Photo Credit: worldisround.com
If you are a hippie, or a hipster, relax, maybe pull a tube, and just, relax. Okay, are ya ready? IT’S TRUE! Straight from the horse’s mouth, “For the first time in 25 years of holding the Burning Man event, we have had to cut off ticket sales before the event” (blog.burningman.com).
We’re not sure what’s going to come of this, but due to its close proximity, Burning Man is a yearly thing for many Tahoe locals-some of them aren’t even hippies (or hipsters)! No, really, all sorts of diverse people like to go and help create one of the largest (temporary) cities in the state of Nevada each year known as Black Rock City. They’re called “Burners”. But even beyond the Burners, the festival is one-of-a-kind.Maybe it’s not something for in-the-box mentalities or the crunchy-yuppy crowd, but definitely something people that are open to freedom of expression, self-reliance, and cool with tons of naked old dudes (and women, some not so aged) should partake in.
Photo Credit: flickriver.com
What are people in San Francisco thinking? Especially those who planned to go, but procrastinated buying their ticket? This whole amazing thing actually got started in the Bay Area (no surprise there, really). The festival began on the Summer Solstice in 1986 when a few guys from San Francisco burned a wooden man on Baker Beach. 25 years later the festival has grown to international notoriety and now reportedly, 50,000 or more people have bought tickets and there ain’t any left. The word out there in cyberspace is they may release more tickets in the coming weeks-this was just a way to freak the hippies out (without the brown paper).
Photo Credit: marc.merlins.org
But seriously, if you want to buy tickets, you actually can, from places like StubHub for as low as $859 each, or try your luck on Ebay. There’s actually one ticket on Ebay right now, with 26 bids, and IT’S GOING FOR $3,050. Holy Sh*t is right.
If you’re wondering what you’re going to miss, well, like most “Burners” would probably say, it’s really not something you can accurately describe in words (or photos). You just have to go. The first three pictures in this post are from the Critical Tits Race, which is like a Critical Mass Bike Ride held in communities across the world, but Burning Man specific, and more a ride for ladies to celebrate the freedom to not cover up as they’re forced to in public places. See where this is going? Anything goes. Anything.
We’ll spare you the many easily attainable pictures you can get of super saggy sacks (if you don’t know what I mean, don’t worry about it), but the truth of the matter is you’ll see things at Burning Man THAT YOU WILL NEVER SEE ANYWHERE ELSE. Like Mutant Cars,
Photo Credit: emma557.blogspot.com
Photo Credit: techcoccult.net
incredibly brilliant works of art that some people literally start working on right after the previous year’s festivities have ended.
Photo Credit: wayfaring.info
Photo Credit: shift.jp.org
Of course there’s The Man,
Photo Credit: laughingsquid.com
and tons of things burning in the desert.
Photo Credit: artculture.com
Photo Credit: oaklandmofo.com and Gerry D
In the greater scheme of things it’s pretty crazy that the festival has sold out. It’s truly one of the most unique experiences a person WILL EVER have. That is, if you can self sustain in the desert for a week, deal with the inevitable dust storms that can be crazy intense (people wear ski goggles to protect their eyes), are okay with lots of nudity, tons of partying, lots of smiles, open sexuality, torturous heat during the day, bumping techno beats through the night, freaks galore, freaks who aren’t freaks getting freaky for a minute, and of course, the inevitable saggy sack.
The truth is, people may be freaking out about the sold out status of this year’s festival, but it’s not just the hippies. In fact, hippies, yuppies, old folks, youngins’, businessmen, dirt-bags, ski bums, vagabonds, hipsters, corporate exec’s-everyone is welcome on the Playa, everyone is welcome at Burning Man, and everyone comes together each year in the desert to create a temporary community to do whatever the heck they want. It’s really a pretty cool and beautiful thing. But maybe not this year, unless more tickets are released, or you’re okay will paying 3-4 (or more) times the face value for a ticket. That is not the way of Burning Man, as the only thing money will buy you once you are through the gate is ice, and coffee (not kidding, there’s no exchange of money allowed at Burning Man-for anything!-people give “gifts” and barter/trade if they need something). The money spent on a ticket is used to help pay for organizing the event, and the cost of the necessary permit to run the festival from the B.L.M. Unfortunately, it seemed this was bound to happen one of these years-scalpers and the “outside” world finding a way to make money off the festival-the most famous “counter culture” festival in the world. Too bad it had to happen so soon.