Destination Burning Man – Black Rock City

Emily Manthei

Somewhere beyond the glow of the city blight, the isolation, commodification, and personal despair that comes with modernity, is a canvas of new possibilities. Every August that place of new beginnings is transformed into a counter-cultural vision of the metropolis, a community of radical inclusion, self-expression, and gift-giving called Burning Man.

In a less esoteric framework, one might call Burning Man an underground arts festival or a desert rave with artists, performers, hippies, and socialists, but with over 60,000 participants, every Burner’s experience is different. Founded by San Francisco native Larry Harvey in the late 1980s, Burning Man developed as an “experiment in radical community,” brought together by the building and burning of a wooden statue of “the man,” a representation of Harvey and company’s denial of modern consumer-capitalist culture in preference for a non-commodity-based style of communal living, sharing, and acceptance.

While “the man” was originally burned on a beach in San Francisco, the consistent multiplication of participants year after year soon required a larger space for artists to make political and social statements through participatory performance. That expansive canvas became the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, now the home of the event and the pop-up temporary dwelling of Black Rock City, an infrastructure created and dismantled each year for two weeks during and after the gathering, this year from August 25 to September 1.

ESSENTIALS:
Tickets for Burning Man are released incrementally throughout the year beginning in January, with a slate of low-income tickets offered through early summer. Tickets are not available at the gate, but for advance planning-phobes, 1,000 last-minute tickets are released on August 6. Although the infrastructure of Black Rock City accommodates up to 60,000 Burners, only 35,000 vehicle passes are issued, cementing the communal ethic.

DO:
Express yourself! Burning Man’s culture and community is built on the idea of radical self-expression. Crazy costumes, makeup, art installations, music, ideas to share, activities, games, spirituality, and whatever is close to your heart is your mission in Black Rock City. Burners unite around “Theme Camps” and makeshift villages with activities, performances, and events that enhance the entire community. These can range from large-scale sound installations to art projects and a variety of performance art, as well as food and drink experiments. You can create or join camps and villages by registering from February through April. Check the Theme Camps Page to find out more.

BRING:
Burning Man encourages “radical self-sufficiency,” and as such Burners are expected to prepare themselves for every eventuality, as there is no buying or selling (with the exception of ice and coffee) within Black Rock City. You must provide your own shelter, food, and water at the bare minimum or risk being turned away at the gate. Additionally, bikes, ear plugs, and costumes are highly encouraged for practical and participatory reasons. The Burning Man Survival Guide has more details on what to bring. A daily shuttle to the Empire General Store 15 miles away is $10 if you get desperate. Instead, Burners recommend making new friends quickly and asking your neighbors if you need something. The weather varies from occasionally frigid nights to sweltering-hot summer days, so dress accordingly.

EXPECT:
Burning Man extorts ten principles that govern all activity at the event and will guide your actions and interactions while you’re there. Radical Inclusion means respect and acceptance to the stranger and newcomer as well as the family or friend. Expressions of this acceptance often take the forms of Gifting and Communal Effort, in which Burners practice Civic Responsibility and Decommodification. This is also a way to Participate in the goals of the “experiment.” The twin values of Radical Self-expression and Radical Self-Reliance encourage the uniqueness of individual participation and result in a borderless Immediacy in the art and performance experience. Finally, the community’s respect for the environment fosters the value of Leaving No Trace by restoring the landscape to its pre-event condition each year when Black Rock City is dismantled. Burners take everything they came with when they return home.

Burning Man 2014 will take place in Black Rock City, Nevada from August 25-September 1.