Still hoping for a Burning Man ticket, despite the sold-out sale of a few weeks ago?  The BM organization has just begun STEP (Secure Ticket Exchange Program) for re-sale of tickets to those who decide they can’t or won’t go.  The information below comes directly from Jack Rabbit Speaks.  I realize that some of you may have already read this material, but I know that a lot of newbies don’t subscribe to JRS, so I’m re-publishing this article in whole:

“STEP is the secure, safe, hassle-free way for Burners to sell their extra tickets, and for eager Burners to buy them. Here’s how it works:

To buy a ticket through STEP:
1. If you want to purchase a ticket through STEP, log in to your Burner Profile (http://profiles.burningman.com) and sign up to join the STEP queue, starting February 28, 2013 at 12pm (noon) PST. Anyone who has not already purchased a ticket through one of our other sales can sign up to purchase a ticket through STEP.  NOTE: If you do not yet have a Burner Profile sign up before Thursday (http://profiles.burningman.com) – having a profile ahead of time will speed up the registration process and ensure you are as close to the front of the STEP line as possible.

Giant statue made of steel cables. It was as big, or bigger, than it looks.

2. When a ticket becomes available, the first person in the STEP queue is offered that ticket (at face value, plus usual service fees and a $4 per ticket STEP fee) via email. If that person decides to purchase the ticket offered to them, the sale is made. If they decline to purchase the ticket, it’s then offered to the next person in line … and so on.

To sell a ticket through STEP:
1. Burners who have an extra ticket to sell can go to their Burner Profile (http://profiles.burningman.com) to put it into the STEP system (so long as it is before tickets have shipped or you selected WIll Call for your order).

2. Once your ticket has sold, your credit card will be credited for the price of the ticket plus delivery fee.

Since STEP offers tickets for sale to the people waiting in the queue, you can’t specify who is offered your ticket. Additionally, signing up for the STEP queue doesn’t guarantee you’ll be able to purchase a ticket … nor does offering your ticket guarantee it will sell. We’ll stop accepting STEP sign ups on July 31, 2013.

For more information about STEP, see the STEP section of our Frequently Asked Questions: http://tickets2.burningman.com/faq.php#step”

Good luck to all of you who want tickets but failed to get them during the big sale.  And keep in mind that history tells us more tickets will become available as we approach the festival and people realize that they can’t make it.  Besides tickets available through STEP, there will be those that show up on Craigslist.  Don’t give up; there are usually enough tickets for everyone who wants to go to Burning Man 2013.

So how did your ticket buying experience go this year?  For me, it was a combination of frustration and irony.  The good news, we got our tickets.  The bad news, I spent more than three hours online trying to complete the process – despite getting in the queue just a few minutes after the noon start time.  At one point, I even received a message that there were no more tickets available.  Fortunately, I didn’t give up based on that message, and, indeed, after less than 30 more minutes of waiting, the sales portal opened up and I was given the privilege of spending the better part of $1,000 to attend yet another Burn.

And now for the irony.  On my way home from work, I called one of my sons to make sure he remembered to get his tickets.  He had forgotten, but said he’d get right on it.  I feared for his sanity, much less his ability to actually obtain a ticket.  But 10 minutes later he called me back to say, “Dad, I got my tickets.”

Lashes (center), son Eric and his girlfriend Natalie soaking in the playa ambience.

The lesson may be, let the system work out its kinks with the early adopters and just wait until the dust has cleared to go after your tickets.  Or maybe not.  A number of Burner friends have posted on Facebook that they were unable to get their tickets and would have to wait for one or another re-sale opportunity.  And of course there’s the usual posting about some idiot trying to sell a Burning Man ticket for $10,000 on ebay.

The greatest wisdom I can offer for those who failed to get a ticket or forgot to register is to wait patiently for tickets to become available through Burning Man’s own ticket re-sale program (STEP), or via Craigslist.  I’m pretty down on ebay because people seem to use that venue to inflate ticket prices.

