Each year, an unimaginable 70,000 people from all over the globe flock to the otherworldly landscapes of the Black Rock Desert to create Black Rock City, the largest temporary metropolis in the world. The biggest party on Planet Earth is devoted to community art, self-reliance, and self-expression forms an against-all-odds city in the desert, a culture of possibility, a network of dreamers and doers. Event goers gather to burn the man, a symbol whose meaning is as varied as the attendees themselves.
Leave no trace is of the utmost importance for Burning Man, leaving the Black Rock Desert alkali surface (or Playa) as it was before 70,000 people partied on it for 10 days straight. In Black Rock City, you won’t be the weirdest kid in the classroom and you’ll become a part of the growing community of Burners who are active year-round.
This arts and cultural celebration embraces ten key principles, which are expected to be upheld by attendees. The ten principles of Burning Man are:
- Radical Inclusion
- Gifting
- Decommodification
- Radical Self-Reliance
- Radical Self-Expression
- Communal Effort
- Civic Responsibility
- Leave No Trace
- Immediacy
- Participation
Travel Nevada Pro Tip
Of the ten principles, participation is considered to be one of the most important. Selfless giving of one’s unique talents for the enjoyment of all is encouraged and almost enforced. This can be demonstrated in creating art forms, like sculptures or art cars, or performance.
The Evolution of Burning Man
Burning Man originally began as a small party among friends in Baker Beach in 1986 near San Francisco. During the party, the group began a tradition of burning a small, 9-foot wooden man. By the following year, the man had grown to be 15 feet, and by 1988, the man was 40 feet tall. By 1990, a few of these folks decided to branch off and have a separate shindig in the Black Rock Desert, and so it began.
One of the founders, Michael Mikel, realized that a group of California-based friends were at great risk wandering around the vastness of such a vast, dry landscape that he took the name Danger Ranger, thus creating Black Rock Rangers. Thus, Black Rock City began and has stuck since. In its first few years in Nevada, the event substantially grew by word of mouth alone. By 1996, Burning Man began adapting an annual theme and building more elaborate man structures. Ticket prices during this time were around $65. What began as 20 friends in 1986 has now grown to 70,000 people and beyond.
Tickets to Burning Man
Burning Man has been capped at 70,000 attendees, which has resulted in a lottery style ticketing system. The demand for tickets is extremely high. To get your hands on one of these golden tickets, participants must enroll in Burning Man’s official website and try their luck at being chosen to purchase a ticket; lotteries occur several times a year. Please visit BurningMan.org for more information regarding tickets, the official annual theme, and planning your trip to BRC. For detailed information about the deadline dates and purchasing options for Burning Man tickets, continue to check website for updates – http://burningman.org/
Special Opportunities for Burners & Room Packages
A series of decompression events go down after the burn in Reno, and several of the hotel properties throughout the area offers special rates and packages to burners making their journey home. Besides, there is so much to check out around the Reno-Tahoe area that you may want to treat yourself and take an extra day to recharge before facing the real world again.