BurningMan 1999 - A report from the front lines
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Deep in the wilds of the desert...
( well, maybe just a few miles outside of a small town called Gerlach..) a strange and wonderful event takes place. Each year at the end of Summer, thousands upon thousands of otherwise 'normal' folk are drawn by a mysterious power to the gigantic silt desert known as Black Rock. Here, these docile creatures shed their outer skin, and make a startling transformation... into what they most desire to be. Leaving the dried husk of society behind them (tucked safely away for the return trip), they venture confidently into the desert to congregate around the Icon of their freedom from society -The Burning Man
Like a lighthouse on a rocky shore, the Man calls to each member of this unusual tribe, beckoning them closer, closer still... to create and re-create themselves and their surroundings in an environment that was stark and barren before their arrival. Each year, the Man stands tall upon his pyramid, a symbol of what could be. The festival lasts for a full week underneath the scorching desert sun... by the daylight it is a city nearly deserted, but by night it comes alive. Lasers slice through the air above, while the thrumming beat of rave music weaves its way through the night air. Fanciful plumage abounds, each participant trying to be more flambouyant, more creative, MORE than the previous year. Neon green and orange fish swim through the air in the inky blackness of the desert night, while nearby a flock of electric blue seagulls wends its way through a crowd of flame-haired vikings.