The risky part of purchasing tickets from non-Burning Man sources is the possibility of getting a counterfeit ticket.  That’s why your best source of tickets is either Burning Man itself or a person you know and trust.

I’d love to hear your anecdotes about this year’s ticket purchase process.

Note: Thanks to my friend and Lamplighter colleague Hey You of Houston for the idea of this post.  Suggestions for topics are always welcome and sincerely appreciated.

Some of you in the 50 and over age group may be considering attending Burning Man as a return to your halcyon days as a hippie or as a way to rekindle your rebellious youth.  If so, then sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll may be on your mind as you envision your Burning Man experience.  Here are a few thoughts about drugs on the playa.

There’s a known availability of recreational drugs at the Burn.  It’s just part of the ambience, and considered by many to be a good thing.  But there are some risks to keep in mind.  First, illegal drugs are illegal on the playa.  This is not a Burning Man rule, it’s federal and Nevada law.  The state has no medical marijuana protection, so a license is of no use, and cops from federal, state and county jurisdictions can and will arrest people for drug possession.  Be cautious.  Your vehicle is subject to inspection as you enter the Festival grounds, and you don’t want to start your Burn with a free ride to Reno for booking.

Most drug arrests are reversed or avoided with the help of volunteer attorneys who gift us with free services on and off the playa.  Also, there is an especially trained group of Black Rock Rangers (called LEAL — Law Enforcement Agency Liaison) whose job is to intercede with law enforcement on the playa on behalf of us Burners.  Also, many of the officers who patrol the playa are volunteers who consider themselves part of the Burner community and who take a fairly lenient view of innocuous drug use.

Why is this woman smiling?

But there’s another risk that is especially important for us older Burners who may not have imbibed in years.  Marijuana in particular is a much stronger substance than was generally available back in my youth.  You can get knocked on your can with the same dose that once provided a mild high.  If you haven’t been doing marijuana regularly but plan to try it on the playa, take into account the higher quality of today’s pot and go a little easy at first.  Of course, there are other drugs on the playa that can be even higher risk than marijuana.  Be aware of what you’re doing, and don’t allow yourself to get caught on the open playa in a state of drugged confusion.  Someone will always help you find your way to a medical tent, but in the meantime you could suffer from exposure or genuine panic before you are rescued.

Also, you’re likely to be “gifted” drugs by people on the playa.  If you don’t know the individual, you could be accepting something other than what they claim it to be.  Take care.

I’ve often heard stories about people being “dosed” with LSD or other drugs when they accept gifted drinks or food.  I’ve never had it happen to me, or seen it happen, so I tend to think of these stories as more legend than reality.  But it’s helpful to keep your judgment radar on even as you’re turning all of your inhibitions off while at Burning Man.

Use the comments section below to share your own experiences, or send me a PM (amarkow@gmail.com) if you have suggested input on this or related issues for a future post.

Tickets go on sale at noon on the 13^th.  It’s first come, first served, so get in line early and secure your passage to Burning Man 2013.

On the South Pacific island of Vanuatu, there is an annual parade honoring an imaginary man-god named John Frum.  Frum is pictured as a black U.S. Marine who brings the bounty of “cargo” to the islanders.  Like so many religious traditions, this one can be traced back to actual events; specifically, the presence of hundreds of thousands of allied soldiers on the island during World War II.  Along with these U.S. warriors came regular deliveries of cargo, mainly by air.  Hence, the fervor of the Vanuatu natives has become known as a “Cargo Cult.”

For reasons that remain a mystery to all but Larry Harvey and his inner circle (Harvey is one of the founders and the current leader of Burning Man), Cargo Cult is this year’s Festival theme.  The Vanuatu traditions around John Frum are as colorful and, in many ways, as whimsical as Burning Man itself.  The natives dress up as American military men (think of the Seabees from South Pacific), raise their best version of a U.S. flag, and don gear such as wooden air traffic controller headphones to make themselves look like the proper recipients of new cargo.  Hence, Burning Man’s costumes and art cars, parades of various sorts, rituals and spirituality fit well within the context of Vanuatu’s Cargo Cult.  Like World War II Vanuatu, we even have an airstrip and paratroopers overhead.  And, of course, we all bring tons of “cargo” with us to Black Rock City – including our food and water.

