Every year, the Burning Man Music Festival has been a tourist spot for thousands of people. “Burning Man is not a festival. Burning Man is a community. A temporary city. A global cultural movement based on 10 practical principles.” the Burning Man Project states on their website.
Burning Man’s website clearly lays out their mission for all to read, “Burning Man Project’s mission is to produce the annual event known as Burning Man and to guide, nurture and protect the more permanent community created by its culture. Our intention is to generate society that connects each individual to his or her creative powers, to participation in community, to the larger realm of civic life, and to the even greater world of nature that exists beyond society.” All those who attend Burning Man can agree, it is a community and a culture, not your average Music Festival.
This year, with COVID-19 on the rise, many thought this would be the first time since 1986 that no one would be able to return to Black Rock City, the traditional host of the festival every year. With the help of modern technology and a team of dedicated “Universe Creators”, Burning Man was brought to life via virtual reality. This year’s theme was “Multiverse” and featured an online, ever-expanding world made up of a virtual temple along with eight universes and a globally distributed Man Burn via live streams. The Universe Creators programmed a version of Black Rock City for fans to visit through their computer screens from the safety of their homes. The Burning Man Project makes it clear on their website that there are a million ways to participate including creating your own art/performance or camp for others to explore with their avatars.
The Project also mentions being dedicated to refunding any of those who need money back from purchasing their tickets before COVID-19 began, but those who didn’t were able to access the Virtual Burning Man Festival through their screens. Fans were able to create their own avatars, explore the virtual Black Rock City, and listen to their favorite artists that were live streaming throughout the event. People around the world also hosted their own burns and live streamed them to the multiverse where everyone could watch each other’s live streams. The creators added what they called the “Infinite Playa” page which could be used to find all kinds of art and interactive experiences in one place that was easily accessible to users.
While the event seemed like it was going to be incredibly different as it had been every other year, there were many traditions that stayed in place this year despite being online virtual reality. “One thing stayed the same. As she has done for years, our beloved Cultural Founder started the fire ritual on Monday, with the first flame being lit from the light of the sun, this year from the center of a large labyrinth. Just like in Black Rock City, Crimson tended to the fire all week in preparation for Saturday, and she lit the Man around 9pm,” stated by the Burning Man Project on their website earlier this week. The online event featured the traditional burning of a 40-foot-tall wooden man viewers experienced through their avatar’s bodies.
Daniel Terdiman wrote about his experience at this year’s Black Rock City: “BRCvr’s main entry point is a spot out in the open, just a few dozen virtual meters away from what any Burning Man veteran instantly recognizes as the Center Camp Café, the beating-heart hub of Black Rock City. A good start, Things looked right. They sounded right, too. I heard the sound of a blast from a fire cannon. I heard laughter. And I heard people nearby having random conversations.” said Terdiman.
Once again, COVID-19 tried to take something from us that we were able to salvage. A virtual Burning Man is proof that with creative solutions we will be able to survive this global pandemic.