66 JULY 2019
COMMUNAL
Communal effort makes this festival run. If everyone brings a little
something; something that they are good at, or passionate about, then the
idea is that everyone’s needs will be met. A girl from our camp described her
experience to me, “One night, around 4 a.m. I was chilling back at camp,
hanging around the fire. A girl walks up to us and asks if this is Black Rock
Yacht Club? She had found a backpack in a porta-potty on the complete
opposite side of the playa, 3 miles away. She had found a name and address
and decided to make the trek to return it to its owner, who happened to be
sleeping on the couch beside me. The woman was humble, happy to help out,
but asked if we had any lollipops, as some people at her camp were craving
them. I just so happened to have purchased 200 lollipops to gift to the event
and so sent her on her way with about 150 of them. This kind of thing is
probably where the term “the playa provides” comes from.”
You can come with practically nothing (except water, this is essential) and
still have the time of your life, and be pretty damn comfortable while you are
at it. You can also come too prepared. I brought a ton of food to Burning
Man. Little did I know I was going to leave with a lot of food as well. I got
there and the first thing I did was make myself a drink. Next thing you know,
I am on my bike riding around just in awe. You get sucked into just riding
and riding until you can’t ride anymore. And then you ride some more. Then
you start talking to someone who has some food, they offer it to you and
then you move on to the next camp. Start talking to someone else and they
give you a drink, you move on, your bike breaks, you start to panic, but low
and behold right there is a bike repair camp set up to fix your bike for free.
What a place!NIGHT RIDER
I remember riding across the playa the last night I was there. There were so
many people, so many lights, so much activity going on. I kept riding, trying
to take it all in with every pedal. As I came out of the lights, it opened up into
the full on playa. Art cars driving around like ants. People walking, biking,
laughing, enjoying the moment. I felt like I was in outer space. It was all too
surreal to take in, a brain overload. Awesome, yet indescribable.
When I went to leave Burning Man, I left thinking, well that was fun, but
I didn’t have that magical life changing experience that you often hear about.
Did I have one of the most wild, crazy, eye opening experiences of my life?
Definitely! Would I go back? When I first left Black Rock City, I said never
again. Four hours of driving to the airport to take a plane home, I started to
think well, maybe I could go back next year. A few months later and I still
can’t stop thinking about it. I hear some EDM music and my heart starts
beating faster. I guess I am going to have to go back!“COMMUNAL EFFORT MAKES
THIS FESTIVAL RUN.”
BURNING MAN
Kevin hanging out with a brew!
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