What If

Thursday July 23rd to Monday July 27th, 2026 in Merritt, BC

What If News

January 21, 2026

Production volunteer call out

Want to get a peak into the world of Production? We have a cracking great team this year, and we want to bring in some fresh…

January 20, 2026

What If Temple announcement

Open Sky Temple! We want to thank both temple teams for sharing their visions with us. We had over two hundred responses to the community…

December 24, 2025

What If Temple community voting

We’ve received two wonderful Temple submissions for What If 2026, and we’re asking members of our community to vote to select which vision will be…

November 5, 2025

What If 2026 Theme submissions now open!

Do you have the best idea ever for the theme for What If 2026? The Production Team is getting a jump start this year and we’re…

November 5, 2025

Applications are now open for the What If 2026 Temple and the Effigy!

As announced at Tuesday’s Town Hall… In an effort to give artists more time to incorporate this year’s theme into their design, we’re staggering the…

October 29, 2025

GVIAS Town Hall is happening this coming Tuesday!

Join us virtually on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 7pm for a GVIAS Town Hall Over 350+ members of our community took the time to share their thoughts…

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What is What If?

What If, the event formerly known as Burn in the Forest (BitF) is the Greater Vancouver Interactive Arts Society’s (GVIAS) Official Burning Man Regional annual summer event.

We support the diversity and experimentation of experience and ideas.
We will create a Temporary Autonomous Zone where people may safely engage in new experiences without judgement.
We will strengthen existing friendships and build new ones, rewarding each other in special ways.
We are self-sufficient and leave no trace except in our memories.

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Event Info

Each summer we build a temporary community over an extended weekend. Together we create a village and gift each other in many ways that express our creativity and play.

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Participate

Our community is built on the participation of its members – from the simple exchange of food, stories, or a lending hand, to the elaborate construction of an interactive art project.

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