Tales From The Playa are dreams and memories of events that took place at Burning Man, as told by its participants.

The Temple of Juno burned last night, raining embers of shimmering fire on the crowd that had gathered to solemnly bring Burning Man 2012 to a close.

It may have been the most beautiful night of the whole week  – perfectly still, comfortably warm and lit by a near-full moon. During the daytime, an exodus had begun from Black Rock City, and the population had shrunk to maybe half the 52,000 participants who were here at the peak of the event. The refugees kicked up plenty of dust on their way out, but it hung low in the air, like tule fog in the Central Valley on a chilly winter night.

One more big burn, and then the work to restore the Black Rock Desert to its natural state would begin. This would be the first time in five years that a David Best temple would burn on the playa. After he built the temples of Mind, Tears, Joy, Honor and Stars from 2000 to 2004, Best retuned  in 2007 to build the Temple of Forgiveness. And then he left it to others to carry on the tradition. “I hoped that other people (on his crew) would step up, but it didn’t happen,” Best said yesterday.

During last year’s event, Best was getting his bike worked on at the DPW’s bicycle camp when a young, heavily tattooed woman approached him to say thank you for all   he had brought to Burning Man. It was a turning point.  “It touched me deeply,” Best said. “When someone thanks me, you have no idea what that means to me.” And that simple act of gratitude planted a seed.

Best’s crew had been asking him why they couldn’t do it again, get back out there and build another Temple. And  then, when his wife, Maggie, said that if he wanted to build another Temple, she would help him,  the decision was made. “She’s over there now,” Best said, waving his arm in the direction of the camp’s kitchen, “feeding 120 people a day.”

And so Best and his crew worked for months off the playa and for many weeks on it to erect the Temple of Juno. It was a beautifully detailed, Asian-influenced structure, instantly recognizable as a Best creation. And on this perfect night, it would go up in flames, and the drifting smoke would lift the sorrows of many thousands of people who use the burning of the Temple as a release from their pain.

Friends of Dr. Gooey brought Champagne and other things to honor her memory.

During the week, the Temple is heavily decorated with inscriptions and pictures and trinkets – mementoes  of those who have passed away, placed there by people seeking to honor their memory. But the Temple is not simply a collective funeral pyre; Best sees it as part of a healing process, a first step toward moving beyond the pain from loss and grief.

“The dream I had was that the community would heal itself,” Best said. Read more »

Tales From The Playa are dreams and memories of events that took place at Burning Man, as told by its participants.

There was fire all over the playa last night as the city began its process of self-immolation, and all through the night giant bonfires raged.

It was a different kind of  burn night as there were not one, not two, but three big burns. The grandaddy of them all on this Rose Bowl burn night was, of course, the  burning of the Man.

The wind that had been blowing steadily for most of a couple of days had gone still by  the time Crimson Rose lit her torch from the cauldron at the top of the keyhole in  Center Camp. It had turned into a beautiful playa night, and there wasn’t a hint of dust blowing as Crimson and the procession made its way to the Man. Then they circled around the fire ring, distributing fire to the conclaves waiting to perform.  To keep with the football theme just for a moment, you could call the fire-dancing crews  the cheerleaders of Burning Man – Burn Team Burn!

With the conclaves all set in place, a crew pulled on the lines that raised the Man’s arms in the air, and the festivities were underway. There was drumming and dancing and thousands of people with shining eyes watching. All around the Man, hundreds and hundreds of fire performers did the routines they’d been working on for months.

Soon enough the time came for the dancing to end and the burning to begin.

The fireworks show began with sparkles and crackles,  and silver cascades of fire  poured down from the second level of the pavilion. Soon the Man had a streak of flame running up his leg, and the base became more and more consumed with fire. When the big booms came and the base exploded in flames, the people in the  inner circle had to scramble back to escape the heat. It was that intense.

The burn was beautiful and ferocious. The upper layer of the Man base fell in on the lower part, and then that whole structure burned for a good half hour more before the final upright lumber fell in on itself. Then the el-wire crowd and the blinkies and the thrill-seekers pushed toward the circle of embers. The crowd started circling around the fire in a tribal dance, waiting for the chance to race across the embers.

We didn’t wait to see who would be first to cross the flames. There were many burns to attend on this night, and the next one up was the EGO project of Laura Kimpton and Mike Garlington.

Laura Kimpton and Mike Garlington at the EGO burn

Photo Mike and his crew had spent most of the year making plaster casts of religious iconography, sports trophies, and other enigmatic detritus, then spray-painting them and attaching them to the giant EGO letters. Mike’s beau Meg said he’d been up at 4:30 most every morning to get going. “He gets such energy from the art,” she said. Read more »

Tales From The Playa are dreams and memories of events that took place at Burning Man, as told by its participants.

Altheus gave us the view from on high once again.

To coin a phrase, boy does time fly when you’re having a good time.

While the rest of the city was out enjoying themselves on the last night that the Man would be standing, crews began getting him ready for the big burn.

