Waking up and not smelling the coffee — Burning Man is back
Deep in the Nevada desert, thousands of hedonistic festivalgoers have defied a punishing heatwave to celebrate the first official Burning Man since the pandemic.
The nine-day event, beloved of Silicon Valley executives, is the largest outdoor arts festival in North America and draws a huge crowd of ‘‘Burners’’ seeking out the weird and the wonderful. It all takes place in Black Rock City, a sprawling temporary settlement where temperatures were forecast to reach highs of 39C and strong winds have kicked up dust storms.
Tents, caravans and other temporary structures are packed tightly around the effigy of the eponymous Burning Man, and there is a makeshift airport for the use of wealthy Burners, who in the past have included Elon Musk.
As is usual for Burning Man, where ‘‘free love’’ is warmly embraced, the Orgy Dome has returned, an airconditioned space organisers describe as a place ‘‘where all couples and moresomes can escape the dust and heat’’.
Other art installations include Gaia, a giant sculpture of a naked woman lying on her side, which its creators say is ‘‘inspired by and in honour of nurturing energy . . . mother energy . . . love and connection, and the joy we feel when we act on the imperative to take care of each other and our planet’’.
One of the changes this year is that coffee is no longer on sale for ravers seeking a more subdued energy boost. Instead, what was formerly known as the Centre Camp Coffee Shop functions solely as a meeting place, with people invited to bring their own coffee or anything else they would like to trade with others.
The decision was influenced by the ‘‘leave no trace’’ doctrine and the environmental impact of coffee cups.
Lara Day, associate director of operations at the Burning Man Project, said: ‘‘Every great city should provide these spaces – and this IS that space – yet do cities provide the coffee itself? No, that’s offered by members of the community.’’