(Below is a story I wrote for a local newspaper on Burning Man 2012.  Hope you enjoy it. — Alan Markow)

This was the year when it all supposedly went wrong for Burning Man – the annual art festival in northern Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.  Ticketing snafus meant many long-time core burners wouldn’t be coming.  An increase of an additional 10,000 people meant potentially crowded conditions.  And the lack of rain this past winter plus the prediction of high winds threatened continual dust storms, white out conditions and a playa surface that would be tough to negotiate for bikers and walkers alike.

Then came the Burn itself, and everything went right.  There turned out to be a plethora of available tickets priced at face value or below allowing veterans to attend and work their magic.  Black Rock City (Burning Man’s evanescent home town) absorbed the extra numbers without a whimper.  The weather was largely ideal with only a single major dust storm, and the playa surface was mostly flat and firm.

This year’s festival was, in fact, a creative tour de force that featured more and more elaborate art cars than ever roaming the desert and a radical increase in art on the playa because of the Circle of Regional Effigies (CORE) program that brought local Burning Man groups together to create 35 new art installations placed around the Man.  The Sacramento region designed, built and moved to the playa its own CORE project called Arboria – a double decker tree house that was constructed in a volunteer’s backyard.

The 2012 Temple was a particularly evocative structure.  Sitting inside this spiritual, if not religious, artwork you felt a sense of calm reflectiveness.  Burners contributed to the setting by reading poems, singing songs or playing instruments.  Memories marked the Temple in the form of notes written directly on the structure, memorials posted on walls or the simple tears of those inside.

Night at the Temple

Another remarkable art installation was called The Pier, and featured a lengthy boardwalk leading directly to a shipwreck that appeared to be sinking into the playa.

The week passed with remarkable speed and before we knew it the time for the man to burn was upon us.  Saturday night, September 1, nearly all of the 60,000 attendees gathered around the effigy to begin the celebration that – at least to some – represents letting go of bad feelings, old habits or just inhibitions.

The “Octopus” art car in action on Burn night.

Surrounded by a core of drummers and fire spinners, a mass of attendees on foot, and a ring of brightly lit art cars, the Man burned in a celebration of music, dance and revelry.  I watched from atop a staff vehicle perched next to a flaming octopus, a rooster whose beak opened to reveal fire and a bus-disco churning out the relentless beat of electronica music.

Fire from a central cauldron is brought out to the statue in a ritual led by Lamplighters – a group responsible for lighting the city every night with more than 800 kerosene lanterns.  The burn itself begins with fireworks – first directly from the effigy’s arms and legs, then from canisters all around the Man.  The figure soon catches fire and begins to burn in earnest.  A propane bomb goes off inside the structure that sits below the man and all is aflame, eventually burning to the desert surface.

Later that night, one of the major art installations – Burn Wall Street – was set aflame as well.  And the next night was the far more somber Temple burn.

It was a remarkable year for Burning Man despite a spate of problems and potential problems.  Someone must have been looking down at the desert and wishing us all a great Burn.

I’d never worked on an art project for Burning Man until this past weekend when Judie and I helped in the construction of the Sacramento core project.  The 35 selected core projects will go around the man this year and were chosen from among a multitude of regional proposals from all over the world.

Our project — called “Aboria” — is a wooden “tree house” that sits under a canopy of leaves.  It’s a remarkable bit of engineering by some truly talented volunteers.  We were mere “grunt” workers, mainly painting and drilling.  But Judie and I got to try our hands at creating cut-outs of designs on wooden boards with a jigsaw.  It was my first time with a jigsaw, so that was a new adventure for me.

Aboria under construction in Sacramento

The best part of the day was simply knowing that we’d had a hand in the construction of this amazing project, which will be seen by thousands of people this year on the playa (and burned on Thursday night along with the other regional projects).  But it also reminded me of how integral to Burning Man’s success is the concept of contributing to the community.  Being even a minor part of the Sacramento core project has made me feel more involved in the burn.  I’m now more excited than ever about getting back to the playa this year so I can see our finished project in all its glory.

There are myriad opportunities to make contributions to Black Rock City and the Burning Man community.  Every theme camp adds to the mix, so whatever work you do for your theme camp is contributing to the city.  Many of us bring gifts that we like to share with others on the playa.  Every attendee adds to the richness and diversity of the Burning Man population by their presence.

