[Judes is the Burner mom of an 11-year old baby-Burner, and founder of Black Rock Scouts.]

Burning Man has been a family affair from the very beginning. When Jerry James and Larry Harvey burned the first Man in 1986, their 5-year old sons Robin and Trey built a Burning Dog alongside their dads.

PHOTO: A baby-Burner art car. Photo Georgie.

Because the playa is a colossal day-glow playground, children feel right at home. Kids already live in make-believe worlds, so when they experience the magic of Black Rock City, it feels natural to the way they view the world. Tots know how to play and have fun without inhibition, hesitation or fear of judgment. Follow that Art car! As a parent, I know it’s really my reaction that colors my kid’s reaction to something. Us grownups can learn a few things from tiny folk and how they embrace the art and culture of Black Rock City. Read more »

First time heading Home? Here are some unofficial, non-sanctioned tips for Playa Virgins:
1) How to Look like Burner, 2) Being Sexy, 3) Regionals, 4) Volunteer, 5) Carry A Cup, 6) Hands-Free, 7) “Party Favors” Safety, 8) Don’t be a Darkwad, 9) MOOP & 10) a Gifting primer.

**NOTE: I AM NOT AN OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF BURNING MAN. I am merely a Participant with a passion for the event, people, and principles of Burning Man. Half-baked ideas & views expressed aren’t necessarily those of the Burning Man organization.” **

Hit me up on Facebook. I'll send you a cat video.

Yep – it’s that time again.  Dammit.

I hate that time.

You’ve shaken the dust off, caught up on sleep, detoxed your system, dragged your ass to work, put the pieces of your life back together, and found a place to store the giant copper monkey head you swore you’d take good care of because it meant so much to that one guy who … as of the Core Burn … was your best friend in the whole world.

Now it’s time to admit it:   that that guy’s never going to actually come visit you.  And, worse, you’re probably never going to email him.

In fact, virtually every goddamn one of the people who you magically fell in love with at Burning Man and swore undying devotion to after you realized they were the missing piece of your soul probably can’t actually be bothered to keep in touch outside of Facebook.

And neither can you.

Because … you’d like to, but … you’re busy.  It’s your mom’s birthday.  Or something.

I’d been through summer camp syndrome before, but I wasn’t prepared for the first time I made soul mates at Burning Man who disappeared in the default world.   I mean, they were my new family!  This was where I belonged!   If what we’d been through together wasn’t friendship and love, what possibly could be?  What kind of person doesn’t follow-up after something like that?

The one-two punch of this existential crisis was the realization that I wasn’t trying very hard either.

I hated them;  I hated myself.  Then I got over it, and had lunch.

The unpalatable truth is that very few of the people I’ve met at Burning Man are actually a part of my life the other 51 weeks a year.  I’ve been profoundly intimate with them, but outside of the desert I can’t expect them to show up at my birthday party, let alone bail me out of jail.

The experiences of trust and love and comradeship we have in the desert don’t seem to translate well into the rest of our lives.

Read more »

Ah the sweet afterglow of Burning Man. It truly was wonderful being out there with all the Art and our Friends and the Freedom of Expression and the ADVERTISEMENTS.

Good use of your truck side

Ads? Do you even notice them? Yes dear fellow citizens, I know it is shocking, just shocking that any for profit entity would attempt to stealth their name with viral marketing or otherwise sinister attempts at promotion into our fair event, but it is there. Now I do not speak for the ORG so this is all entirely my own blather, but I go to Black Rock City to escape the constant barrage of companies doing what Mr. LH mentioned so eloquently in 1998 “…they do these demographic studies, and they find out what people think they want, and then in a kind of séance they summon up before you the Ghost of Your Own Desire and they sell it to you.”

And what qualifies as corporate infiltration? Artists have logos. Big sound camps have logos. What if all the company does is give away a service like say, the people with the Bird Logo who Tweet? Their camp on Rod’s Road had their logo proudly emblazoned on their bus all week. Sure, Tweeting from the playa is a great way to let the world know what’s going on out there and the people with the Bird Logo who Tweet have been coming for a few years. And don’t get me wrong, I love them and all. Their ability to bring people together to overthrow oppressive regimes, to expose human rights abuses, to let me know when @Sn00ki is “gettin crazy w my bitch” and to organize all manner of Santas and Zombies for pub crawls is unmatched.

