Burning Man is an event that happens every year in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. It isn't a music festival, it isn't an art festival, it isn't a festival at all. It is a celebration of art, love, music, self expression, and much, much more. The event is guided by ten principles: radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation, and immediacy. It's all about sharing and enjoying . Burning Man goes from Sunday to Sunday. In that time a city, Black Rock City Nevada, is built and taken down. When it's over, the seven square mile city is no more, with no trace that it was ever there.
First time Burners have an initiation roll in the playa dust.
Camps are set up during build days starting. midweek before the Sunday start of Burning Man
An art installation nears completion.
Some art installations are mobile, called Art Cars, and are the only motor vehicles allowed during Burning Man.
Many Art Cars pick up and drop off Burners and act as mobile parties.
The art installations are as varied as the people attending.
A zoom time exposure of The Man lit up at night.
A self portrait near The Man. Dust storms frequently pop up so face coverings and goggles are necessary gear.
The Temple is a spiritual place for people to gather, reflect, unburden, and sometimes heal.
Pictures and momentoes of those that have passed away are attached to the walls and left inside the Temple.
Messages are left, mostly for people who have passed away. The Temple and everything within is burned in celebration on the last day of Burning Man.
Camps offer just about anything imaginable: food, drink, music, movies, art, comedy, rides, experiences of every conceivable type, classes (like karate shown here) and much more. And there is no cost. Nothing is bartered, traded or bought, with only two exceptions.
Hauling ice...a nearly everyday chore. There is a place to purchase ice near Center Camp, one of only two places in BRC where money changes hands.
Center Camp provides a space for Burners to gather to talk, socialize, relax or otherwise interact. It is the only other place, along with the ice tent, in BRC where purchases can be made, offering individual servings of coffee, teas, and lemonade for sale.
This Mammoth art installation was made by a girl scout entirely of discarded material found at a dump site.
Art and fantasy.
All ages are represented at Burning Man. Here parents show their toddler one of the art installations.
The camps light up at night.
Fire is a big theme at Burning Man. Many of the art cars spit flames.
Burners line up at the bar for drinks during one of the many happy hours found throughout BRC.
There are plenty of facilities available so you don't have to wander out into the deep playa to find relief.
A chocolate covered frozen banana helps relieve the heat.
Art cars come in all shapes and sizes.
Many of the art installations are interactive.
The Man rises. (Creativity inspires creativity.)
Much of the playa of BRC seems wide open but bicycle and foot traffic covers the entire expanse of the city.
Artistic expression takes on many forms.