You don’t have to take on immense responsibilities to contribute – just help out a little here or there.  Volunteer at one of the many places needing help such as our own Lamplighters group.  It takes volunteers to light the city every night and it’s easy to participate.  Just show up at 5 p.m. at the Lamplighters cathedral near Center Camp to take on one of the jobs.  Volunteering for Lamplighters is an unforgettable experience, and you’ll be rewarded with a charm especially made for this year’s burn.

And Lamplighters is just one opportunity to contribute to the wonder of Burning Man.  Look around and you’ll find plenty of ways to get involved.  Take a shift at the café, see if help is needed in the medical tents, volunteer as a greeter or a Temple Guardian; or just lend a hand when you see someone struggling to get a project off the ground.

What I learned this past weekend in Sacramento is that you’re never too old to help.  In fact, it makes you feel young to pitch in.

See you on the playa.

This entry is for those of you planning to bring an RV or trailer to Burning Man.  Whether it’s your own vehicle or a rental, you’ll want to protect it as best you can from the punishment of a week on the playa.  There may be little you can do to guard the outside of the RV (although there are RV covers, which aren’t particularly useful unless you don’t plan to go in and out of the unit), but you can do quite a bit to keep the playa dust out of the interior and protect the most vulnerable gear.

We cover all of the upholstered furniture with Press ‘n’ Seal plastic wrap, then cover the plastic wrap with old blankets and sheets.  We roll up all the pleated shades, cover them with Press ‘n’ Seal, and tuck the shades away using duct tape.  Then we replace the real curtains with paper shades that we buy from Home Depot or similar stores.

We seal all the windows with painter’s tape (the blue stuff) and seal off vents that won’t be used (not the air conditioning – you’ll need that to be operable in the heat of the day when you’re trying to rest.  You probably won’t have any need for the heater vents, however, so cover those.).  We cover the floor with a layer of heavy plastic that we cut to fit the various areas of the interior (it’s like making a large jigsaw puzzle).  When we put the plastic in place, we hold it down with heavy-duty staples.  We then cover the plastic with carpet samples, which we get for free from local carpet dealers.

Once at the burn, we always take our shoes off before entering the RV.  You’ll never keep the interior pristine at the burn, but every little improvement helps you during cleanup.

We cover the front of our RV with a portion of our RV cover.  This protects the engine from all the dust and helps avoid problems re-starting your engine.  If you have a separate truck and trailer, you’ll want to cover the truck’s hood in a similar fashion.

In case you want to leave your windows operable, remember to close them when you head out to the playa.  Dust storms can come up suddenly and you might just find your entire interior coated with playa dust – not a pretty sight.

And here’s one final warning:  even with all the effort you put into protecting your camper/RV, playa dust will make its way into crevices and corners.  There’s simply no way to block it all.  Besides, a little playa dust is a badge of honor for burners.

One of Burning Man’s best known and least understood facets is its “gifting economy,” in which no commerce takes place except for the sale by Burning Man of drinks at its Center Camp Café, and ice at Arctica.  Everything else – drinks served at bars, food dispensed at a playa “diner”, trinkets given away by Burners, costumes provided by one of the costuming camps – is given free, or “gifted,” to the citizens of Black Rock City.

Many people misinterpret the gifting economy as a bartering system.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  There is no direct exchange of a gift for a service, a service for a gift, or a gift for a different gift.  In fact, most of the entertainment and art you see on the playa is gifted to the community, as are costumes, decorated bikes and art cars.

Many people bring gifts that they’ve created especially for that year’s Burning Man.  They often feature the theme as well as the Burning Man logo.  Some of the favorites we’ve received have been amulets, bracelets and stickers.  One man gave out Wheat Thins and drew a smiley face on each one with cheddar cheese spray.  People will go to Center Camp with cases of bottled water to be given away.  Ben and Jerry once brought thousands of ice cream cups and gave them away to their fellow Burners.

For our part, we’ve brought or created gifts every year.  One of our most successful gifts was developed for the Green Man year.  We purchased cardboard fans and printed on each one, “Fan of the Environment” along with the Burning Man logo and the year.

Lamplighters gifting the community our famous Bloody Mary brunch

During my first year, my son and I brought hard candy to give out.  In later years, Judie and I have handed out bookmarks with haiku poetry and coasters festooned with the Burning Man logo, among other gifts.

People are non-judgmental about what you gift them, although they may express delight if they really love one of your gifts.  In other words, you don’t have to overdo preparation of gifts (in point of fact, you don’t even have to bring gifts), and homemade is better than store-bought.

Ideas to help you develop your gifts include linking to the current year’s theme (Fertility 2.0 for 2012), using the Burning Man logo as a centerpoint, creatively reflecting your theme camp’s activity or something about yourself, or just bringing a fun or useful item.

