revealed the wonders of lacto-fermentation. Other presenters discussed the history of mining in California, the real versus perceived dangers of wild animals, and the biography of John Olmsted, an impassioned California naturalist inspired by John Muir.

Entitled Hay Fever, the event was presented on May 13, 2011, in the context of the ongoing experimental Oakland Standard programming at the Oakland Museum of California. Hay Fever broadly addressed Californians' relationship with the land. The concept was inspired by Nevada City, and drew on the region's nurturing of the contemporary back-to-the-land movement. Begun in the late 1960s as part of the generational Vietnam War era social unrest, back-to-the-land values have translated into the aspirations of a new generation of alternative culture makers, who have chosen to apply their learned DIY skills to both rural regions and inner-city urban neighborhoods.

The event was the culmination of the spring 2011 Life of the Museum course, which, thanks to funding from the FOR-SITE Foundation, allowed first-year students in the Graduate Program in Curatorial Practice to focus on tangible case studies in the context of the FOR-SITE Foundation's Nevada City residency site. Using the FOR-SITE residency and location as a case study and research module to develop a public program in the context of the Oakland Museum's public program structure, the seminar considered issues related to interdisciplinary work -- the mixing of art, history, and the natural sciences -- as well as the investigation of trans-geographical connection across regions from the urban Oakland to the foothills of Nevada City.

Taught by René de Guzman, senior curator of art at the Oakland Museum, the class also included two intensive workshops at the FOR-SITE residency complex, which were led by Adam Lerner, director of the MCA Denver.

In addition to researching, conceptualizing, and coordinating the event, together with museum staff, the CCA students participated as guides and organizers the night of the event.