Searching for spiritual answers inside the 2012 temple

So what does all this have to do with the way we will celebrate Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert in 2013?  Essentially, very little.  The announcement of the annual theme for Burning Man, while awaited with great anticipation each year, has only a minimal effect on the event itself.  Certainly there will be art projects around the theme as well as costuming and possibly even a special event or two (I can imagine groups worshiping at a fake Vanuatu volcano – known as Yasur, or God).  But overall, Burning Man will be about the same as always as opposed to a distinctively John Frumian-tinged event.

So what’s the purpose of the theme?  I’ve never been really sure about the answer, but I know how my wife and I treat it.  For us, the theme is a unifying direction for our gifts and costumes, and for the flag we make to hang from our RV.  Others may take it as a mindset orientation for the entire week.  The point is, everything about Burning Man is highly individualistic; so whether you do something involving the theme or pay no attention to it really doesn’t matter all that much.  But if you happen to find ways to enjoy the theme and celebrate it with the typical whimsy that marks so much of Burning Man, then you’ll become part of the celebration of the Cargo Cult that is honored every February 15^th by the islanders of Vanuatu.

Here’s to John Frum, his eventual return to the South Pacific, and bounty for Vanuatu and its people.

Ticket sale pre-registration has begun.  Click here to fill out a Burner Profile and pre-register.

We’re almost at ticket sale time for the Burn, and I wanted to encourage all of you who are even the least bit interested in going this year to pre-register for your tickets.  Below is information lifted directly from the Jack Rabbit Speaks email newsletter that is sent out irregularly from Burning Man Headquarters.  This article details the steps required if you want to purchase tickets.  Let me reiterate that there is no lottery this year.  Tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis, and priced uniformly at $380 per person.

Review the info below and mark your calendars with these important dates.  I want to again encourage everyone in our 50 and over group to come to Burning Man this year to experience a unique slice of Americana and a week that will make you feel young, vital and excited.

PRE-REGISTER FOR THE BURNING MAN 2013 INDIVIDUAL TICKET SALE

To access the first-come first-served Individual Ticket Sale on February 13, you MUST pre-register between Wednesday, February 6th (at noon PST) and Sunday, February 10th (at noon PST).

To pre-register, go to http://profiles.burningman.com and follow the instructions.

Within 36 hours, you will receive a confirmation email containing a link to access the sale and your verification Passcode.

To access the ticket sale on Wednesday, February 13th (starting at noon PST), click the link in your confirmation email OR go tohttp://tickets.burningman.com and enter your verification Passcode.

Full information about Burning Man ticketing can be found on our ticket page (http://tickets.burningman.com). If you have further questions about Burning Man ticketing, please see our FAQ (http://tickets2.burningman.com/faq.php) or visit our interactive online support forums (https://ticketsupport.burningman.com/forums).

Burner Art from 2013

The Burnal Equinox

One way to ease yourself into Burning Man is to attend one of the multitude of alternative events occurring at locations around the world.  The upcoming Burnal Equinox (the mid-point between Burns) is celebrated in locations around the world.  The current JRS details the celebration to be held March 2 in San Francisco.

Burning Man events such as the one described below, as well as de-compressions and pre-Burning Man parties are normally one-day affairs held in locations more accessible and less harsh than the Black Rock Desert.  They give you a sense of Burning Man through art, gifting, costumes and the whimsical, loving spirit that is the hallmark of the Festival.  They’re also usually inexpensive.

