Gearing Up for the June 21 Worldwide Burning Man Celebration

The Burning Man world is already ablaze with moving tributes to Larry Harvey, from Veronica’s Burning Man-themed 7th birthday party and Kostume Kult’s cowboy-hat-themed blacklight party in New York, to memorials at Regional Events including China’s Dragon Burn, AfrikaBurn and in the Compass at Midburn in Israel, to the Profiles in Dust-produced video shown at our own Desert Arts Preview, not to mention the beautiful ones shared online both in the Journal and on larry.burningman.org. With the Day of Gratitude set for June 21, hopefully these examples will give you some ideas about how your community can bring its local flavor to this global celebration.

Here are some of the events around the world folks have already planned for sometime around their local sunset.

Planet-wide, the first gatherings we know about will be held in Japan, a Burner community Larry visited and connected with. There’s a general Facebook event for Japanese Burners to coordinate June 21 gatherings.

In Israel, there will be two gatherings hosted by community members, one more philosophical (as is appropriate) in the north, and one on the beach (equally appropriate) in Tel Aviv.

Our beloved former Burning Man Project Fellow Misa Rygrova is instigating one in the Czech Republic, which has a Facebook event you can join.

Ranger Yalla says there will be a Larry-loving presence at the summer solstice gathering at Stonehenge in the U.K. We’ve also heard about a June 21 wedding of two people in the U.K. who met on playa, where there will be an evening fire dedicated to Larry. In London, there will be a “moment of noise” (aren’t Burners delightful?) at the EuroBurners’ monthly Burning Pub event.

Burning Barna in Barcelona will be gathering on the beach, and it sounds like tapas is on the menu alongside art, stories and thinking of Larry.

There’s a sunset picnic and bonfire in Montreal called “Burn for Larry: A Solstice Celebration in Honour of Larry Harvey.” They’ll be gathering in a bit of forest next to the St. Laurence River to sit around the fire and reminisce. There will be a small effigy, possibly in the shape of a hat.

Virginia/Tidewater Burners are organizing a sunset paddle out on the Chesapeake Bay.

In Atlanta, Georgia, the local Burner Meet’n’Greet will hold a sunset toast to Larry at the beautifully named Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium (here’s the Facebook event).

In Black Rock City’s neighboring town of Gerlach, Nevada, Burning Man co-founders Crimson Rose and Will Roger will be leading a contemplative sunset walk through a labyrinth. A labyrinth is a meandering path, often unicursal, with a singular path leading to a center, used as a form of ritual walking meditation.

In Seattle, Washington, storied Black Rock City art crew Iron Monkey Arts is hosting an all-ages barbecue and storytelling gathering at Equinox Studios, to which you can RSVP via Facebook.

In Sisters, Oregon, there will be an altar for Burners at the Solstice in the Pines gathering.

In the Los Angeles, California area, there’s a sunset gathering at the Dockweiler Beach campground (and corresponding Facebook event). The hosts write: “Here in Los Angeles, we will join the wave of celebration at 8:08 pm PDT, as the sun dips below the horizon. We invite you to pause, (light a candle, howl at the moon, meditate, laugh, sing a song) and reflect on how Larry Harvey and Burning Man affected your world/life/self.”

And in Burning Man’s ancestral home, the San Francisco Bay Area, there are lots of options. From 3:00 to 7:00 pm, East Bay Burners and Burning Man Project are co-hosting a get-together at the Lake Merritt bandstand in Oakland. The free-to-the-public spontaneous outdoor piano gathering PianFrancisco will be honoring Larry through music at the top of Bernal Hill from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. There are sure to be more Bay Area gatherings large and small, so stay tuned for more.

Don’t forget to join our global Facebook event for coordinating this global wave of gratitude. No matter how you’re participating, if you feel moved to share it online, mention Burning Man and use the hashtag #thankslarry, so we can find your Facebook live-streams, photos, videos or whatever else and share them on larry.burningman.org and via social media.

If you’re planning a memorial event for June 21 and would like us to boost the signal about it, please send the details to memorialplans@burningman.org.

We look forward to giving thanks with the whole worldwide community for this amazing Burning Man life we have, and for Larry Harvey, who started that fire in the first place.


Top photo: The Man descends to Baker Beach, 1989 (Photo by Stewart Harvey)

About the author: Burning Man Project

Burning Man Project

The official voice of the Burning Man organization, managed by Burning Man Project's Communications Team.

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