FESTIVALS/CELEBRATIONS

BURNING MAN FESTIVAL

• Place: Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States;
• Time: It lasts a week, and it starts on the last Monday in August, and ends on
the first Monday in September;
• Reason: Celebration of freedom, art, philosophy, education and social
enterprise.
• Burning Man is celebrated on an empty lake bed in Nevada's Black Rock
Desert;
• Burning Man, which costs over $8 million dollars to run, is supported by ticket
sales;
• Unconventional forms of self-expression (like performance art using light or
fire, creation of "Mutant vehicles") are integral to the Burning Man
experience.
The festival forms in the
same shape every year: a
giant semi-circle.
Nearly 70,000 people,
known as "burners," come
for the nine-day event.
They arrive by private plane,
car, or "mutant vehicle" — a
souped-up theme car.
Light-strung vehicle.
No money changes hand
throughout the event. People
can gift items to each other.
But the festival isn't free.
Tickets in 2017 started at
$425 per person
Participants bring
everything they need,
including food, water,
and shelter.
The festival is also known
for its dust storms.
Goggles and bandanas
worn on the face can
help.
 FEELINGS:
• Burning Man is an art gig by tradition. Over the longer term it's evolved into something else;
maybe something like a physical version of the Internet. The art here is like fan art. It's very
throwaway, very appropriative, very cut-and-paste. The camp is like a giant swap meet
where no one sells stuff, but people trade postures, clip art, and attitude.