Farm Fresh September 2022: A report from Burning Man

Farm Fresh News - September 2022

In this issue:

Report from Burning Man
My Experience
Radical, but Is it revolutionary?
Market Day October 15

Dear Friends,

I’m not sure when I first heard about Burning Man, but as I said last month, there was a definite connection when MSNBC made the one-hour show A Different Drummer, featuring 30 minutes of Burning Man and 30 minutes about The Farm back in 2001. If you want to watch it I will include a link to it at the end.

Some years ago I reconnected with an old friend, a veteran Burner, and he has been inviting me to come to Burning Man for many years. With things opening up post-Covid, I took the plunge this year and went for two weeks, through the entire build-out and take-down. Below, are my impressions of this one-of-a-kind experience.

How does this almost virtual community in the desert, appearing like the legendary Brigadoon from the mist of dust, thrive with such exuberance in what is without question a very demanding environment, draw 70,000 people from all corners of the earth?

My son joins me at Black Rock City, the location of Burning Man

Burning Man states out front that it is not a festival. There are no paid performers, no venders selling t-shirts and merchandise, food or beverages. The only thing for sale is ice, a necessity to keep the multitudes of people functioning day after day in what can be relentless over 100° heat.

The nights are when the desert comes alive, as the explosion of eye candy is infused with light and color. Thousands of illuminated bicycles and even more thousands of illuminated people take to the streets to dance at Sound camps large and small scattered in every direction.

and from the inside

Most people gather in camps that offer some gift to the community at large. Several offered bike repair. There are costume boutiques, cabarets and burlesque, fire dancers, and bars, hundreds and hundreds of bars providing free drinks of all kinds.

Ours was a food camp cooking up fresh hot fried beignets based on a New Orleans recipe. Beignets are not exactly health food, but delicious comfort food for early morning Burners, many of whom have been up dancing all night. It was a role our camp organizer had been doing for years, both at Burning Man and at festivals across California.

Fresh, hot beignets!

He and I arrived early, almost 5 days before the event opened, helping to feed the artists, staff, and adjoining camps as they were coming in. Our first task on site was to set up some shade, assembling a series of pipes and stretching shade cloth across the sides and top.

Next, we assembled my Hexa-yurt, a common form of habitat and better than a tent, the one-inch foam core panels providing some insulation from the intense daytime sun and chilly night time temperatures.

The Hexa-yurt

Finally, after several days, the party started. With the city arranged in arched quadrants, it gave the feeling of extended Block parties that went on for miles. The main Esplanade had the bigger clubs and beyond that, the playa, the vast, flat lakebed that is host to the abundance of art that gives Burning Man its character and legitimacy.

Burning Man is definitely about releasing expectations and opening the door to new experience. It is a place of connection and possibility.

In researching the event on Facebook, I came across a wedding announcement for a young woman that I had known as part of The Farm's extended family years ago. I reached out and we agreed to meet. It was a warm connection and felt very special to feel our shared sense of community. I was quite surprised and honored when the next day she asked me to officiate at their wedding. I’ve held space for many circles including several funerals, but had never officiated a wedding. It took my experience at Burning Man to another magical level.

"We are here today to honor the beauty of heart connection, to witness the melding of two hearts. We are here as family, beyond the family of blood, but as the family we choose. The family that chooses us. Which is why at Burning Man we say, "We are Home. Welcome Home."

So let us bring our attention as participants in the sacrament of union, of unity, of community, as two become one."

The wedding reception took place on an "Art Car," the mobile art pieces that drive to and fro through the playa. The second-story hangout area had couches, a dance floor, and some great DJ's playing world-beat music. It was the perfect way to survey the entire scene of Burning Man.

The endurance factor, brought about by your immersion in dust and intense heat, positioned you in an ethereal head space in alignment with the 2022 theme, Waking Dreams. The effect is cushioned somewhat for those residing in dilapidated RVs to million-dollar motorhomes.

There were dust storms almost every day lasting as long as 5 hours, usually in the afternoon and then sometimes again during the night.

The 10 Principles of Burning Man

Another way Burning Man distinguishes itself from other festivals and gatherings is through The 10 Principles, used to define and shape the framework of expected behavior.

Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey wrote the 10 Principles in 2004 to serve as guidelines for the newly-formed Regional Network. The Burning Man organization does not sponsor and is not directly affiliated with the many smaller events across the country and around the world that want to model themselves after Burning Man. It has been hoped that through these defining principles, the flavor and attitude will remain authentic both at the smaller regional Burns and as the primary Burn in Nevada moves forward into the future.

The Principles “were crafted not as a dictate of how people should be and act, but as a reflection of the community’s ethos and culture as it had organically developed since the event’s inception.”

Radical Inclusion

“Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.”

Straight, gay, trans, polyamorous, furry, fairy, hippie, or however one might identify, you are free to be whoever you want to be. Okay, no surprise. I didn’t see any Trump flags.

What I did see and really liked was the diversity of countries and nationalities represented. The camp across from us were ex-pats from Russia, Ukraine, and eastern block countries. I found a Lithuanian camp. There is a French Quarter, with people from France serving French cheese and wine, with French DJs spinning French dance music. I met people from Argentina, New Zealand, Columbia SA, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and on and on.

Gifting

“Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.”