You might think that setting the Man afire is nothing more complex than simply setting a torch to the guy, but you’d be wrong. There are a lot of preparations, and they began Friday night in a blowing windstorm that just wouldn’t quit. First the Otic Oasis crew got to work taking down the Pistil , the climbable sculpture in the center of the Man base. We had talked to Gregg Fleishman earlier in the day, and we discovered that he began making sculptures like the Pistil and the Otic Oasis as play structures for the grammar school that his parents founded in Culver City. “It’s not really much different,” he was saying of the Oasis. In case you were curious, it might comfort you to know that the Pistil had been load-tested to withstand 25,000 pounds, so figuring an average weight of  about 160 pounds per person, the crew knew that as many as 150 people could be on it at one time without exceeding load. And really, there was no way that 150 people could FIT on it at one time, so things were exceedingly safe.

There was also a  special reinforcing plate at the base of the panels at the top of the work that made them both flexible and strong – “It’s the flexibility that’s important,” Gregg said, “because that relieves stress.”

Even as the Otic crew was taking apart the Pistil, other crews were taking down the truly wonderful lighting from the inside of the base. One member of the Man crew told us that it was the first time that Crimson Rose said that she didn’t want to see the base burn. “This should be installed somewhere in Reno,” Brian said Crimson told him. “She’s never said anything like that before.”

Still, the work to get the Man ready to burn went on. After the lighting was taken out, other crews would be installing explosives and accelerants, the better for a big show. Joe the Builder always want to make sure that the Man burns in good time, and we think it’s one of his special pleasures to make sure the fires rage.

The Otic Oasis crew went to work disassembling the Pistil.

Altheus took us up 120 feet in a lift  while the work was going on, the better to get a good view of the Man and the scene in general. As we said, the wind was really blowing, and as we looked down,  the sand blowing across the desert floor below us looked like water. It became easy to imagine this whole Black Rock Desert under 500 feet of water, as it was a couple of hundred thousand years ago.

It struck us again too, as we watched all the people working on the Man, how short a time it is that everything made here stays pretty. It seems like the Man and the base were finished only days ago, and yet here it was, closed to visitors,  never to be seen again in the same way.

This beautiful city is temporal, and the time of its shining is infinitesimally brief. Read more »

Tales From The Playa are dreams and memories of events that took place at Burning Man, as told by its participants.

On the deck at First Camp, with Coyote on sax.

Crimson Rose and Will Roger, who’ve been together for 19 years, made their  relationship all official-like  in the glowy late-afternoon playa light when they stood on a deck overlooking First Camp and got married in front of a crowd of people who love them both dearly.

In a lot of ways, Crimson Rose is  the person who brought spiritual fire to the playa, as she was one of the first people to ritualize its presence here. To this day, she lights the cauldron at the entrance to Center Camp at the beginning of Burning Man, and then she and her fire conclave carry it out the base of the Man on the night of the burn.

Will Roger is the man who started the DPW, the hard-charging and hard-working group that builds Black Rock City. They put the first stake in the ground about five weeks before Burning Man, and then they pull the last one out during the restoration of the playa.  So Crimson is fire, and Will is earth, and the two came together.

Marian talked about the journey that led them here.

Rev. Billy was the officiant and emcee, and a group of people offered heartfelt performances and warm testimonials. Coyote was smooth and sexy on the sax, Marissa serenaded the couple soaringly, Holly from Jerk Church played a Joey Jello favorite on the flute, and people took turns on the megaphone to offer congratulations.
“It’s been amazing to watch this journey,” Marian said through her tears. “In a way, it’s like the way the six of us have committed to be together into the future. … These two partners are closing the circle.”

Then the high-coiffed Rev. Billy launched into a rousing stemwinder that let people feel like they, too, were in that inner circle of love on this day.

Tales From The Playa are dreams and memories of events that took place at Burning Man, as told by its participants.

“Nothing says ‘thank you’ like something.”

That’s one of the signs that’s carried along on the DPW’s annual parade through the streets of Black Rock City, as  worker crews take a ride, do a little showing off and offer  BRC residents a chance to show some love.

The mutant vehicles straight out of “Mad Max,” and some very striking individuals (“pirate carny tricksters” as Niko Peachez puts it)  start out at the Depot and make their way up 5:30. They take a couple of turns and go through some neighborhoods, to the general alarm of  some of the populace.

Overall, though, people seem to get it, and they rush up with a can or two of cold beverages, all the better to keep the restoration of the playa sufficiently lubricated.

There was some unlikely music at the “rave” that followed the parade.

This year’s parade ended with a round-up in front of the Heavy Machinery yard, where Weld Boy had engineered a DPW dirt rave. An art car played Katy Perry tunes and “Call Me Maybe” and other wildly unlikely songs. It should be noted that the DPW lapped it up and danced the afternoon away with a fury.

