Burning Man

Burning Man is a week-long large-scale desert event focused on "community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance" held annually in the <a href="/facts/Western_United_States/uY9UGAus">Western United States</a>. The event's name comes from its ceremony on the <a href="/facts/Penultimate/D8Rrg77h">penultimate</a> night of the event: the symbolic burning of a large wooden <a href="/facts/Effigy/LNHFTn6J">effigy</a>, referred to as the Man, the Saturday evening before <a href="/facts/Labor_Day/v6JM0F4o">Labor Day</a>. Since 1990, the event has been at Black Rock City in northwestern <a href="/facts/Nevada/HNWhCrQv">Nevada</a>, a temporary city erected in the <a href="/facts/Black_Rock_Desert/FQ6YxEba">Black Rock Desert</a> about 100 miles (160 km) north-northeast of <a href="/facts/Reno%2c_Nevada/Vvwy80oF">Reno</a>. According to Burning Man co-founder <a href="/facts/Larry_Harvey/au0cjYUt">Larry Harvey</a> in 2004, the event is guided by ten stated principles: radical inclusion, <a href="/facts/Gift_Economy/lFp9Y2GU">gifting</a>, <a href="/facts/Decommodification/wlVwdEww">decommodification</a>, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, <a href="/facts/Civic_engagement/QwJgdYoM">civic responsibility</a>, <a href="/facts/Leave_no_trace/ramv68JP">leaving no trace</a>, participation, and immediacy.
Burning Man features no headliners or scheduled performers; participants create all the art, activities, and events. Artwork includes experimental and interactive sculptures, buildings, performances, and <a href="/facts/Art_car/wd40qLMg">art cars</a>, among other media. These contributions are inspired by a theme chosen annually by the <a href="/facts/Burning_Man_Project/r5VLFJWp">Burning Man Project</a>. While originally celebrated as a gathering for <a href="/facts/Bohemianism/A1KqQTxA">bohemians</a> and nonconformists, the event has attracted <a href="/facts/Celebrity/SALdkGV6">celebrities</a>, tech entrepreneurs, and <a href="/facts/Influencer/LDKWohN1">influencers</a> in recent years; it has evolved into a cultural destination for the <a href="/facts/Silicon_Valley/gdot9J7e">Silicon Valley</a> elite.

Burning Man originated on June 22, 1986, on <a href="/facts/Baker_Beach/9l3wPSdp">Baker Beach</a> in San Francisco as a small function organized by Larry Harvey and Jerry James, the builders of the first Man. It has since been held annually, spanning the nine days leading up to and including <a href="/facts/Labor_Day/v6JM0F4o">Labor Day</a>. Over the event's history, attendance has generally increased. In 2019, 78,850 people participated.
Burning Man is organized by the Burning Man Project, a nonprofit organization that, in 2013, succeeded Black Rock City LLC, a for-profit <a href="/facts/Limited_liability_company/tbII1F14">limited liability company</a>. Black Rock City LLC was formed in 1999 to represent the event's organizers and is now considered a subsidiary of the nonprofit organization. The Burning Man Project endorses multiple smaller regional events guided by the Burning Man principles in the United States and internationally. The film <a href="/facts/Stalker_(1979_film)/3gfpFz3S">Stalker</a> by <a href="/facts/Andrei_Tarkovsky/6mYbxPeq">Tarkovsky</a> heavily influenced the <a href="/facts/Cacophony_Society/qo5tCoGd">Cacophony Society</a>, which began in 1986 in the <a href="/facts/San_Francisco_Bay_Area/MG53NJ36">San Francisco Bay Area</a> and which organized "Zone Trips" for participants. The first burning of a wooden, symbolic man at <a href="/facts/Black_Rock_Desert/FQ6YxEba">Black Rock Desert</a>, Nevada, occurred on "Zone Trip Number 4" in 1990, laying the foundation for what would become the modern Burning Man.

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Burning Man