Stories From the City is a project by the Camp Support Team that uses the power of storytelling to support theme camps. We share stories of camps to inspire participation, capture practical methodologies and lessons learned, and document the fascinating community experiments that happen at Black Rock City. If you’re interested in telling your story, email campsupport@burningman.org.
Stories From the City: Feed the Artists – Maybe We’ve Fed YOU
In the spring of 2007, “Kernal Angus” sat in a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, with his friend and well-known Black Rock City artist Zach Coffin, discussing Burning Man, as they were often prone to do. Zach described some of the challenges that Burning Man artists with any reasonably-sized project face by explaining that they arrive …Read More
Stories From the City: Religious As F*ck — Sharing Sacred Rituals on the Playa
“Most people think it’s a joke when they first meet us,” Annie Dunlop says when describing our theme camp Religious As Fuck (RAF). What we really are is a bunch of (mostly) religious people, some of whom are ordained Christian clergy, and some of whom simply have found Christianity to be helpful in our own …Read More
Stories From the City: Crafting at Camp Luminos
Burning Man 2014 was going to be David Bell’s year. He had been staying in Black Rock City’s open camping since 2009, but this year he and his friends were bringing a yoga-focused theme camp to the playa. That is until the wind, thunder, and lightning. Suddenly they had, as David put it, “a complete …Read More
Stories From the City: Playing With the Wind on the Outer Rim
By Ben Buchholz“We come here to sail and, hey, there’s a party in the neighborhood, too,” says Black Rock Yacht Club co-founder and camp lead Jim (Gym) Pettigrew. Like Gym, the BRYC camp is a bit scruffy, old-school, and different from the average Burning Man camp. For one, they turn their attention outwards, living on the very …Read More
Stories From the City: How Flat Tire Cafe Went From Non-Functioning to Non-Profit
By Ben BuchholzThe following story is about a theme camp that provides playa-critical bike repair services and serves cold brew coffee, but the challenges they faced and the solutions they found could be about any camp. Between the 2016 and 2017 Burns, the crew at Flat Tire Cafe (previously “SNAP Camp”) found itself in an existential dilemma. …Read More
Stories From the City: The First-Year Surprise of Sunrise Diner
During their first year at Burning Man, Nathan McKinley (a.k.a “Oncall”) and Zella Henderson (a.k.a. “Lifesaver”) would wake to mimosas as far as the eye could see. Every morning, they would adventure around their neighborhood hoping to find something to eat, but only found sparkling beverages and quiet streets. “We were unplaced, we were virgins …Read More