When it comes to the international reach of Burning Man, the fire metaphor is the gift that keeps on giving. A flame is lit, ideas catch fire, communities are kindled, torches are passed. What began as a tiny spark of curiosity often grows into an inferno of energy and creativity and passion.
This is a good kind of blaze. The kind that ignites that Burning Man flame in people from all walks of life, all around the world.
Burning Man Project’s nonprofit programming enthusiastically supports the global spread of more Burning Man in the world, including through support of the Regional Network, art grants, and opportunities for knowledge sharing online and at forums such as the European Leadership Summit. All of this is for the same cause: to bring more connection, creativity, innovation and thriving to every corner of the world. Send the spirit of the playa flying to the farthest reaches of planet Earth; extend this Burning Man thing as far beyond the trash fence as possible; create a worldwide virtuous cycle of inspiration and transformation. That’s the dream. And, with more than 95,000 global participants in the past year, in addition to the 70,000 at BRC 2024, we are well on our way.
To further fan your Burning Man flame, we are pleased to present three stories of community members around the world whose passion is fully ignited. Through Regional Events, art projects, and sustainable business ventures, these are stories of those fanning the flames of Burning Man far and wide.
More than an event, Burning Man is a global cultural movement, and the nonprofit in service to that culture requires year-round support — year after year. Support the Burning Man Project nonprofit’s mission to build a more creative, connected world. Make a tax-deductible donation today. GIVE TODAY
Bridging Generations: How Burning Man Revitalized a Romanian Village
Gabrielle Muscalu co-founded Romania’s RoBurn to bring the deep sense of belonging he felt in Black Rock City home to Romania. Three years into producing RoBurn, Muscalu and his co-organizers had to find a last minute new location for their third event. And that’s when Romania got an influx of unexpected Burners: village elders in rural Romania.
As of 2022, RoBurn takes place every summer in a remote valley outside of a town called Ștefănel in Romania’s southwestern Dolj County. Mascolo knew about this village and its neighboring valley because his grandfather lives in the next town over.
As is the story in so many rural towns, Ștefănel had fallen on hard times. All the young people had moved away, seeking better opportunities abroad. Save for its oldest residents, the village was empty.
It could have been a recipe for disaster. But rather than meeting the RoBurn participants with hostility, the residents of Ștefănel welcomed them. They brought gifts of homemade bread, milk, wine, tomatoes, and eggs. One village local even participated in a cacao ceremony (a gathering where people ceremonially consume cacao to promote healing, connection, and self-exploration).
At the end of the event, Ștefănel’s police came to offer their congratulations.
“We went to the village and started interviewing the people,” recalls Mascolo. “We were fascinated to see that their need is actually a simple but quite interesting one. We asked them, ‘What do you need?’ And they said, ‘We want to be young again.’”
The RoBurn crew is continuing to build a relationship with Ștefănel. In an act of Civic Responsibility and Radical Gifting, they returned in autumn to plant the first new trees the village had seen in 50 years. The mayor has since told Mascolo Ștefănel’s valley is RoBurn’s to use. Every year, for free.
The Burning Man LIVE podcast episode “Burning in Europe: Stories of Home” features recorded conversations from Burning Man’s 2024 European Leadership Summit, where Burning Man regional contacts and collaborators gathered in Estonia to connect, teach, learn and conjure ideas for the future of Burning Man worldwide.
Rooting in Togetherness: Nebula Shroom Grove’s Cross-Continental Community
As much as we may work to avoid it, loneliness is an inevitable part of the human experience.
In Colombia, there’s even a saying about it — andaba como un hongo.
Roughly: “I’m lonely like a mushroom.”
The Colombian artist Silvia Rueda and the team behind the 2024 Honoraria project “Nebula Shroom Grove” were inspired by this Colombian saying to bring their first art piece to Black Rock City, a place that’s the ultimate antidote to loneliness and a hotbed of connection. Thanks to partial funding of an Honorarium awarded by Burning Man Project, the team was able to bring a piece with a powerful message to playa: that though we may feel lonely, much like mushrooms connected through a mycelial network, we are never truly alone.
The Nebula team has their own mycelial network. They are a group of college friends — architects and designers from Colombia, Venezuela, Spain, London, and Ukraine. They live scattered across the globe, separate from each other’s daily lives. Their art piece was the perfect way to stay connected across distance. “Nebula Shroom Grove” was one of 13 internationally-led Honoraria art pieces on playa this year, and the first Honoraria piece to be woman-led by a Colombian LGBTQIA artist.
“As architects, we just like to have people experience our spaces. I cannot imagine a better place to bring art and a spatial architecture piece, a place where grown-ups act like kids and will explore every little nook of our piece,” Rueda said.
Thanks to a partnership with the design firm Creative Machines, grown-ups and kids will be able to continue exploring “Nebula Shroom Grove” together soon when installed at its permanent home of Second Sky, a community hub in Tucson, AZ. Much like Burning Man, Second Sky was created to “build community by inspiring adventurous play, communication and learning across generations.”
Hauling Dreams: ChiCargo’s Journey from Rideshare to Community Lifeline
In the transformative spirit of Burning Man, Drew Huening’s journey from carpooling with strangers to Black Rock City to becoming the founder of ChiCargo, a community shipping program for Burning Man and Regional Events, is a testament to Burning Man’s ability to inspire grand acts of creativity and practicality.
Answering the call to adventure on the Burning Man rideshare board in 2008, Huening embarked on a 3,000-mile drive to Black Rock City with two strangers in a cramped Prius. It was a journey that marked the beginning of Huening’s evolving role within the Burning Man community, from an informal camp leader to organizer of a large theme camp.
Driven by necessity and the ever-growing scale of his camp’s needs, Huening’s transportation methods evolved annually — from a humble Prius to progressively larger U-Hauls, culminating in the acquisition of a 48-foot semi-trailer in 2015 through the creation of an LLC.
This strategic move gave birth to ChiCargo, which has become integral to the Burning Man experience for many in the Chicago area. The program allows other Burners from the Chicago area to rent space on the company’s trailer to transport gear to and from Black Rock City. This frees Chicago area participants to avail themselves of the Burner Express Bus and rideshares, with a bonus of having a significant net impact on emissions reductions for travel to BRC.
The success of ChiCargo underscores a central Burning Man narrative: what begins as a practical solution can transform into an essential community service. As Huening puts it, the gratitude of participants echoes across the playa — “My burn is so much easier!” “I don’t have to rent a car!” “I can take the Burner Express Bus!” “I can’t imagine burning without it.”
It’s all connected. Musing why Burning Man is such an incubator for innovation, Huening said, “If you’re at Burning Man and you see something unbelievably cool and innovative, close by is gonna be the person that made it, sitting on a lawn chair, and they’ll want to tell you all about it and they have the time to. It’s like, ‘let me open the hood to this thing and let me tell you candidly what worked and what didn’t work.’ As a tinkering person, it’s a pure feedpipe of inspiration, but also the hands-on ability to actually learn.”
And thus conclude three stories showcasing the power of Burning Man culture. It fosters innovation, builds community, and creates positive change all over the world. Burning Man Project exists to nurture this global ecosystem of creativity and connection. And we want to hear all about how you bring Burning Man to the world and the impact it has on your family, friends, workplace, school, town.
We want to know all the ways you fuel the fire, so we can fan your flames.
Cover image of Roburn participants, 2023 (Photo courtesy of Roburn)
