burning man festival?

[bspeed]

anyone been? any info on what its like?

[pjadnoo]

never been, but there was a documentary about it on telly a year or so ago and it seemed pretty crazy.

not much help, but on youtube there are exerpts from the documentary.

[beija']

i'm also trying to find out more about burning man and ways to make the mission from the uk..

i'm unsure of how the camping is organised it seems everyone teams up with a camp (i.e soundcamp or healing area etc) prior to the festival so what happens to you if you turn up on a whim and don't know anybody..

have you managed to get any info bspeed?

[MartinGooding]

bumped just because it was the only Burning man thread i could find, anyone been? any information on what its like? ease of getting there? what happens? music? etc would be very appreciated

[random_man]

havent been but do intend to one day! saw a documentary/movie about it on TV a few weeks back - It looks great but not really a music festival more a arts festival.

seems quite cult like!

[glastofairy]

Here's a link to the website

http://www.burningman.com/

there's obviously lots of info on the site but there's also a marketplace where if you fancy it you can buy a dvd or 2 on the festival. As someone else said it's more of an arts festival and a place to express yourself, never been myself but it's definatly one to do before you die and I think it could probably kill you as it's in the desert Aug/Sept. Having looked at the site It's making me want to get out my wings and body paint!

This is a link to the galleries, Enjoy.

http://images.burningman.com/index.cgi?q_k...=19&go.y=13

[snipe]

I did some research a few years ago and decided as much as it sounds like a fantastic experience I just wouldn't be able to survive. From what I could gather it really can not be compared to any UK or probably even European festivals.

You need to prepare well in advance as theres very little in the way of facilities provided. You WILL need a car to attend as beyond toilets you've to bring everything you need for the week with you including water (they recommend bringing an emergency toilet as well actually). Recommended water is 4 litres per day per person so you've 28kilos of weight each before anything else there. You drive to your campsite and camp beside your vehicles though.

There are no shops on site but you can barter with other attendees. Conditions are extreme with dust storms a very real danger. Everyone sleeps during the day as it is too hot to do anything... on the other side of things the nights are extremely cold. Bicycles are recommended.

The website is amazingly detailed on everything so if you are planning on going read up on everything well in advance so you can get everything in order.

[rideincircles]

I live in the US and the task of going to Burning Man is daunting. For me its a 33 hour drive, and there really is no other way to get there unless you drive. I would need about 2 weeks off to be able to go alone. Its the ultimate festival experience if you come prepared, but I dont know if or when I could make the journey. Iam not ruling it out. I am travelling to Glastonbury next year, and it seems daunting but nothing on the scale of whats needed for burning man.

[Emmabear]

I went to Burning Man last year for the first time from the UK. We flew to San Francisco hired a large car and filled it with water, alcohol and coolers and stayed for the full 7 days. We were lucky as we managed to hook up with a camp (friends of friends) so fortunately had the basics like cooking and a shower sorted as we were with a group of regulars. I have no idea how you'd manage if you weren't with a camp though as there's nothing provided for you other than toilets. You have to bring everything and take everything away with you including all your brown water and every scrap of rubbish. Great idea but not so easy if you have to fly home straight after. Our camp mates cooked for us and we had lots of waifs and strays coming and sharing our food. Burning Man is a great place to share and I’m sure if you needed a hot meal you’ll be able to find one if you befriend one of the bigger camps. You will find that your appetite is reduced though with the heat and the altitude. Bring alcohol though, even if you’re not big drinkers you can always share it.

Once you’re there it’s very much a participatory experience, you get out of it what you put in. There’s stuff going on all night and all day. More classes, groups, talks that kind of thing than non stop djs. The main djs play on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and are usually at one end of the main site blaring dance music into the desert. The sound systems are amazing! The music from the theme camps never stops day or night. You get used to it but there is no respite but fortunately you’re so knackered having to walk for miles to get anyway that you sleep like a baby day and night. It really is a great place for individuals, nothing is too weird at Burning Man and generally people aren’t judgemental of those who don’t dress up or take all their clothes off!

The size of the place caught me by surprise. As a regular Glastonbury goer I’m used to large festivals but Black Rock City is huge. It can take 30 minutes to just walk from your camp to the man and hours to actually feel like you’re out of camp. Everyone uses bikes to get around and they really are a must. We managed to find some of the pool bikes once or twice but they are hard to find. If you had access to a bike and/or an art car it would be so much better.

The weather wasn’t as challenging as I thought it would be. Yes, it’s hot during the day but not unbearable and it does get incredibly cold at night. You’ll be amazed at the darkness as there’s no lights anywhere. The playa dust gets everywhere. You can protect your eyes and nose with goggles and a mask but everything in your tent gets covered so you’re sleeping in layers of alkaline dust for a week. I’m sure if you sleep in a camper van it would be much more comfortable.

I’m so glad I’ve been to Burning Man and if I lived in the states it would definitely be one of my regular festivals as it’s a great place to go in a group. Great place to meet up and make new friends. But I would say it would be really hard work if there wasn’t a large group of you and getting to the site from the UK is not easy. Definitely one to try before you die though!

Good luck and let me know if you need more info