But that logo just kind of bugged me.

the people with the Bird Logo who Tweet banner

We don’t sell things out there, except ice and coffee and evidently that helps the local schools or something. We are a GIFT economy, not the V Festival. This isn’t Shakedown Street, this is Burning Man. And while those things have their place, we are intentionally different in Black Rock City.

See there are these 10 Principles and number three is this:

Decommodification
In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.

Read more »

Stretching on the Trampoline in Kidsville photo: Steven Fritz

A friend of mine and her colleague have written an informative post about bringing your kids to Burning Man.  Red Tricycle is in the business of sharing information about kids and I think you may find it useful. Burning Man with Kids: Guide to the Playa.

In addition to article, check out Burning Man’s page: Kids at Burning Man.  Have fun with your kids at Burning Man!

Photo: Jon O.

Hi. Are you shy? Do you have a hard time walking into a camp full of complete strangers and striking up a conversation? Does the idea of walking out of your tent in a crazy outfit strike terror into your heart? Fabulous! My people! Read on.

The dumbest mistake I made my virgin year was expecting the playa to entertain me. Waiting for other people to reach out to me and draw me in, figuring all I’d need to do was show up and I’d somehow be assimilated into the vibe. I was intensely shy, and didn’t have much experience figuring out how to insert myself into an unfamiliar culture. I had all the stuff I needed to survive, except social skills.

Burning Man is full of 50,000 people who are more-likely-than-in-normal-life to want to talk to you due to our participatory culture, but they’re still just people doing their own thing. If you are desperately shy and walking around hoping someone will talk to you- it might happen, it might not. But if you make an effort to talk to other people, the results will likely be good. If you don’t make an effort, you might be disappointed. And lonely. And nobody wants that.

Here are some suggestions that have worked well for me, perhaps some might work for you too. I’ve managed over seven years at Burning Man to transform myself from a desperately shy person into someone who is less-shy and can easily talk to others. Most of the time. I still have my moments of wide-eyed terror and wishing I had a book to hide behind.

Smile. Seriously. Shy people are sometimes seen as angry, aloof, haughty, unfriendly, you name it. Pretend you’re outgoing. Yeah, it’s terrifying. Do it anyway. Burning Man is a good place to practice looking friendly. Smile at everyone until your face hurts. Then take some ibuprofen and smile some more.

Have some conversational starters. Not “lines”, per se, but there’s a few things I’ve found that most everyone wants to talk about. I have great success with sidling up to strangers and asking “what’s the coolest thing you’ve seen today?” or “what’s the best piece of art that you’ve run across?” or the like. Everyone has wildly different experiences! Explore them.

Wear It Anyway! If you bring costumes to Burning Man but then feel uncomfortable going out in them, wear them anyway. You might feel terrifyingly like the center of attention when you step out of your tent in something that pushes your comfort zone, but you look pretty normal to everyone else. Nothing is normal in Black Rock City, so the weird becomes the norm. People enjoy complimenting each other on costumes (if they notice you at all). It’s a good conversation starter, too. Ask that person wearing the fabulous costume if they created it themselves.

Float More, Steer Less. Try an experiment where you let the whims of others dictate your day. Walk up to strangers and ask them for a destination suggestion or an activity. When they say something like “go climb the Man base and check it out” or “go visit XYZ camp and do (activity)”, do it. Once you’ve accomplished that task, ask someone else. Repeat. Have adventures. Or get distracted on the way. Whatever.

Go to an activity you find in the What Where When guide. You’ll meet people there because you’ll all be doing the same thing. It provides context, and context is a great way to meet people.

Meet your neighbors in the next camp over. Bring a snack or a drink or just a smile. Ask where they’re from, how their journey to Burning Man went. Let them know that you’re there to help if they need anything. They will usually offer their help too, and often a seat in their shade and a beer and an invite to sit a spell and chat.

Go to the Volunteer table near Playa Info in Center Camp, and ask if they need volunteers anywhere. Many projects and departments need volunteers. Having a Job makes it easy not to be shy.

