Burningman
What it is and why would you go?

Burningman is an experience that is hard to explain. I can give you the basic info but you have to live it in order to understand it. Burningman is a festival (for lack of a better word) in the middle of the Black Rock Dessert. Where is that you ask? 120 miles north of Reno in the middle of nowhere. Every year the number of people attending grows but this year in 2003 an estimated 30,000 people came to the 7-day event. A city is formed over a period of months prior to the week of Burningman. A half circle of streets with port-a-potties are formed for people to camp for the week. Center camp is built, which is a big circus tent where people can hang out and artist perform. Burningman is open to ticket holders the week prior to and including Labor Day weekend .

Everyone camps in tents or lives in an RV or structure they have built. You must bring all your supplies to camp for the week because the only thing for sale is ice. No commercialism is allowed at Burningman. No corporate sponsors or advertising are permitted. It is a giving or barter system of attaining any goods you need. Some people call Burningman a festival, which is as close to an explanation you can give it. It is a large group of people gathering to celebrate the human spirit. Everything you bring to Burningman you must leave with or burn in one of the man burn barrels. "Leave no trace" is the motto to keep the playa clean after the mass exit of people after the festival ends.

Why the name Burningman? In the center of the city there is a large wooden man constructed and on Saturday it is burned to the ground. Everyone attending BM projects all his or her negative feelings and emotions on to this effigy and when it burns to the ground so does all your negativity. It is a rebirth for you...like a new year leaving the past in the past. There are many other activities going on at BM, many that are more interesting then the actual burning of the man.

Burningman is all about participating in self-expression. Whatever that means to you...great go and do it. Almost everyone is dressed in some sort of costume. Not like Halloween costumes where you are dressing like something or someone but more an artist expression. I think dressing up helps people free themselves for judgment of others and get into the spirit of Burningman a little like Halloween feels when you where a mask. Dressing up is my favorite part! I have so many costumes that every day I get excited about what I am going to transform into next. My favorite is my glowing butterfly wigs.

Many people camp together and create "theme camps" which provide entertainment for visitors. An example of one is "You're A Winner" Camp. The camp is set-up like a game show set with a red carpet, podium for the host and a popular game show tunes playing in the back ground. Bystanders are called to by the host saying, "Come on down, girl in the blue shirt you are our next contestant" the girl walking by is immediately excited that some noticed her so she walks down the red carpet to the podium. The game show host askers a variety of funny questions that she is going to know the answer to and she is awarded some sort of prize and the winner music plays. The random girl can't help smiling even though she has only won a small plastic toy. You can spend days walking and stopping into every theme camp, most Burners find this the most entertaining aspect of BM. Everyone is welcome in any camp and is greeted with a smile or maybe a spanking! Having an open mind and leaving all your inhabitation and hang–ups at the gates of BM is a requirement.

I feel everyone should experience Burningman at least once, but everyone I have met who has attended once, always comes back. I think even the most conseravtive person attending BM for the first time would surpirse themselves at how much the spirit of Burningman effects you. It is like being a kid all over again where imagination is king and having a good time is everyone's number one priority.

I have only scratched the surface on explaining Burningman. For more info and photos visit the www.burningman.com website.

Click Here for photos Chris and I have taken of Burningman over the years.