One thing to remember about gifts is that they sometimes turn into MOOP (matter out of place), so you should avoid gifts with feathers or other removable pieces that are likely to become strewn across the desert.  Helium balloons are a no-no as they end up either consumed by birds (often causing serious injury), or distributed widely around the Black Rock Desert.  LNT (Leave No Trace) should be one of your rules of thumb about your gift.

Whatever you decide on, don’t stress out over your gifts.  They should be fun for you as well as the recipients.  Great value is not required or expected.  A personal touch is always appreciated, and ideas that reflect on the festival’s whimsical, profane or erotic atmosphere work particularly well.

By the way, you’ll receive one of the best gifts on the playa when you volunteer as a Lamplighter.  We design a new charm every year, and they are genuine collector’s items for Burners.  So come on out any day of the Festival at 5 p.m. and gift yourself to the community by helping to light the city.

A few years back our camp had a couple of first-timers who arrived in a beautiful Class A RV with a “toy box” attached.  About three days into the burn, they packed up and left, telling us that no one had been welcoming or friendly toward them.  But the reality is that they secluded themselves in their RV most of the day, and rarely reached out to meet people.  Perhaps this tidy pair of Midwesterners was put off by the diverse, rag-tag bunch that is the Burning Man population.  Maybe they just suffered from shyness.

But the point is, you have to stretch yourself if you really want to benefit from the kinds of relationships that can be formed at Burning Man.  As an older couple, my wife and I could easily segregate ourselves from the large numbers of much younger people who populate the playa.  But we choose otherwise.  One of the reasons we love Burning Man is because it makes us feel young, and part of feeling young is making friends with young people in our camp and throughout Burning Man.

In the default world, I tend to be a quiet individual most of the time, and I don’t often initiate conversations with strangers.  But I am different at Burning Man.  I love to start conversations or join in on conversations that sound interesting to me.  As a couple we constantly seek out other individuals and couples who don’t resemble us in one way or another.  They’re either from other countries, from other lifestyles, or just different because of their dress or bodily decorations (everything from piercings to tats).

Stretching ourselves to meet people who seem different enriches our experience at Burning Man and our lives as a whole.  We drop our pretentions and prejudices in favor of an assertive effort to embrace as many people as possible and be open to all comers.  We are constantly surprised by the revelations we receive from people we meet at Burning Man, and are changed by our experiences.

Judie and Alan sample a "gifted" margherita

This attitude has trickled into our daily lives off the playa and made us open and welcoming to people of all ages, backgrounds and persuasions.  We have gained something beyond empathy for all people – we now have an excitement about meeting people who, specifically, don’t look and act like us.  We are eager to break out of our shells and touch more aspects of the world.  And we are far less judgmental than we used to be – far more open to seeing inner behavior vs. outer appearance.

Over the years, we have naturally moved toward more outrageous dress and actions ourselves.   While we’ll never be tats and piercing people, we enjoy expressing ourselves creatively through costumes, dress and participation in fun events that mark Burning Man.  Our volunteering is part of this process of doing new things and meeting new people.

We have been lucky enough to meet some wonderful people with whom we stay in contact in addition to our Lamplighter friends who we stay in touch with via Facebook and occasional activities outside of Burning Man.

So my advice to new Burners is simple:  don’t seclude yourself away in an RV or even within your own shell.  Reach out.  People will respond and your experiences will be all the richer.

Burning Man is well known to be a dusty experience.  In fact, the idea of avoiding playa dust while at the festival is simply anathema to most Burners.  Many of us embrace the dust and consider our experiences in white out conditions badges of courage.

Knowing what to do when you’re caught in a dust storm is important, because the likelihood of encountering one during the week of Burning Man is fairly high.  After seven burns, I consider a festival without a dust storm simply missing something.

We’ve watched most of the dust storms from inside our RV, but we’ve been caught in a few, including some while doing our Lamplighting chores.  One particular experience is not only our most memorable, but also serves as an object lesson in what to do.

Judie and I were both heading back to camp from far out on the playa.  Unfortunately, we weren’t together as I had started back ahead of her.  A monumental dust storm came up that looked the sandstorm scene from the first Mummy move (of the series starring Brendan Frasier).  The dust was so thick that it looked like a wall coming toward us.  At that point, the best a person can do is seek shelter and turn his/her back to the wind.

Your survival equipment comes in handy at this point.  Wearing goggles and face mask during a dust storm prevents you from ingesting playa dust or getting it embedded in your eyes (often requiring a trip to the medical tent).