The Nuclear Option. If all else fails and you feel desperate yet brave, make a sign (hand-held or on a t-shirt) that says “I Am Shy” and go hang out somewhere. People will come talk to you because, well, shit, we’re all shy sometimes.

HUGS!

As people begin to check-off their pre-burn packing lists, many are puzzled by the same question: “What should I bring as gifts?”

But Gifting is about much more than brown paper packages tied up with strings. In fact, Gifting is one of my favorite things…

These views are solely the views of Halcyon and do not represent the opinions of The Burning Man Organization or Major League Baseball.

This year, The Burning Man Media Team is working as never before to support the artists of Burning Man. We’ve providing Media Relations support so that artists can get the word out to their local communities and to the greater world about the amazing work they’re bringing to the playa this year.

We recognize that most of the time, artists are so busy working on their art and fundraising that they don’t often have time to create a strategy for getting the word out about their pieces. This is where the Media Team has stepped up to help. Planning with the Media Team in advance can ensure that artists’ teams and our city’s amazing artwork get the spotlights they deserve, and that the presence of hundreds of journalists is a realized opportunity for Black Rock City’s art makers.

A group of top notch Media Relations professionals—all Burners—recently put a webcast on for artists bringing their gifts to the burn this year. Hosted by Los Angeles Burning Man Regional Contact Athena Demos, the panel’s focus was preparation for the Playa, and how to promote your art, your team and yourself during Burning Man. Here, we present you with our panel materials.

This audio file contains excerpts from our panelists. Read on for contact information for the Media Team, tips, a checklist, and videos of Burning Man Art Department and Media Team staff members and Art PR expert Paul Klein about on-playa Media Relations.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

WEB CAST EXPERTS:
Cynthia Washburn, Poetic Kinetics (www.poetickinetics.com), Lynn Hasty, Green Galactic (www.greengalactic.com), Lucinda Michele, New Media Producer, Clear Channel Communications (www.clearchannel.com), Linda McWilliams, Reporter, LA Weekly (www.laweekly.com), Martin Burns, Reporter, Fox News Los Angeles (www.myfoxla.com)

HOW TO USE MEDIA MECCA ON THE PLAYA

• Make contact with art-pr here: art-pr (at) burningman.com to make sure our team knows about you and your work.
• Provide a folder of material for journalists (including press release, still pictures, contact information)
• Check in with Media Mecca on Playa and ask about Happy Hours and chances to meet journalists.
• Ask us about Media Mecca “Interview Training” advice so you give the best interview possible, if the opportunity arises.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAYA P.R.

__ Make a plan
__ Ask someone in your team to specialize in Public Relations for the art and team.
__ Write list of what makes your project newsworthy or special
__ Write good press release on your project.
__ Bring thumb drive with images of your build, your plans, any background info.
__ Bring camera and take some shots of your build and team.
__ Be reachable in case reporter expresses an interest.
__ Be ready with prompt follow up for reporter after event.
__ Produce press kit (including release, still photos, artist bio, team list) and provide
multiple copies to Media Mecca and your own PR specialist.
__ Attend Happy Hours (4:30-6pm) M-F at Media Mecca (Center Camp)

The folks at Media Mecca are ready to help you think through and act on this checklist. Please feel free to contact us via art-pr here: art-pr (at) burningman.com if you would like our Media Relations support.

ANDIE GRACE, Manager of Communications and the Regional Network, Burning Man

CRIMSON ROSE, Managing Art Director, Burning Man

BETTIE JUNE, Associate Director of Art Management, Burning Man

TOM LAPORTE, Manager, Media Mecca, Burning Man

MEGHAN RUTIGLIANO, Media Team Manager, Burning Man

PAUL KLEIN, Klein Artist Works (www.kleinartistworks.com)

Special thanks to our panelists, to Andie Grace, Crimson Rose, and Bettie June, Paul Klein, Paynie, The Red Loft (www.theredloft.com), John Fenoglio, Athena Demos (www.laburningman.com), Patrick Shearn, Kristoffer Taylor (www.streamguys.com), Stu Smith, Jim Graham (www.jgpr.com), Tom LaPorte and Meghan Rutigliano