Regionals Reawaken
This time last year - for the second year in a row – most of us sat at home and experienced Black Rock City through a screen, or via a headset as an avatar in the multi-verse. I remember the rather unceremonious burning of a miniature man built by one of my burner friends beamed into my living room from the other side of the world. We half-heartedly cheered from our respective zoom windows, reminisced about playa times, before closing our laptops shut and going to bed feeling nostalgic and deflated. These were strange times indeed.
But after this extended pause the time has come to go home. The Regionals have led the charge with Burns already taking place all around the world. Rather than weakening the movement, this enforced hiatus has done just the opposite. We have burned all the brighter. I was fortunate to step back onto the Burn wagon and go to two incredible European events, Nowhere in Spain and The Borderland in Sweden this summer.
These experiences could not be more opposite. Nowhere, my “local” Regional, takes place in the absolutely blazing heat of the Spanish Monegros desert. And what better setting to relight the fire. It is a steampunk themed playground that has all the energy and allure of earlier BRC editions, when things – and participants - were rougher and wilder round the edges. Here I marveled at apocalyptic looking art pieces spewing fire, engaged in all forms of snark, and even had an awe-inspiring impromptu waltz with death (with a stranger dressed as a Star Wars-esque grim reaper).
The Nordic Borderland is nestled in a cool forested valley, blanketed in mist at night. With its roots in the Live Action Role Play (LARP-ing) community, it feels like a week-long experiment in immersive theatre. Its participants are straight out of a Norse version of Lord of the Rings. I lost myself to its quirky woodland paths dancing at fairytale-inspired sound stages, and participated in a dizzying array of weird and wonderful events. A special mention goes to the snail racing competition at the hilariously named lake-side Tropical Goth Tiki Bar.
While the setting of these events was as different as chalk and cheese, both made me fall completely head over heels in love with the Burn again. Just before the pandemic hit, I launched myself on a world tour of Regionals, which took me on a rollercoaster ride across five continents over the course of a year. From the pampas of Argentina, the Tankwa of South Africa, Israel’s Negev, the Monegros of Spain, Black Rock City, Burning Japan, to Western Australia’s outback. I had set myself a mission - to get to the heart of a movement that seeks to create community in a disconnected world. And what I discovered is this, we need the burn more than ever. We need its playgrounds, its unbridled spaces for creation, imagination, connection – and yes, its tough love.
We have so few spaces and rituals left where we can come together for celebration and shared healing. The pandemic years showed us the worrying patterns that emerge when we do away with these completely. But after a fall we rise again. To build the cities we dream up. The Regionals I attended this year had an energy and drive that proved how strongly we have bounced back. There was more art at Nowhere this year, and Borderland (and AfrikaBurn) has now established itself on permanent land bought by the community. Many Borderlings came early to the site for build week, eager to co-create.
Beyond the events mentioned, there have been new exciting additions to the Network in faraway places. A Moroccan burn, Nam Burn in Namibia, and a whole host of micro-burns have literally mushroomed whilst the world sheltered in place. In fact, in Sweden they have kept going throughout as gatherings of up to 50 people were permitted. Speaking to a Swedish-based burner with a thick accent and even thicker ginger beard, he confided that the movement provided an essential outlet for him to keep some sense of community. He is not alone in this. The future of Burning Man extends far beyond BRC to the four corners of the world. The essence of “Home” is found in human connection. It can therefore exist in equal measure in a field of 500 people, or in this awe-inspiring white dusty canvas we have co-created where 80,000 gather.