posted on Apr, 25 2003 @ 06:01 PM
I realise that the Burning Man Festival held in the Nevada desert every year isn't for everyone. But I was around in the hippy days, been to
Haight-Ashbury and many love-ins. I'm a free-thinker who values his freedom and self-expression. I've not been to Burning Man, but would like to
experience the festival. It appears to carry some primordial, instinctive drive to celebrate life in the most non-conventionial way.
Trying to explain what Burning Man is to someone who has never been to the event is a bit like trying to explain what a particular color looks like to
someone who is blind.
The Burning Man project has grown from a small group of people gathering spontaneously to a community of over 25,000 people. The impact of the Burning
Man experience has been so profound that a culture has formed around it. This culture pushes the limits of Burning Man and has led to people banding
together nation-wide, and putting on their own events, in attempt to rekindle that magic feeling that only the feeling of being part of this community
can provide.
There are no rules about how one must behave or express one's self at this event (save the rules that serve to protect the health, safety, and
experience of the community at large); rather, it is up to each participant to decide how they will contribute and what they will give to this
community. The event takes place on an ancient lakebed, known as the playa. By the time the event is completed and the volunteers leave, sometimes
nearly a month after the event has ended, there will be no trace of the city that was, for a short time, the most populous town in the entire county.
Art is an unavoidable part of this experience, and in fact, is such a part of the experience that Larry Harvey, founder of the Burning Man project,
gives a theme to each year, to encourage a common bond to help tie each individual's contribution together in a meaningful way. Participants are
encouraged to find a way to help make the theme come alive, whether it is through a large-scale art installation, a theme camp, gifts brought to be
given to other individuals, costumes, or any other medium that one comes up with.
Official Burning Man Site
Burning Man Links