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Burning Man Report (Not Especially Naturism Related)

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ToneBender:
Warning: This article contains themes of an adult nature

There is really no way to adequately describe Burning Man and if anyone is interested all I can say is: Try It!

Anyway here goes...

Burning Man is a gathering of artists and likeminded people in the Nevada Desert. Every year on the last Monday in August a city springs up in the middle of the Black Rock Desert (40°45'13.83″N, 119°16'37.20″W) and one week later it's gone without a trace. Not literally a week - the event lasts for a week but there is some build-up and tear down time on either side.

The desert is not an easy place. My thermometer read 47 degrees C at one point but 30 is a typical daytime temperature and then it cools off at night. As well the dust is alkali and it's everywhere - I didn't have any trouble but it can be hard on the eyes, nostrils etc. and can cause 'playa foot' so a few precautions and a little common sense are required. This is referred to as 'Radical Self-Reliance' though you're hardly alone and there are Black Rock Rangers, Government Officials and medical personnel everywhere. In fact as Snowkid from our own forum pointed out - Black Rock City is the only city in America that has Universal Healthcare.

Arrival and Exodus are taxing. From Gerlach to my campsite (maybe 5 or 10 miles) took six hours on the way in and something similar on the way out. The upside of this is that the Burning Man experience actually begins at least as far back as Gerlach and possibly as far back as Reno. While I was parked in the 'lanes' awaiting entrance there were dance parties breaking out all over the place and this is an excellent time to meet some of your fellow burners. There are a few steps in between but you're basically there.

Once inside (after the caravan search, greeters and will-call) you have to find a place to camp. This is not easy for a first timer arriving after dark. I was so disoriented I couldn't make out the difference between roads and camping space so I pulled up beside someone in a line of other vehicles and parked. BRC is a big place with neighbourhoods that have distinct character and once you've got your bearings it's no big deal to move camp the following day.

Now the insanity begins. First it's a good idea to get to know your neighbours - you can keep an eye on each other's campsites and share food and drink. My immediate neighbours were from Alabama just north of the Florida Panhandle so the first day I was introduced to Lemon Drops and Moonshine. Roll Tide! As much as BM is about radical self-reliance it's also about community and any help you need will probably be available in your immediate neighbourhood.

I don't know how much exploring my Alabama friends did as they were having too good a time at their own camp but I set off immediately as I wanted the full Burning Man experience. I wanted to see everything. Well after about six hours of walking I decided that this would not be feasible. BM is huge - bring a bicycle and take care of your feet (wash them with vinegar-water everyday and bandage up blisters right away).

Eventually I found Dr. Carl's Department of Collections (where Snowkid is a member). The idea is that there are two boards 'Lost' and 'Found'. The lost board is covered in tiles of the silliest things 'I work for the NSA', 'more countries than years' or even 'shirt cocker' some don't even make sense like 'camo toe'. If you find any of the items on the lost board you turn them in to Dr. Carl's and claim your 'semi-fabulous prize'. You'd be surprised what gets found and apparently a girl wearing camoflouage panties sporting a camel toe claimed the camo toe tile.

This is one example of a theme camp and there are hundreds of them. Some are just fun like Dr. Carl's but there are camps for everything: Dancing (including fire dancing), Meditation, Sexual Exploration or Education, Religion, Body-painting, Photography, Environmentalism, Tea Drinking and regional specialties like locally (Reno) brewed beer or the Irish, English or Canadian camps. There was even a Roller Disco and a Sk8 Park and of course you can develop a theme for your own camp like a Lemonade stand.

There are three important infrastructure camps. One is Center Camp and is the only camp where money is accepted - all profit goes to charity and here you can buy beverages and ice. Center Camp also is highly decorated by painted panels, sculptures and photography and features two stages and a center ring that are almost always in use by scheduled and impromptu performers. There are soft seats, couches and cushions everywhere which makes this a great place to take a load off, relax in the shade and take in a show. As an aside: one of my best shots was taken here and is of a sheriff reading a series of panels about current issues in the United States.

