Burning Man Festival: Where You Can Buy Acceptance

Published April 9, 2014
Updated December 20, 2017

Offering an escape from the confines of capitalist society for a cool $380, Burning Man proves that the market even provides for those who despise it.

Burning Man Festival

Source: The Atlantic

How much does freedom from judgment cost? To Burning Man Festival coordinators, just $380. The steep ticket price affords you a communal experience where expectations and conventional social norms are tossed out the window. Complete self-expression is encouraged, and so long as you pay up, you too can enjoy what life looks like from outside society.

Burning Man Winged Bus

Source: Ignite

Truck Sculpture At Burning Man Festival

Source: Snow Brains

The summer festival has become so popular that tickets for the 2014 event sold out in a mere 44 minutes, which speaks to the power of ideas. In the summer of 1986. Jerry James and Larry Harvey – along with a dozen of their close friends – went to Baker Beach, San Francisco to burn a wooden effigy they created and to celebrate the Solstice. It’s unlikely that they foresaw how such an intimate tradition would grow in the following 25 years, attracting tens of thousands of people a year.

Now held in Black Rock Desert, Nevada, people trek from around the world to take part in this unique and wild event, with a counter culture that in many ways harkens back to Woodstock and the heyday of the hippie.

Laser Lights

Source: The Atlantic

Dust Masks

Source: VitoFun

Lasting for eight days and culminating on the first Monday in September, Burning Man is an art exhibition as well as a study on community and radical self-expression. The festival’s main event is held on Saturday night, where ‘The Man’—the wooden effigy from which the festival receives its name—is burned.

Tower In Inferno

Source: Strangeline

Broad View Burning Man

Source: Blogspot

The costumes and clothing worn – or, more realistically, neglected – draws easy parallels to New Orleans Mardi Gras celebrations. Unlike Mardi Gras’ devotion to unbridled hedonism, though, Burning Man revolves around a set of principles that hopes to spring society ahead and people closer together.

The first among these principles is Radical Inclusion. Simply stated, anyone is welcome and accepted at Burning Man. You are who you are, and you belong. According to the festival’s motto, ”Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community”. The organizers simply ask that attendees “provide for their own basic needs and follow the guidelines stated in the annually updated event.”

Buried Head

Source: Ski Epic

Disco Dude

Source: The Atlantic

The attendees of the event are also strongly encouraged to adhere to the principle of gifting. People bring and give gifts to one another throughout the week. It is expected to be the source of economy throughout. Vendors are not allowed, nor are cash transactions for goods or services between attendees. There are a few exceptions and contradictions between the festival’s communitarian ethos and its entrance requirements (namely: “belongingness” is a commodity for which you pay to experience), but the overall goal is to construct a peaceful, non-materialistic adventure.

author
Erin Kelly
author
An All That's Interesting writer since 2013, Erin Kelly focuses on historic places, natural wonders, environmental issues, and the world of science. Her work has also been featured in Smithsonian and she's designed several book covers in her career as a graphic artist.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.