Until quite recently I have not kept up with “Burning Man” hoopla. Burning Man could have been a generic in competition with Preparation H or the sequel to “Wicker Man” for all I knew. But once the Bureau of Land Management demanded it build VIP boxes in the middle of Black Rock Desert, it was time to start paying attention.
Burning Man is a week–long bacchanal that began in 1986 on a San Francisco beach when a derelict fell into a fire pit. Now it’s moved to Nevada and climaxes with the burning of a 40–foot tall wooden effigy.
Getting a head count from the initial festival is impossible, but we do know 63,613 attended last year. Attending in 2015 will cost $390 for the ticket and according to Australia’s Herald Sun it “entitles you to almost nothing. In fact, the fine print states you voluntarily assume the risk of property loss, serious injury or death.”
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