Episode 2317
Burning Man
Wed, 2023-Sep-06 01:56 UTC
Length - 4:34
Direct Link
Welcome to popular Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of a popular Wikipedia page every day.
With 291,221 views on Tuesday, 5 September 2023 our article of the day is Burning Man.
Burning Man is a week-long large-scale desert campout focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance held annually in the western United States. The name of the event comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred to as the Man, that occurs on the penultimate night of Burning Man, which is the Saturday evening before Labor Day. The event has been located since 1991 at Black Rock City in northwestern Nevada, a temporary city erected in the Black Rock Desert about 100 miles (160 km) north-northeast of Reno. According to Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey in 2004, the event is guided by ten principles. These stated principles are radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation, and immediacy. At Burning Man, there are no headliners or scheduled performers. Instead, the participants design and build all the art, activities, and events. Artwork at Burning Man includes experimental and interactive sculptures, buildings, performances and art cars, among other media. These contributions are inspired by a theme that is chosen annually by the Burning Man Project. The event has been characterized as "countercultural revelry" and has been described by its organizers as an "excuse to party in the desert".
The event originated on June 22, 1986, on Baker Beach in San Francisco as a small function organized by Larry Harvey and Jerry James, the builders of the first Man. It has since been held annually, spanning the nine days leading up to and including Labor Day. Over the event's history, attendance has generally increased. In 2019, 78,850 people participated in the event. In 2021, in the wake of the official event being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an unofficial Burning Man event had an estimated 20,000 attendees. NPR said about Burning Man, "Once considered an underground gathering for bohemians and free spirits of all stripes, Burning Man has since evolved into a destination for social media influencers, celebrities and the Silicon Valley elite." Because participation is such a key precept for the community there has been some controversy within the Burning Man community surrounding attendees in recent years who are perceived as being more passive participants than active ones. Academics have studied the social phenomena of Burning Man including its non-denominational ritual and spiritual practices. Burning Man is organized by the Burning Man Project, a non-profit organization that, in 2013, succeeded Black Rock City LLC, a for-profit limited liability company. Black Rock City LLC was formed in 1999 to represent the event's organizers and is now considered a subsidiary of the non-profit organization. The Burning Man Project endorses multiple smaller regional events guided by the Burning Man principles, both in the United States and internationally. The organization provides the essential infrastructure of Black Rock City and works year-round to bring Burning Man culture to the world through programs such as Burners Without Borders, Black Rock Solar, and Global Arts Grants.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:56 UTC on Wednesday, 6 September 2023.
For the full current version of the article, see Burning Man on Wikipedia.
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This has been Joey Standard. Thank you for listening to popular Wiki of the Day.
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