Every year after the event the staff engage in reflection about what we’ve accomplished and what we plan to do in the future — changes, improvements, what was right, wrong, etc. In the context of the staff, Senior Staff and Board we have a report called an EMBER report that staff submit to an email address. The reports are read by the LLC/Board and frame the tone of the 6 day off-site debrief that the 6 Board members and a facilitator take. Then the over 100 reports (450+ pages) are read by the Senior Staff in preparation for another off-site debrief in mid-November. A fundamental principle of the Burning Man Project has always been to engage in “self reflection”. This applies to the individual as much as the Project.

In 1997 we had our first Spring Town Meeting for volunteer recruitment, and then in 1998 we had our first Fall Town Meeting in December to take in our participants’ feedback, be that complaints, suggestions, or comments. A message from the Director of Community Services, Harley DuBois on this very subject:

Dear Community,
After each Burning Man event we endeavor to collect the community feedback for improvements for the future. Other than emails directly to Project staff or the jackrabbitspeaks email address, the primary avenue for collecting this data has been our annual Fall Town Meeting held in San Francisco and webcast to those remote with a computer. The format has been “question and answer” with the senior staff face to face with the community. We dialog about whatever meeting attendees concerns are expressed. We typically inform the community of any challenges we are facing and any plans for change in the future.

For the last few years attendance at the Town Meeting has stabilized at about 200 people. Even with the webcast audience included we do not feel that we are really accomplishing our goal of connecting with our community. We want to explore other ways to hear what you have to say, answer your questions, address community issues and share ideas. With attendance of Burning Man at over 35,000 people from all over the world we want to find a forum that can include everyone.

What forum/s would you like to see?

– Harley

We’d like to hear your comments on Burning Man 2004, and ideas on communication forums for feedback with the greater community. Please email any and all feedback to: feedback(at)burningman(dot)com.

Due to the fact we expect quite a few emails please don’t expect a personal response. The Jack Rabbit will endeavor to give some idea of what sort of comments we’ve received at a future time, but no firm commitment. We DO promise that your email will be read. What do you think? We want to hear from new and old Burners alike. Starting with the good before the bad is helpful. ;-)

The response to the DMV’s new pre-registration process has been much greater than anticipated: well over 800 vehicles have applied for a license to drive at Burning Man. The diversity and creativity in many of the vehicles we have seen is amazing. The DMV volunteer team has processed the majority of these registration requests, but the volume was high enough to overwhelm our new review process. We are not finished yet, but we will be soon!

We appreciate how much time and work people put into their Mutant Vehicles, and are doing everything possible to make sure that the review process both honors your effort and meets the needs of the Burning Man Event — that the vehicles are safe, extensively modified, and bring imagination and creativity to the playa. The vehicles you see driving should be as exciting as the other artwork people bring to Black Rock City.

We appreciate your patience as we complete the review process. If you have any questions, please contact the DMV. We will respond as quickly as we possibly can.

See you on the playa!!

The DMV Hotties

Greetings from Ticket Land!

The $225 tickets are sold out! All pre-sale tickets now cost $250.

Tickets are available for purchase through Walk In Outlets or Online. Go here for Outlet locations or to buy tickets: http://tickets.burningman.com

The deadline to have your tickets mailed to you is fast approaching! All orders placed online after July 31st, 2004 are going to be held at Will Call. This means that you will not have the option to have your tickets mailed to you before Burning Man and you will have to pick it up upon arriving at Black Rock City.

In 2003 the Will Call lines at the Box Office were quite long and at times the wait was up to one hour to collect your tickets. We apologize for the long waits, we know it sucks but there is only so much that can be done on the playa.

Please help us to help you avoid long Will Call lines by planning ahead and buying your ticket *now* so that you have the option of having it mailed and in your hand when you arrive at Black Rock City.

Tickets at the Gate will cost at least $300 and will increase in price over the course of the event, most gate tickets will cost $350. Plan ahead – if you think you might go – get your ticket now – it won’t be hard to find someone who will be happy to use it in the event that you can’t go.

Questions about online orders:
Online Ordering Questions

Ticket FAQ:
Ticket FAQ

See y’all on the playa!!
The Ticket Team

Black Rock City, LLC Donates Funds & Technology to the Northern Nevada Community

January 29, 2004 Reno, Nevada. – Black Rock City LLC, the organization that hosts the annual Burning Man event, has donated more than $32,750 in proceeds from ice sales at the 2003 event to community service organizations in Northern Nevada. “We are pleased to say that this year we are donating more funds than in prior years—and to more organizations,” said Marian Goodell, Director of Business & Communications.

“Donating proceeds from ice sales to local organizations is in line with Burning Man’s principles of fostering community and supporting the arts without turning to corporate sponsorship” said Larry Harvey, Founder and Executive Director of Burning Man. “Ice sales allow participants to sustain themselves in the desert for the week long event without burdening the local roads with trips into town. Moreover, local community service and artistic organizations benefit from the proceeds.”

This year Black Rock City, LLC is making donations to Friends of the Black Rock, Reno Crisis Center, Nevada Museum of Art, Nevada Outdoor School, Gerlach Medical Clinic, Gerlach High School, Greater Gerlach Improvement District (GGID), Gerlach Volunteer Fire Department, Gerlach Senior Citizens, Empire 4-H Club, Pershing County Chamber of Commerce, Pershing County School System and Lovelock Lion’s Club. Additionally, Black Rock City, LLC will be providing unlimited wireless Internet access for Gerlach residents in the near future.

For thirteen years, the Black Rock Desert outside of Reno, Nevada, has been home to the increasingly popular and influential Burning Man event. The annual art event, which began on a beach in San Francisco in 1986, has grown to attract more than 30,000 participants annually, from every state of the Union and twenty-two countries worldwide. Based on corporate accounting and participant survey data, the organization estimates that it contributes $10 million annually to Washoe County, including real estate taxes, vehicle and equipment rental, and the money that its participants spend on groceries, supplies and lodging on the way to and from the event. The organization also contributed over $600,000 in 2003 to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for land use of the area where the event is held.

For more information please contact:
Ray Allen, Executive Project Manager
Black Rock City, LLC
(415) 865-3800, ext. 137

ray(at)burningman(dot)com