Once you are in the midst of a sandstorm, it is not a good idea to keep moving forward, because you lose all sense of direction and are just as likely to be going the wrong way as the way you intended to travel.  The best move you can make is to find shelter, stay put and wait for the storm to subside or for help from the Black Rock Rangers to arrive.  It’s best to find shelter with other people because you’re less likely to get panicky and make a bad decision.

A mildly dusty day on the playa

Judie and I had different experiences while stuck on the playa.  I found my way to a tent that was part of an art installation and stayed there with several people enjoying the art and waiting for the storm to subside.  Before I found the tent, I had been sitting against of the lampposts with my back to the storm.  Using the posts as guides, I was able to walk toward center camp until I reached the tent.  After a few minutes, the winds died down and I was able to make it to Center Camp, and eventually to our RV.

Judie was with a group of bicyclists who had participated in the Critical Tits ride, which ends far out on the playa.  As she was heading back toward Center Camp, the big dust storm rolled straight at her.  She started pedaling as fast as she could thinking she could beat the storm in to Center Camp (wrong!).  Suddenly, she realized that she was pedaling to no effect.  The headwinds were keeping her immobile (“I felt like the old lady riding her bike in the Wizard of Oz tornado sequence,” she told me) and visibility quickly fell to near zero.  She was forced to dismount from the bike and walk, so she headed in the direction she thought would lead her to the Temple.

Then she heard some other people’s voices and she called out to them.  Just as she caught up with them, a Black Rock Ranger emerged from the wall of playa dust and led the group to shelter.  When the dust storm subsided a bit, she found herself far off her original path, beyond the temple and well to the right of the central playa position she thought she had reached.

With the wind dying down a bit and visibility improving, Judie and one of the other women from the bike run followed the lampposts down the 9 o’clock street to the Man for further shelter.  It was a relatively short walk from there to Center Camp, and on to the RV.

When we finally saw each other we had to laugh.  Our hair was playa grey and we both were wearing playa makeup on our faces.  Our clothes were coated with fine dust and our shoes had become stiff from the layer of playa dust that had embedded itself.  What a day!

Takeaways for us from the experience:

1. You can survive a dust storm
2. Always take eye protection and breathing aids with you on the open playa
3. It’s better to travel with someone than to be out on the open playa by yourself
4. You can easily become disoriented during a dust storm and you’re likely to go in the wrong direction
5. Seek shelter and stay there until the storm has subsided
6. Look for a Ranger, and always follow his/her advice
7. When the storm is over, celebrate your experience and consider yourself a veteran Burner

The choices of what to do and see at Burning Man can be overwhelming – especially if it’s your first year.  Aside from perusing the art (nearly a full-time activity in itself), you can choose among an array of activities and events contained in the “What Where When” guide you receive when you enter the gate.  Last year’s guide was 160 pages long, and included lists of events 24 hours a day.

You won’t receive the guide until you arrive, so is there any way you can plan what to do in advance?  I’d suggest a review of the hundreds of theme camps you can find here.  Many of the camps run fascinating activities that may be just for entertainment or for your personal betterment.

I’ve listed below a few of the theme camps that were operating in 2011 and a smattering of activities from the guide.  There’s no guarantee that any of these events or camps will be around in 2012, but the likelihood is that most will.  On the website, you’ll find a complete list by alphabet of all the camps with descriptions of their purposes and activities.

One of our favorite stops is at HeeBeeGeeBee Healers for massage therapy, meditation and yoga classes.  There are top-notch professionals at this theme camp who offer incredible services at Black Rock City prices (FREE!).  Check it out here. 

If you still need enlightenment after your massage and yoga, you can bike over to Camp Illumineye, whose purpose is “to illuminate, clarify, and enlighten the community on the alchemy of homeopathy and feminine wisdom.”

If your bike is looking a little dull next to others on the Playa, head over to Bioluminati/Pimp Yr Bike.  And if you need bike repairs, there are a number of good choices on the Playa, such as Chop Shop, which calls itself “a small playa neighborhood Bicycle Garage that is ready to help a wide variety of playa transportation with parts, repair, and advice.”

Forget to bring a costume?  There are at least three good choices on the Playa to outfit you, Kostume Kult featuring “afternoon costume gifting in the Kostume Dome;” Black Rock Boutique (“Let our fashionistas slip you into something a little more questionable!”), or the self-explanatory Slut Makeover.

