Ladies and Gents, Step Right Up to the Midway!

This year, the Man will be surrounded by an interactive Carnival Midway, featuring booths created and staffed by 32 Regional groups and artists from the US as well as Taiwan, China, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Canada, Argentina, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Japan and Russia. There will also be two performance stages and other carnivalesque art installations, completing this hyper-immersive center of burner-style Carny madness.

What to expect? Games of chance, cabinets of wonder, costumed characters, sleight of hand, lion tamers, showgirls, showboys, jesters, bearded ladies, bizarre creatures, mad professors, mysticism and of course, clowns! Enter at your own risk!! And be prepared for soul-baring, self-reflection, silliness and schtick.

Since 2011, we have engaged our Regionals at the center of the event. Over a three year period, in our Circle of Regional Effigies (CORE) Project, fifty Regional groups produced over seventy installations, placed around the Man. Each of the Regional groups involved worked intensely to create sculptures representing their regions, which were enjoyed by our greater community and burned. Last year we increased the Regional presence by engaging willing groups in the creation of the Souk, an interactive marketplace surrounding the Man, who stood on the ground, surrounded by an energetic round-the-clock pageant of interactivity and social engagement. The greater Burner community was able to engage directly with our Regional groups, as well as witness their creations.

This year we invite you to immerse yourselves in another collaborative environment, full of possibilities for creative self-expression and engagement with our Regionals. Identify your inner Carny, create your character and be part of this rich global stew.

Photo by Franco Folini, original art by Nina Kempf