Here’s more about the Burnal Equinox from the current JRS:

BURNAL EQUINOX – SAN FRANCISCO, CA – MARCH 2

The Burnal Equinox marks the midway point between Burns, and offers an opportunity to celebrate together in the spirit of Burning Man. And so we shall, on March 2nd at Public Works in San Francisco. We’ll have more information to come, but in the meantime, here’s the Burnal Equinox 2013 event page on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/events/386259321470536/

AND a sharable version of the poster:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=483108308412197

A Final Note

So if you’re looking for a taste of Burning Man or an opportunity to experience the event without committing to a full week in the desert, make your way to San Francisco on March 2nd and celebrate the Burnal Equinox.  Or search the web for a local Burnal Equinox celebration in your vicinity.

Next post:  this year’s theme.

Critical dates for ticket purchases to Burning Man 2013 are around the corner.  Since it’s my hope that each 50 and over person who reads this blog will go at least once to Burning Man, I want to be sure you have the dates and required steps in front of you as we approach the first-come, first-served opportunities to get in the gate.

Step one is already available to you:  fill out the Burning Man profile.  You can do so by going to http://profiles.burningman.com/.

Judie having fun on the Playa. Can’t wait for Burning Man 2013.

Here’s more about the profile from my official Burning Man sources:

“Initially, the Burner Profile will be used as part of the pre-registration
process for ticket sales to Burning Man 2013. To create your profile and pre-register for access to ticket sales, the only information you’re
*required* to provide is your first name, last name, email address, mailing address and birthdate. That’s it … the same info required whenever you buy Burning Man tickets.

“Eventually we’ll be expanding the use of this new platform to offer
additional features. So, the more information you put into your profile,
the more value you’ll get out of it. Those of you involved with creating
(and registering) projects for Burning Man are quite familiar with the
wealth of information we collect year after year in order to process your registrations, and we want to make that whole process easier for YOU and for US by leveraging information stored in your Burner Profile.

“And in the glorious vision of our future, we believe Burner Profiles will help facilitate communications around on-playa and off-playa volunteer activities, give us the ability to provide targeted communications that are pertinent to you, and offer single-sign on account management to access all of the Burning Man information systems that you work with.”

Some people have expressed alarm at Burning Man’s attempt to collect data about its attendees.  I’m completely sanguine about this – I provide far more data to retailers such as Amazon who have no personal interest in me other than money, because I’ve found it makes my shopping experience better, quicker and even more rewarding.  Since Burning Man sells only tickets, it doesn’t seem likely that the organization would use the profiles for nefarious purposes. However, it will definitely help them understand the appeal of the Festival to different audiences and make adjustments as necessary to broaden (or narrow) that appeal.  Burning Man states that it will not share this information or use it for purposes outside of ticket sales and Festival planning.

If you have more questions about Burner Profiles, please check in at the FAQ on this topic, http://profiles.burningman.com/faq/.

Moving on to the next critical dates for ticket sales – pre-registration.  You must pre-register in order to be eligible to purchase a ticket online.  Pre-registration will begin at noon on Wednesday, February 6 and end at noon on Sunday, February 10.  Ticket sales will begin at noon on Wednesday, February 13 and end when the 40,000 available tickets are sold.  As noted in an earlier post, all tickets will be sold for $380 per person.

Detailed information about ticketing is available at http://tickets.burningman.com/.  This site will also provide a link to the pre-registration page when it becomes available next month.

I’ve marked all these dates on my online calendar so I can be johnny-on-the-spot when it comes time to register and buy my tickets.  I hope you’ll do the same.

See you on the Playa.

I talk frequently with people around my age (I’m approaching 70 at a rather alarming rate) about going to Burning Man, and they often say things like “I have always intended to go, and maybe this year will be the year.”  But it’s rare that any of those people actually make the trek to the Playa in late August.  To me, that’s kind of like saying how sorry you were that you never made it to Woodstock back in 1969.

The Burning Man Festival is a unique event, and even though it’s not a one-time occurrence such as Woodstock, it is equally iconic. Because it’s repeated yearly, there are annual opportunities to make up for lost time by choosing to go to Burning Man.

