The Juice Box

This weekend is the beginning of annual migration to the playa – Black Rock City – and the Burning Man Festival. If you have never been, it is one of those amazing, life changing, extreme events. Billed as a survival art and music festival, Black Rock City becomes the 3 largest city in Nevada for approximately one week from August 29 through Monday September 6, and tens of thousands of people (burners) from around the world descend on this dry alkali lake bed in Nevada.

Burning Man brings together amazing artistry, in a size and scale that is not easily replicated anywhere else, alongside music and crazy costumes and fun people. It is that one of a kind experience. What began over 20 years ago in San Francisco as a small gathering of people and grew to be a large beach party which eventually became an empire that moved to the Nevada desert, calls out to so many for a week of music, gathering, fun, silliness, and so much more. Burning Man is an event billed on the leave no trace concept, which means you bring what you need (food, water, shelter, etc.) and you take it all back out with you. The only exception being that ice, coffee and porta-potties are offered at the festival.

This entire city springs up from the desert floor with an amazing level of infrastructure of roads, structures and of course art. At a width of about 5 miles at it’s largest point and built in concentric circles, you can walk out to the middle of this city and look back and swear you are looking at the Las Vegas strip with lights, fire and a spectacle to behold.

At the center is the lighted effigy of a man, perched on top of a structure that welcomes all home to the playa. Every night and day from Monday through the Saturday, their are dance parties, music, workshops, yoga, massage, sharing, community and events taking place. With warm days and cool nights, you spend most of your time awake during the darker hours taking in the spectacle of fire performances and giant sound camps that rival most city clubs. During the day you tour the art and enjoy the company of friends. Then come Saturday the entire city joins to watch the man burn and the final parties of the weekend carry you on until the sun rises Sunday Morning. A somber day, Sunday is spent starting to break apart what you built and pull things down with a meeting that night at the city’s temple structure, where the hopes, dreams and prayers of the community are set ablaze, while the onlookers watch in often total silence, tears streaming and bidding farewell to the festival. Monday a mass exodus and the clean up and journey home start.

If you have never been to this event, I only hope this paints a picture to draw your interest. It is amazing and you should try it at least once in your life.

Check out the Burning Man web site for pictures and more information about this event.

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Tags: Burning Man