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Annual experimental event in Nevada, US
Photo: Jennifer Morrow from San Francisco, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Black Rock City, Nevada is an ephemeral town that exists for only one week each year, during Burning Man, a radical arts festival. At its maximum occupancy, the town has about 60,000 citizens and a post office, an emergency services crew, a volunteer police department, roads, houses, bars, clubs, restaurants, and hundreds of art installations and participatory "theme camps". After a week, the city is completely disassembled – much of it burned – leaving the stark, white desert exactly as bare as it had been when the event started.
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Mathematical center of Black Rock City. First created in 1986 by Burning Man founder Larry Harvey, this is the central art piece and symbol of the Burning Man event: a 50-foot(15 meters)-tall anthropomorphic wooden statue with a triangle-shaped head, mounted on a pedestal or stand that changes with each year's theme. The Man is lit by neon at night, and due to its location can be seen from most of Black Rock City. Usually you can climb up onto the pedestal and get a good view of the rest of the City from there, but ask the Black Rock Rangers at the Man before climbing up. Despite its name, the Man is purposefully androgynous, or, rather, sexless.
Somewhat past the Man on the main road from Center Camp. Since 2001, artist David Best has created monumental structures on the Playa in the form of 3- or 4-story temples. Although the design, name, and nominal purpose changes each year, the Temple is usually dedicated to lost friends and relatives. The Temple is a beautiful and meditative place to spend a few minutes during the day or night.
Run by the Burning Man organization and staffed with volunteers, this large dusty cafe is one of the very few places in Black Rock City where money changes hands. Only specialty coffee drinks and tea drinks are available (no food). There are also musical performances at all times of day or night, as well as yoga classes and the like. You can meet veterans and newcomers alike in the Cafe.
Is generally open days only and has the only true glassware on the playa. Live music (no covers) improvised between house and guest musicians. Sometimes runs a candlelit supper club at night (reservations must be made in advance), and is said to have introduced the first live lobster tank to Burning Man. Lucifer is the proprietor.
also known as "Spanky's Bar"
Open 24 hours, more or less. A venerable establishment in BRC, HOTD is a large and spacious bar with a number of couches and tables for guests. Musical groups perform on the provided stage. Bar owner Spanky is friendly and knowledgeable.
Is a collaboration by home brewers from many other theme camps, producing ales, ginger beer, lavender mead, and other strange brews which they distribute around the city.
Hours vary; usually open in the afternoons or around dusk. Features a wide variety of cocktails, and occasionally Newt's delicious homebrew beers and wines. The Blue Light District is home to many of the oldest of the old-timers in the Burning Man community, and most of them hang out at Newt's at least part of the day. A great education can be had from any of your neighbors at this bar.
Rooms are gifted by raffle to denizens of BRC in nightly drawing. Tickets are given away from 8-10 by the concierge and the drawing is held at 10:30pm or thereabouts.
By bus
The Green Tortoise Bus Company runs a few bus tours from San Francisco to Black Rock City during the event; food, shelter, and transportation are all provided in the tour package.
By plane
Attendees from locations too far away for driving usually fly to Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) or San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and either rent cars or other vehicles there, or…
Once participants have arrived in Black Rock City, they are expected to leave their cars or other motor vehicles parked and travel around the city under their own power.
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Reno · International · RNO
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