Entering Center Camp, 2010

Burning Man’s nature as a continuing and evolving event means that each year provides its own set of individual experiences; but you only have to go once to “get” it.  There’s no need to commit to being a “Burner for Life” as one of our gifted scarves says.  You don’t even have to go for the entire seven days (although I highly recommend it).  A substantial percentage of attendees are newbies who arrive for just the final three or four days and may not return for years, if at all.  However you choose to go – in common parlance —  “it’s all good.”

But there’s no other way to experience what I like to call “the world turned on its head” for one full week in the desert; to come face-to-face with a level of diversity that you’re unlikely to find in your everyday life; and to let go of society’s preconceptions about race, gender and sexuality, except by going.

Will you be changed forever by attending?  Possibly.  Probably.  But you won’t be changed in the least by saying you want to go without following through.

So call it a bucket list item, something needed to complete your set of human experiences, or an opportunity you simply don’t want to miss.  Or consider it a way to make up for skipping Woodstock, or another big event you regret missing.  On the other hand, if you went to Woodstock or one of its lesser offspring and are seeking a repeat performance (albeit a different kind of encounter), then Burning Man is a festival you won’t want to skip.

So just take yourself seriously about your desire to go to Burning Man.  Tickets will be on sale soon (see my last post).  Calendar in the date; register to buy your tickets; and I’ll see you on the Playa.

The Burning Man organization has announced yet another ticketing scheme for 2013, which in my view is a good thing because last year’s lottery system was somewhere between highly problematical and disastrous.  How much worse could things get?  The downside of the new approach is cost – many of us who had previously scored lower priced tickets will have to spend more.  For me personally, the new system will cost $90 more per ticket this year than last.

That’s because BM headquarters in San Francisco has decided that there will be one price for all tickets under almost all circumstances.  The only exception is 4,000 low-income tickets at $190.  (Registration for low-income tickets is on right now.  See the ticketing link below for more information). The fixed price for all other tickets is $380.  This one-price-fits-all system has the virtue of equality. Early purchasers used to receive a discount based on the timing of their purchase.  When combined with last year’s lottery, the result of tiered pricing was a plethora of sales to people who, in the end, didn’t go to the Burn.

One effect of the lottery was to squeeze out many of the mainstay Burners who play important roles in making the event what it is.  Although most of them were able to get tickets later on as hoarded tickets were re-sold via the official Burning Man program (called STEP), on Craigslist or eBay, or just via word-of-mouth, many tickets actually went to waste.  In fact, there was a glut of Burning Man tickets on the market by the time the festival occurred – many of which couldn’t even be given away.

To help ensure that core attendees can make it in 2013, according to the Jack Rabbit Speaks (the official Burning Man e-zine), a tier of 10,000 tickets will be sold via direct distribution to some of the major camps that are foundational to Burning Man.  Unfortunately, I’ve also received a conflicting report from the Greeters that this direct distribution will NOT take place – so I’m not totally certain what will happen there. I also don’t know which groups would be included in the direct distribution should it occur.  For most of us, tickets will become available for purchase beginning February 13, with required pre-registration set to begin Wednesday, February 6 at noon and end Sunday, February 10 at noon.

By holding to a single price but selling tickets without using a lottery system, Burning Man hopes it has created a fairer and more equitable system, albeit a more expensive one for some of us.  How it all works out is something we’ll soon find out.

Here’s the URL for ticket information and for pre-registration once it begins:  http://tickets.burningman.com.  Other handy ticket info is as follows:

Ticketing FAQ (http://tickets2.burningman.com/faq.php) and new online ticketing forum (http://ticketsupport.burningman.com/).

Here’s hoping we all get the tickets we want and can afford, and that everyone makes it to the Playa this August 26 thru September 2.

Nearly 60,000 tickets will be sold to the 2013 Burning Man Festival, and as large a community as that represents, it’s still a tiny minority of the planet’s population.  The fact is, most people will never choose to spend a hot, dusty week in Black Rock City.  And, for many of them, it’s the right option.

