Burning Man is an annual week-long event held in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, centered around community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance. It is not a typical festival but a participatory cultural movement where tens of thousands of people, known as "Burners," come together to create Black Rock City, a temporary city built for the event
. The festival originated in 1986 on Baker Beach in San Francisco when founders Larry Harvey and Jerry James burned a large wooden effigy called "The Man." Since 1990, the event has been held in the Nevada desert, culminating in the symbolic burning of this large wooden figure on the Saturday night before Labor Day
. Burning Man is guided by ten core principles established by co-founder Larry Harvey in 2004, including radical inclusion, gifting (no money or commercial transactions), decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self- expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation, and immediacy
. Participants create all the art, performances, and activities themselves, including interactive sculptures, theme camps, workshops, and performances. The event emphasizes community cooperation, creativity, and environmental responsibility, with a strong ethic of leaving no physical trace after the event ends
. In summary, Burning Man is a unique cultural event that combines art, community-building, and radical self-expression, culminating in the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy, and is held annually in a temporary city in Nevada's desert