It should also be noted that “Free Bird” was also on the soundtrack, and everyone knew why, and everyone could see what Rachel was going through. It was a glorious day for a parade, but obviously there was some bittersweet mixed in with the good times. Read more »

Out between the Man and the Temple, a solitary woman danced in the dust.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Here we are on hump day, halfway through the week already. At least it is as gorgeous as you can imagine.

Yes, we’ve had our share of blowing dust, but nothing, NOTHING like two years ago. There was no way it was going to be one beautiful calm day after another like last year, but to these eyes it seems that balance has been restored. Sometimes you get caught in some nasty stuff, and you have to hunker down in your tent or in Center Cafe or whatever you have, and wait it out. But the waits have not been very long.

Folks continue to stream into the city, although anecdotal reports say the lines at both the Gate and the Greeters have been … dare we say it? … not that bad. Melissa and James, our guardian angels from S.F. who brought our backup camera to the playa, left Reno on Monday morning and were in their camp three hours later. Three hours! On Monday! … Another group of friends came in last night and pulled in to Gate road around midnight, and there were three cars ahead of them in line. Three.

Maybe the longest delays have been caused by the very noticeable police presence here. We are told by reliable people with direct knowledge of the situation that there are more law enforcement personnel here than in previous years, and they are keeping a higher profile. More cars than ever before are being pulled over and searched as soon as they pass the Greeters’ stations. And almost any infraction will be cited, so make sure your tail lights are working, and that your bicycle racks do not block your license plate. And of course obey the Black Rock City speed limit. Also, reacquaint yourself with your rights regarding searches, because in almost all cases officers will try to search search your car. And they have dogs to help them. A word to the wise.

Beyond all that, things proceed apace. The city feels positively crammed with high-quality art, maybe more than ever before. The 35 pieces associated with the CORE project enhance that impression, but in general, there is art everywhere. And there are art cars everywhere, as well. There are old favorites like the Neverwas Haul, and new favorites like Christina, the giant yacht. Really, it’s never been easier to hitch a ride around the playa on something fun, cool or loud – or all three.

Mike Garlington’s and Laura Kempton’s “Ego” draws visitors no matter what the conditions.

Even though the population of the city is ahead of last year’s pace – there were 40,000 people here yesterday, and today we’re at 47,249  – the city seems quieter than in recent years. The public spaces like the Esplanade and Center Camp seem almost eerily quiet. It’s hard to figure out why, but one theory goes that because there is so much art out in the playa, and so many ways to get out to it, that more people are out exploring than gathering in the more public meeting places. Read more »

The view from the top of the Otic Oasis in the walk-in camping section of the city.

The sense of anticipation reached a high point last night around midnight out at the Man base. The gates had been open for  six hours, and blinky crowds and art cars were gathering around the beautifully lit Man base. and everyone was ogling the Man and panting for the chance to get inside and clamber around.

There were a few final touches that needed to be finished first, though. Mr. Blue and his lighting team were making sure the big hanging flower chandelier at the main entrance was secure. The wind had been blowing hard all day, and the crew wanted to make sure everything was stable.

Every now and then an overanxious participant would wander past the safety cones, and one of the guardians would tell them the time hadn’t come yet. So we watched and lingered, waiting for the big moment.

When it came, it was joyous. People couldn’t get inside the Man base fast enough, and within a minute the base was mobbed, and the Pistil had people climbing all over it. A couple of guys scrambled to the very top, whooping and hollering and waving to their friends. Cheers all around.

Although it’s only the first day of Burning Man, the streets around the center of the city have filled in quite nicely. Folks are setting up their camps and dusting off their bikes and generally getting in the swing of things. The Esplanade isn’t crowded with people yet, but there’s lots to see and many places to go.

Lou and Brian, two of the carpenters who worked on the Man base.

Read more »

Do we have time for a personal anecdote before the gates open and Burning Man gets started? You might need a distraction as you’re waiting in line to get in. (Speaking of which, we heard that the wait was three hours long at midnight LAST night, so maybe you might have some time on your hands.) So with your indulgence we shall proceed.

We had an incident last night. It wasn’t a good one. We were out and about, getting a look at the progress of the art pieces on one of the last nights before the crowds arrive.  We were way out at Burn Wall Street when, it pains us to report, our camera died. It’s dead. Kaput. Finito. Done.

The end came suddenly, if not completely unexpectedly. For the photo nerds, we’ll tell you that we still use the Canon 5D Mark I. It has been a trusty, faithful beast, and it is a veteran of five, count them, five, campaigns here in the desert. And they have been  LONG campaigns, when we arrive before there is anything out here and as we watch the city rise from the dust.

In short, the camera doesn’t owe us anything. We got probably more than we could have expected from it. We spent a moderate amount of time protecting it, but that damn alkaline dust, as fine as talcum powder, gets EVERYwhere, even inside the best weather-sealed DSLRs. On top of that, it has been strangely humid here this year. We suspect that the moisture-attracting dust, combined with the ambient wetness (there were raindrops last night) were a deadly combination for our beloved 5D.

Read more »