The desert is a harsh environment.  For people with breathing problems, the dust alone is reason enough to think twice about attending.  Even a clear day in the Black Rock Desert is filled with minute dust particles. (Actually, the “dust” is made up of highly alkaline gypsum chips).  You can see them in many flash photographs taken on what otherwise appears to be a clear night (see the example below).  On top of the dust problem, there’s also the altitude.  The Black Rock Desert is about 4,000 feet above sea level, which could exacerbate breathing problems if you’re not accustomed to the somewhat rarefied air.

Flash photo shows dust in the air on an otherwise clear night.

There are people with asthma who attend Burning Man, but it’s perfectly understandable why some asthma sufferers might choose to avoid it.  While the Burning Man website indicates that, with adequate preparation, asthmatics can do fine at the festival, it also advises:

“…if you have a history of complications with asthma, especially if they have resulted in hospitalization and/or intubation, please talk to your doctor before deciding to come to the playa.”

Breathing difficulties is one of the most common ailments requiring treatment at Burning Man’s medical facilities.  That’s what makes gear like dust masks so critical to your comfort.

Another common medical problem on the playa is eye irritation.  The best preventative is a good pair of goggles; but if you suffer from persistently dry eyes, you’ll want to bring plenty of eye lubricants or artificial tears. The medical facilities are kept busy irrigating dry and irritated eyes throughout the week.

There’s also the weather itself and its potential to affect your health.  A couple of years ago, the air turned quite chilly.  A person in the camp next to us didn’t have adequate warm clothing and suffered a serious case of hypothermia.  The obvious solution is to pack the right clothes – always keeping in mind that nights can be quite cold on the playa while days are usually very hot.

Far and away, the highest percentage of medical problems treated at Burning Man are minor cuts and scrapes – nothing that might not happen to you away from the playa.  But the desert has its own unique physical challenges.  Preparation is the critical ingredient for withstanding the vagaries of the Black Rock Desert and assuring yourself a great Burn.

You often hear Burning Man described as a “Hippie” event, with its implication of 1960s political activism, scruffy appearances, drugs and rock and roll.  To one degree or another, this entire list of descriptors is at least somewhat true about Burning Man, but it’s neither universally true nor what it appears to be.  Burning Man is not Woodstock, or any other music festival.  It’s primarily a community, and its main raison d’etre is art, not music.

As far as politics go, there’s very little true political activism at Burning Man, and there are Burners of all political persuasions.  Many Burners are classic American rugged individualists who have their own businesses, believe in capitalism, tend toward conservatism and hold deep convictions about Second Amendment gun rights.  But it’s hard to tell about anyone’s political persuasion out on the Playa.  Sure, there are pieces of art with political points of view, but there’s little – if any – of the kind of polarized political discourse that marks the climate found in the default (non Burning Man) world.

Lashes (aka Judie) setting up our campsite on Day One

There is no more welcoming environment I’ve ever found than that of Burning Man, and it simply doesn’t matter what your persuasions may be – political, sexual, aesthetic or otherwise.  But that doesn’t make the festival a hippie event.  Sure, we’re all scruffy out there (who wouldn’t be after seven days in Black Rock City’s dusty desert environment), and there are unquestionably people who imbibe in drugs and drinking on the Playa.  At the same time, there are families with small children at Burning Man, and they care about their kids the way anyone else would.

If there is a political persuasion at the Burn, it’s probably libertarianism – a kind of live and let live attitude toward personal choice.  Of course, as with all communities, we have an effect on each other.  When some people choose to go naked, the rest of us see that.  So the warning I always give people is to be prepared for the unusual and for some aspects of day-to-day living that would be extraordinary if not illegal in the default world.  If you are easily offended, you’ll probably get offended at one point or another while at Burning Man.  But if you’re a conservative, liberal or anything in-between, you’ll be relieved to find yourself in a true “no-spin zone” where political discussion is rare and we all love each othe for our humanity and do so unconditionally.

So please don’t call us hippies.  Just come to Burning Man and be whoever you are, or whoever you want to be.