Burning Man is an annual event held in the western United States that is focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance. The event takes place in Black Rock City, a temporary city erected in the Black Rock Desert in northwestern Nevada, about 100 miles (160 km) north-northeast of Reno. Here are some key facts about Burning Man:
- Burning Man is not a festival, but rather a community and global cultural movement guided by 10 practical principles.
- The name of the event comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred to as the Man, that occurs on the penultimate night of Burning Man, which is the Saturday evening before Labor Day.
- 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.
- Burning Man is a participatory event, meaning that almost everything that happens is created entirely by its citizens, who are active participants in the event.
- There is no corporate sponsorship, and the event is "decommodified," meaning that participants value who you are, not what you have.
- Burning Man is the sum total of the activities of its participants, and there are no spectators. Participants are expected to participate, collaborate, be inclusive, creative, connective, and clean up after themselves.
- The event is subject to change and does not have a single focus because of the variety of goals fostered by participatory attendees, known as "Burners".
Burning Man is a unique event that celebrates creativity, self-expression, and community, and it attracts tens of thousands of participants from around the world every year.