The second important camp is Recycle Camp. Oddly only aluminum is accepted here (best return maybe) and you're not really supposed to have glass anyway but good luck finding an aluminum bottle of vodka. Here your cans are deposited into a bicycle driven crushing machine and then you start pedalling. Some of the aluminum is melted down on site into billets from which you can make your own BM pendant.

There are others (Info, Greeters, Lamp-Lighters and Yellow (loaner) Bike repair among others) but the next most important is the Hospital Tent. Maintained by doctors from a local hospital it is well equipped (as tents go) and can treat lacerations, sprains, heat stroke etc. Apparently they can deal with pregnancy though I'm not sure if the baby burner was actually born on the playa. And all of this for free! Just don't get hurt badly enough to require an ambo off the playa.

Then there are the sound camps. These run along the esplanade and form a ring around the playa and are essentially nightclubs. Some are somewhat contentious as they are run by entities that outside of BRC are commercial enterprises however setting that aside they are awesome. Excellent djs, and sound and light systems and this is where you'll find most of the 'sparkle ponies' and week-enders (who only show up for the last couple of days and the burning of the man). I believe I also perceived a kind of competition where the east coast clubs seemed to be directly opposite the west coast clubs but I never checked a map to verify this and the playa at night can be quite disorienting. Like a mile wide with lights everywhere - you can think you're wandering toward a sound camp only to find out it's an art car moving away from where you want to go.

Art cars are vehicles that have been modified to no longer resemble a street vehicle. There is a 65 foot yacht, a dragon, a locomotive, a fire breathing octopus, a vase, a skull, a tie fighter... You name it. They are much like parade floats lit up really well with l.e.d.s and disco lights and many double as roving night clubs. I woke up one night to loud music, looked out my window only to see a pirate ship full of dancers sailing down my street. At night the playa is just a sea of lights and music, art and people - possibly more so than the Las Vegas Strip and a genuine feast for the senses.

The people are excellent. Everyone is approachable and hugging abounds (hand-shaking is too default for the playa). I met people from the U.S. (obviously), Brazil, France, Ireland, Canada, Russia, South Africa and Australia. Many were quite talented and weren’t afraid to show it which adds an important dimension to the city. I had my ass grabbed twice, my nipples and ass painted various times and got whistled at and called gorgeous all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. There were also children and families – the adult oriented activities mainly take place behind closed doors or at night and the kids village provides a secure area for families to camp as well as activities and play areas for children.

There is nudism at BM but very little to no naturism (FKK). There aren’t many nudes wandering around the playa though there certainly are some and many women prefer to be topless. There were a couple of nudist camps and the largest was possibly affiliated with AANR and there were a couple of large nude events. The naked pub crawl is the largest fully nude event where participants strip down and move from bar to bar in search free booze (of course all booze when it is provided is free). There is also the Critical Tits bike ride where women go on a bicycle tour starting at the man and wending their way through the city topless (sometimes with pasties, electrical tape or body-paint) in support of women’s issues. There was intended to be a Critical Dicks event as a counterpoint (not sure if it has any other purpose) to Critical Tits but it didn’t pan out. The leader of that group was pretty intoxicated when I met up with him and I’m guessing he slept through it, couldn’t figure out how to put his shoes on or something similar.

The only other nudity you will see is the unintended kind. Many people had out door showers or would spend time around their own campsites naked or would possibly venture as far as their neighbours’. Myself I just enjoyed the fact that I could be nude and greeted the sun every morning in my birthday suit for a few minutes before I had to put on clothes and sunscreen.