I found the way gifting is actually expressed to be very broad. Many people gift through their camps, offering services, entertainment, food and drink. It can also be as simple as a hug or assisting someone in need. One person I met provided a service of cleaning eyeglasses with a high-quality surgical cloth. It was a nice gift.

Decommodification

“In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.”

This is the reason that nothing is for sale. Everything is given freely and happily. In years past one way decommodification was expressed was by covering corporate names and logos on rental trucks and RVs. Not so much this year. But considering how inundated we usually are by advertising and commercialism, it was a refreshing attitude.

Radical Self-reliance

“Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise, and rely on their inner resources.”

This means bringing your own shelter, food and water, enough to last your entire stay, and some extra to share. Having your own bike for transportation. It is important to do your homework and to bring what you will need to survive the heat and dust.

Radical Self-expression

“Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.”

Burning Man has this in abundance, from the beautiful art to the creative costuming, or lack thereof. I saw more naked or almost naked bodies than you can imagine. It was interesting to observe that you quickly reached a place where nakedness became nothing out of the ordinary, no longer shocking or surprising, just beautiful to slightly amusing.

People took on personas and "Playa names" to serve as a reflection of their new identity. Mine was Farm Boy, a name that was a bit different from the more New Agey nicknames and people remembered me (and my beignets). It was fun to hear "Hey Farm Boy!" as I walked through the streets.

Communal Effort

“Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.”

Each camp was like an instant commune. Some had up to 200 people. Their collaborative effort formed the foundation of the gift economy that produced the aura that is the lifeblood of Burning Man.

Civic Responsibility

“We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state, and federal laws.”

Leaving No Trace

“Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.”

Once a camp has been disassembled, it is expected that the ground will be raked and thoroughly examined for any MOOP (material out of place), anything from bits of plastic to wrappers and twisty ties. BM Inspectors come behind to examine a camp’s space and anything left behind is noted and a sloppy exit could even result in them being denied space the next year. This is in part because the BLM (Federal Bureau of Land Management) demands that the environment remains as it was before BM arrived.

Participation

“Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart.”

Immediacy

“Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience.”

The Temple at sunrise. photo by my campmate Cheryl McHugh

One thing in particular that sets Burning Man apart from your ordinary festival is the presence of The Temple.

The Temple is a the name of the nondenominational place of reverence and remembrance. Anyone is welcome to place an offering in The Temple, typically a photo or montage of photos depicting a loved one, deceased friends and family members. Demonstrating the openness of what is considered acceptable, a number of people choose to honor and remember a pet that has touched their lives.

Some offerings were very small, others quite large, a couple of feet across. In addition, people are free to express themselves with written statements on the wooden walls anywhere they find space and are inspired.

People visit there throughout the day and night the entire week. In contrast to the raucous behavior exhibited elsewhere, everyone is respectful and quiet. Volunteers called Temple Guardians take shifts monitoring the space.

One of the members of our camp helped to build The Temple two weeks prior to my arrival, and then served additional shifts as a Temple Guardian throughout the week. At times he offered a hug to console someone in their grief. He was also there as a participant, with an offering that honored his late wife who had attended several Burns in the past, but left this earthly plane two years ago. It was his first time there without her and she was a strong presence on his mind and in his heart.

The Temple burns.

The temple burns on Sunday evening at the end of the week. In stark contrast to the cacophony of sound when the Man burns on Saturday night, all are silent as The Temple goes up in flames, sending with it the memories of broken hearts. In ways, in ways it symbolizes the end of the dream and a return to the "Default Life."

But how do I reconcile?

The name Black Rock City comes from the location, the Black Rock desert, an expansive flat lake bed, on Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land that the event uses through a lease. Burning Man got started there by a guy named Larry and some friends from California looking for a location so remote no one would bother them for their annual burning of a large wooden statue of a man that had developed into a regional gathering.

Which means there is no electrical power available. There is no water. There is no infrastructure. Nothing. Just a dry lake bed and several inches of dust.

All electric power that drives the multitude of sound systems, the dance of colored lights, and the hundreds, perhaps thousands of air conditioners, comes from gas and diesel generators. Hundreds and hundreds of them burning fossil fuels into the already overheated sky. How can I not wonder if I/we were the 21st century equivalent of Nero, this time dancing to a thumping bass as Rome burns?

My mind went to some solutions. Couldn’t you go solar? There’s so much sun!! Battery Banks on semi-trailers for neighborhoods. Start by supplying the power for the city infrastructure. Electric vehicles and golf carts. All streets and camps could have led lighting.

There is big money and brilliant minds attending this event. I would implore “management “ to be the leaders that you are called to be and take it to the next level. Go beyond extraordinary to revolutionary.

I was heartened a bit when I received a follow-up survey about my BM experience and it asked about my feelings about making sustainability a greater priority. It indicated that there is at least an awareness that the over-dependence on fossil fuels must be addressed.

Radical Transformation

Burning Man has the power to be a transformational experience through direct exposure to unbridled freedom. Its primarily demographic seemed to be people in their early 30s, a period of life with so much possibility ahead as they transition to full adulthood.

As the world becomes more rigid and tight, we need cracks in the façade through radical expression to energize the youth into breaking free from the commodification of society, a core principle of Burning Man. Something we old hippies can relate to.

https://thefarmcommunity.com/the-farm-and-burning-man-msnbc-2001/

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Peace,

Douglas

Douglas@thefarmcommunity.com