Taylor Neill, the camp lead for Hexauna, is a huge wellness aficionado and remembers an incredible experience he had in a sauna camp at Sideburn many years ago. He felt inspired to create a new space on Haya for wellness, connection, and celebration - a place where Sideburn participants can come and enjoy an amazing warm experience to counter the cold Sideburn nights. And so, Hexauna was born. Partnering with Floyd Fernandes, the camp’s chief designer, the two of them brought together a passionate team of engineers and creatives who have spent months designing and building every aspect of Hexauna from the ground up.

Hexauna’s vision is to offer Sideburn participants a welcoming Scandinavian-inspired sanctuary featuring a large custom-built hexayurt sauna, a vibrant dance floor with top DJ talent to bring the vibes, the Afterglow bar serving themed libations throughout the weekend, and a hefty amount of Burner shenanigans. The team has also partnered with some veteran Sideburners from Ottawa to offer Hütte, a gorgeous outdoor lounge with a fire table and various edible delights. The camp will feature a number of interactive art pieces as well. Every detail, from lighting effects to libations, is designed to create a magical, restorative, and fun experience for everyone who visits. And, we’re making the camp as green and eco-friendly as possible: we’re proud to say that Hexauna will be 100% solar powered! We won’t give you all the little details that make camp special–don’t want to spoil the surprise–but the Hexauna team is incredibly excited to share these gifts with the Haya at Sideburn 2026: The Great Rewilding.

Bringing Hexauna to life for the first time comes with significant startup costs. The raw materials for the giant hexayurt sauna alone are estimated around $3,500, and Taylor has also invested in infrastructure tents, burn barrels, flooring, wall coverings, decor, the solar electrical grid, and lighting to make the camp a truly memorable experience for everyone who drops by. Every member of the team is, of course, volunteering their time and skills to this labour of love, but the costs of materials and construction are substantial–and Taylor is out of pocket for almost all of it. While we were lucky enough to receive a $500 Theme Camp grant from the Sideburn Org (thank youuuuu!), the true startup costs for this camp are over $8,000–even with a significant amount of items borrowed from our community. That’s why we’re reaching out to the Sideburn community for support in helping offset some of these startup expenses.

We hope to run in-person fundraisers in the future so at this time, we are only looking to fundraise to cover a portion of the sauna build costs. All donations will go directly toward the materials needed to build the 15-foot-wide sauna, which can welcome about 20 people at a time and will be a warm, cozy haven on Haya all weekend long. We hope this sauna will become a beloved part of Sideburn for years to come; gifting unforgettable experiences to participants in 2026 and beyond.

If you’re able and willing to be a patron for our camp in this, its first year, please consider contributing—every amount, no matter how small (even $10!), helps bring this vision to life and supports the spirit of community that makes Sideburn so special. We know how hard every single camp works to make incredible experiences for everyone and are truly grateful for everyone’s collective vision in making Sideburn incredible year after year. We just want to make this a little easier on Taylor’s pocket if we can. We hope to see you on the Haya!