The costumes are amazing. There are the beautiful sparkle ponies (google if necessary) and hippies then there's everything else, fairies, Egyptians, Victorians, uncategorizable, body-painted and nude. Of course costumes are a must - it's just one way to contribute to the artistry of Black Rock City (I came ill prepared in this manner). As well there are theme days. On Tutu Tuesday for example everybody wears a tutu (guys typically over jeans or shorts but sometimes not). There's White Wednesday when everybody wears white and one day - not sure when - but the carrots take over the city looking to catch all the bunnies. Then at night warmer clothes as well as 'blinkies', glowy stuff and EL wire become necessary for people and bikes alike in the name of safety. To the uninitiated the whole thing seems completely random – kind of like attending the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

The playa is at the center of the city and stretches north. There are four roads marked with lamp-posts that hold hurricane lanterns filled, maintained and lit by who else but the lamp-lighters. The roads run from the three o’clock to nine o’clock positions and six o’clock to the temple and all converge on the man. The playa is also filled with art installations many of which are meant to be burned and all of which are lit up beautifully at night. The art works can be approached, photographed and climbed. Some spout flames or make music and the artists are often around to speak with you. Some will be disassembled and exhibited elsewhere through-out the year. My personal favourites were a three story coyote that appears to be howling at the moon, a beautiful dragonfly sculpture, a church covered in nude photographs and (the now complete) ‘Truth is Beauty’ fifty-five foot tall sculpture of a nude woman as well as a geometric sculpture only a few feet in diameter but that made different sounds when different panels were touched. The sound schemes changed during the week but at one point they were sex sounds and a couple were having sonic sex just by rhythmically touching these different panels.

At the center of the playa is the man. This year it was an out-of-this-world theme with a large ufo and a neon lit man standing atop. The construct was very large with multiple stories, filled with art and provided an excellent view of the playa.

Through-out the week the core projects which are sculptures built by regional Burning Man associations are burned as well as some of the other artwork. Burns are fun to attend as there are usually art cars (especially fire breathing ones) in attendance so the whole thing takes on a party-like atmosphere. The heat can be very intense though so there are firefighters and safety-hands at the burn to maintain a perimeter but a couple of times they made the circle too tight and people had to move back due to the uncomfortable heat. Then after the art work has completely collapsed it’s customary to run a lap or two around the coals (or cart wheel, dance or skip or get wheeled in your wheel-chair – whatever works).

On Saturday the man burns. This is the largest event during burning man and is kind of the culmination of the party. Many week-enders show up just for the last couple of days and the burning of the man. There is a fire art show with fire conclaves from all over the world surrounding the man and showing off their routines. Next the fireworks show takes over the sky and this culminates in a series of explosions that start the man (and ufo) burning. During the burn the crowd gets antsy and there is a lot of cheering and howling as the sculpture collapses. Again once the structure has completely collapsed it’s time to go for a (drunken) run around the fire. One guy started early and got tackled to the ground by the BRC Rangers which just sort of added to the entertainment and of course the party lasts all night. The next morning breakfast and coffee are served from the coals of the man and apparently (if you’re lucky) after things have cooled off you may be able to find pieces of glass from the neon lighting that have been warped and melted by the fire into beautifully colourized shapes.

At the northern tip of the playa lies the temple. It is a more spiritual place and people invest all sorts of meaning in it. They often leave notes or even the ashes of loved ones that are burned at the end of the week like a message to the universe and apparently can be a very emotional and cathartic experience. Unlike the burning of the man this one is quiet – occasionally a wave of wolf (coyote?) howling makes its way around the ring of people but this burn is more sombre and it’s not unusual to hear crying. There are no fireworks and no music just the sound of the fire and when the temple is gone Burning Man is over.

The mass exodus begins immediately. Many camps are disassembled before the temple burn and by the time you get back to base camp the streets are filled with traffic and the lanes are already filling with tired and potentially intoxicated drivers who are going shuffle all night through the lanes to start their journeys home. There was more than one accident I’m sure.

As you’re leaving it slowly dawns on you that the craziness and awesomeness is over. You’re tired, worn out, dusty and potentially have various aches and pains and now it’s time to return to the ‘default’ world. There is reason for optimism though as at the time of this writing the man burns in three hundred fifty one days.

Fitz1980:
My friend Tisha made it to burning man this year and had a blast. One of these days fiance and I want to go, maybe next year.

Danee:

ToneBender:







Reuters/Jim Urquhart
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/09/photos-of-burning-man-2013/100584/

AElf:
Excellent report!  Thank you so much.

By the way Danzka and some other brands of vodka are available in aluminum bottles . . . thought you might like to know for future reference.

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