Shanghai Suite at the Ashram Galactica -- a great bar, disco and international hotel theme camp

Of course, if you want an all-American shopping experience, you can always visit the multi-story Mal-Mart Mega Store, “an exploration into America’s consumer driven society where the shopping mall reigns supreme.”

Then there’s the food and drink – all gifted by their theme camps.  Examples include Pancake Playhouse for breakfast, Chaya Tea House for an exotic taste of Japan, Black Rock Diner (“changing lives one grilled cheese sandwich at a time”), and one of our all-time favorites, Barbie Death Camp and Wine Bistro, where you can actually see everybody’s favorite doll maimed and tortured while you’re taking a sip.

If you’re a lover of home-brewed lager, try Home Brew 4A Home Brew, “a home brewers’ community where brewers of the Playa come to meet and share.”

You can get ready for an evening out by having your nails artistically painted at Get Nnailed Salon, then head out for fun at the Black Rock Roller Disco, BRC Drive-In Theater or BRC International Film Festival, Opulent Temple Disco, or, if you’re more into erotic play, ATTOL’s Famous Orgy Dome where you can “get it on with your playa friends.”

If you’ve fully exhausted yourself, head for Hang-Out and rest on one of their hammocks; or simply spend some quiet time reflecting on life, love and your spirituality at The Temple.

Want an overview of the art of Burning Man?  Sign up for an accompanied tour at The Artery.  But check this one out early because Artery tours are available only during the first few days of the festival.

We’ve barely scratched the surface of Burning Man activities, but you can easily see that there’s never a reason to be bored or uninspired while you’re at the festival.  Enjoy!  And if you have other great sites to recommend, please leave a comment.

New info:  Thanks to a couple of Burners who commented on the site, I now have two great sites that give you information about what’s went on last year at Burning Man.  The first is http://playaevents.burningman.com/2011/playa_events/1/ for what is essentially the What?Where?When? guide from 2011.  The second is www.playadex.com, which gathers together some of the creators of new work at Burning Man and shows their ideas.

Correction:  In my post on volunteering with Lamplighters I misstated the time volunteers should arrive for nightly lamplighting.  It’s 5 p.m., not 4 p.m.

No, this piece is not about doing drugs on the playa, it’s about literally lighting yourself up for both safety and entertainment while at Burning Man.

Lights are an absolute necessity to ensure safe walking or biking on the playa at night.  While some streets are well lit because of activities such as bars and discos or because of the Lamplighters’ kerosene lanterns, most of Burning Man is quite dark.  You need to be seen to be safe.

Wearing a headlamp is the first line of defense.  It allows you to see where you’re going and allows others (especially bicyclists) to see you coming and avoid you.  There are small, LED headlamps that come mounted on headbands, weigh very little and throw a lot of light.  Hint:  Always turn your headlight off when you’re talking face-to-face with someone.  It can be blinding up close.

But a headlamp is not enough.  For one thing, it does not light up your back, which means bicyclists and art cars coming up behind can’t see you.  You can choose to festoon yourself with bendable light sticks, but they do not throw a lot of light and they wear out quickly. Lighted hats and clothing are the best answers to enhancing your visibility – and you can do it in style and become part of the art scene in Black Rock City.

The key is finding lighting that is small, flexible, bright and battery powered; and you’d be surprised how many options are available to you.  One of our favorites is EL Wire, which can be sewn onto or into clothing.  You carry the small battery packs in your pocket and can choose steady or flashing light.  The EL Wire comes in a variety of colors and is flexible enough to be shaped into almost any design you could think of.

Two of our well-lit Lamplighter buds

Other small battery powered lights (like tiny Christmas lights) are available at Michael’s, Jo-Ann’s and similar specialty stores.  They can be sewn or glued onto clothing for both visibility and entertainment.

Burning Man is also famous for “pimp’d out bikes.” Heavily lighted bikes are more visible to on-comers and fun to watch.  Online retailers such as Hokey Spokes have selections of battery-operated lights that fit on wheels and other parts of the bike.  Other stores such as Modern Bike specialize in bicycle headlights, which can help you navigate the playa more safely and enhance your visibility for pedestrians, art cars and other bicyclists.

Taking time to brighten up clothing and costumes with fun and attractive lights will add to your Burning Man experience.  And if you’re invited to a costume party back home, you’ll have something really cool to wear.

Lighting is about safety first, so be sure you can see and be seen.  Applying creativity to your lighting is the fun part; but if all you can do in your first year is make certain that you can see clearly at night and that others can see you clearly, then you’ve done the basics and helped ensure safe travelling on the playa.