Makeout Queen was the mistress of ceremonies at Thunderdome.

Tuesday night was a tale of two nights: A lovely gathering in our home on the playa — Media Mecca — and then a journey into darkness on the  other side — Thunderdome.

The first event was a birthday party for Andi Grace, aka Action Girl, who had a birthday that ended in a zero. We won’t be more specific than that about which birthday it was. There was an amazing turnout from various factions, with people from  from Cobra Commander of the DPW to Larry his own self. There were TWO cakes, and Flash was behind the bar. It was good times.

Then it was off to “Friends and Family” night at the Death Guild’s Thunderdome, where the DPW and the Gate crews squared off against each other. Do you know the Thunderdome? Like so much here, it’s very “Mad Max.” Two men (or women) enter, one man (or woman) leaves. The action was fierce. Really fierce. Much fiercer than you’re likely to see the rest of the week.

We couldn’t imagine two experiences so wildly divergent in a single night. But out here, that’s not really out of the ordinary.

Flash, Action Girl and Chicken John

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The wheat from Saskatchewan

There’s an amazing amount of new art on the Playa this year, and one of the biggest reasons is the presence of 24 effigies set up by the CORE project, the association of Burning Man Regional groups from around the world.

For the first time, the Regionals will stage their own burn, on Thursday night, when all 24 of the projects will go up in flames in a giant ring around the Man.

It’s a sign of the growing significance of the Regionals. As the main Burning Man event continues to push the size limits of the playa, the importance of having Regional events climbs.

“There are many people in the Regionals who’ve never even been to Burning Man,” Action Girl was saying at a gathering in the Center Cafe on Tuesday. “But they still feel a part of the community now.”

The Regional organizations began 13 years ago,  so you could say that their big burn project this year  could be called their Burn Mitzvah, it was noted at the gathering.

Among the many effigies on the playa this year are Lucky Lady Lucy, the creation of the Las Vegas group. The funding for the project was grass-roots, as evidenced by the garage sale held by Dr. Gooey to help raise money. The effigy from the South Bay group  is made up of a crossed stairway of laptops rising out of an orchard. Very fitting for the Silicon Valley.

One of the largest and most ornate effigies is OuroBouros, from the very large and very active Austin group.

“There’s no reason the fire hose of creativity has to be aimed at the desert,” Action Girl said at the meeting. “And the purpose is not just to throw big parties. It’s about civic engagement.”

The effigy from Austin.

We got a little more playa-fied on Tuesday. We went over to the Black Rock Boutique to get some fancy new duds.

A group of Burners from Portland have been setting up shop here for years, helping new and veteran Burners find the look they want.

We ran into Cobra Commander and Phoenix Firestarter waiting in line.  “I just ask them for something dark and threatening,” Cobra said. Read more »

Every night in Black Rock City, the Lamplighters attach hundreds and hundreds of oil-fired lanterns to the spires that line the major roads, helping every Burner find their way in the darkness.

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As if by wizardry, Black Rock has sprung to life, the party’s started, and everything everywhere is going off at once.

The city is ringed in light, the art cars and blinky bikes are out in number, and everywhere you look, everyone seems to have hit the ground running.  The Center Cafe is good and crowded, the speakers and performers are going round the clock, and the yoga dancers and poi spinners are holding court in the center of the space.

Monday was a funny day, in that there seemed to be a higher-than-normal number of people wandering around the playa who looked fresh and clean. Their outfits were shiny and new, and their skin had yet to acquire a base coat of playa dust.

The hard flat playa is perfect for surfboard sailing this year.

By today, though, everyone was coated  homogeneously, and you weren’t able  to tell who’s been here for a day, a week, or a month. The temperatures were in the mid-80s (nice!), but the wind kicked up and was blowing at a steady 30 mph most of the day.

The population of the city doubled overnight, to more than 30,000, and of course there were plenty more people on their way in. By tomorrow, we’re guessing, we’ll hit an average peak population somewhere north of 50,000.

And the folks of Black Rock City went around and about, determined to make the most of these precious days. Here are a few snappies from the first full day of Burning Man 2011:

The Temple of Transition came and went from view, depending on how hard the dust was blowing.

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