Regionals Reawaken: A Blog Series by Roxane Jessi

Roxane Jessi is a world traveler who spent the last few years participating in Burning Man Regional Events around the globe — from Blazing Swan and Burning Japan to Fuego Austral and Midburn. In 2023 Burning Man Publishing released her new book, Once Upon a Time in the Dust, Burning Man Around the World, which chronicles her adventures. This is the fourth in Roxane’s Journal series sharing sights, sounds and connections from the wildly inventive global Burning Man community.

  • AfrikaBurn 2023 — of Earth and Space

     By Roxane Jessi
    AfrikaBurn. A world that is dusty, rocky and raw, deep in the Tankwa desert. During the week, the otherwise tranquil earth rumbles with sound and a stampede of feet that dance with abandon. Stages pump out music that takes hold of the senses from every corner of the playa, as thousands throw shapes against the …Read More

  • Many Legs Dancing to Different Drums: Once Upon a Time at AfrikaBurn

     By Roxane Jessi
    AfrikaBurn — South Africa’s annual Regional Burning Man Regional Event — kicks off today. As we write, 9,500 Burners from around the world are building Tankwa Town, a temporary creative community at Quaggafontein Farm in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The event’s 2023 theme is Space, which invites participants to “embark on a …Read More

  • How Grants Breathe Cities of Art into Life

     By Roxane Jessi
    Every year the Black Rock City Honoraria program supports artists in creating art for the annual Burning Man event in Black Rock City, one of the most awe-inspiring art experiences in the world. But beyond the Nevada playa, many established Regional events, regardless of size, offer art grants to participants.  Through these grants, event organizers …Read More

  • Regionals Reawaken: Wild Borderland

     By Roxane Jessi
    Borderland, Sweden’s Regional Event, epitomizes Communal Effort. I was fortunate enough to take part in its main gathering this summer in the enchanting Swedish woodland. I then returned in December for an unofficial decompression event in Stockholm. Both experiences demonstrated the strength of this year-round community. I land in a frozen Sweden in the depths …Read More

  • Midburn 2022: Trip Report From Israel’s Negev Desert

     By Roxane Jessi
    Originally published on October 29, 2022 | Reposted with permission from the author Midburn. A return to dust. But instead of white powder blowing like wispy dancers across the Nevada plains, the sands of Israel’s Negev Desert shift like golden tides over tall dunes. Dunes that are made to be explored, wrapped in thick desert …Read More

  • Regionals Reawaken

     By Roxane Jessi
    Originally published on August 14, 2022 | Reposted with permission from the author Last year — for the second year in a row — most of us sat at home and experienced Black Rock City (BRC) and its Regionals through a screen, or via a headset as an avatar. I remember the rather unceremonious burning …Read More

  • Black Rock City in a Maelstrom

     By Roxane Jessi
    Holding hands with my sister and playa family while the Man burst into flames, the dancing fire reflected in our eyes, having lived an unforgettable week of fun and adventures. This was the ending I was expecting after three years off playa during which I sorely missed our Home and poured my heart into writing …Read More