Any Burners out there?

Burning Man is just a month away. Given all the EL wire artwork and all the LED art I figured that some other burners would have found their way here.

You'll see more EL wire and LED's there than just about anywhere else ever. Other than that if you haven't been nothing I say could possibly describe it properly. And if you have been then you already know.

This will be my 9th year.

Mutie

I have many friends that go, but my own lifestyle hasn't been compatible with taking any time off lately /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I expect you'll take LOTS of pictures for those of us that would have liked to have been there right?

I've always wondered what "Burning Man" is? Is it one big concert? A "meeting of Minds"? Mind giving us a quick description of the event?

Here is an image from last year. All that fire to the right is our stage.


James there are tons of pictures at http://www.burningman.com. And since my band is very involved year round with burner events there are a bunch of pictures in our gallery at http://www.mutaytor.com/gallery/

Darkcobra, it is more of a meeting of Minds. As here there is a very strong sense of community and sharing. The event takes place in the middle of the Black Rock desert the week before and through labor day weekend. There is no infrastructure provided except porta potties and roads are mapped out. There is no commerce allowed except for ice sales and the Cafe where they sell coffee and all proceeds go to the local school district. Once you arrive and set up your camp you are not allowed to move your car until you leave. The only vehicles allowed are art cars and they must be licensed by the Department of Mutant Vehicles. So everybody walks or rides bicycles around the city. Saturday night at the end of the event the Man is torched in a big ceremony.

The media likes to portray it as a modern day Woodstock. That is only part of the story though.Woodstock was a spectator event for most that went. Burning Man is an event to participate in. It is very surreal with all the different artwork, costumes, and theme camps. If you can imagine it it is likely that someone will have created it. There are many camps with stages for all kinds of different performances and types of music and there are two areas of the city specifically for large scale sound systems.

Despite the size (last year there were 30,000 people and the city is close to a couple of miles across) it is very much like a small town. People you don't even know come up to you and say hello or bring you a cold beer and are socialable and nice. There are barter bars where you can trade for a drink or maybe do an impromtu story or act, or they may even just give you a drink. If you need help setting up you will be almost overwhelmed with volunteers. People have potlucks and give away food. There are places that will help you make costumes and some that will give them to you. There is little or no litter. In fact you will have 30 people all over your case if you do. People are respectful and ask if they can take your picture. There is no advertising or corporate sponsorship of any kind allowed. Well you could be sponsored but you sure couldn't advertise it so it doesn't exist as it does out in the real world.

At the end of the event you clean up your camp and take away everthing you brought and all your trash too.

For many it is a life changing experience. Afterall 30,000 freaks in the middle of the desert during the height of summer can't be wrong.

Mutie

Cool. I only knew Burning Man as a Queensryche song. Sounds fun.

Mutiny Sfears - Thanks!
Definately very interesting on how things work at the event. No commerce would be a breath of fresh air.....

Sounds like something to add to my life list of things I should do at some point. Is it possible to spend just a day there or is it so remote that you have to camp in?

Lurker,

It's not that you can't. The event is 120 miles northeast of Reno and only about 5 miles off the highway. It's more that it would be antothetical to what the event is about. They don't have day passes. You could buy a ticket and only spend a day there if you chose but you would miss a lot of what the event is about. And given the location and heat it's at night that the city really gets into full gear.

At the request of the community the organizers actively discourage "tourists". If you haven't purchased your ticket in advance it will be $300 at the gate and go up $25 a day until Thursday night when gate sales are stopped. This was done specifically to discourage "Frat boy" mentality of showing up just for the burn drinking too much beer and yelling show us your ****.

Another aspect is that it is an extreme environment and they don't want people showing up unprepared. In fact they will turn you away at the gate if they see that you are not prepared to survive. Tempratures can range from 110+ in the daytime to low 40's at night. Duststorms with 70 MPH winds and total whiteout can and have occurred without warning. Since there are no facilities or commerce you just can't run out to 7-11 if you forgot something, although they do run buses into town if you do need something. They do allow ins and outs with your vehicle but it will cost $25.

Part of the sense of community and bonding is the forced shared survival aspect. Clearly it is not for everybody and there are some who hate the experience. But most get through it just fine and have a great time. My wife for instance is the total spectator and could not deal with at all on her own. But she went and had a great time and is coming back for her third time this year.

Mutie

Thanks for all of the info. It sounds like a really unique thing. You have to hand it to the organizers.

Well mostly. It is actually a full time job running this event for several people. As it grows more and more rules are imposed and not all agree with the direction and bureaucracy.

I really don't have much issue. The only one that really bugs me is that we con't have campfires in our camps anymore. However the village I camp with has a car-bbq every year for our firepit. We have to get special clearance and keep a 50' clear area around it. We burn 5 cords of wood throughout the week and it's really cool having a burning car in the center of town.

Really I could go on and on about how cool the event is and the fantastic works of art that get created for this event. It's quite safe to say that there are literally miles of EL wire that get used.

Mutie

Yeah, definately sounds cool. I saw some of the pictures on your website, specifically the one where a dust storm blew through.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I guess that is one way to look at. When I lived in Utah a couple of friends of mine went to burning man. They wouldn't even talk about what they saw. What they did say I can't repeat here.

They didn't care for it.

I've wanted to go for five or six years now. I'm on the mailing list and get the updates from Maid Marian. But something always seems to come up. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Could be the ultimate cpf group meeting!
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