Have you ever been to Burning Man or a similar festival type event? Any cool stories? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 4 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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So I'm going to a Canadian festival roughly modeled after Burning Man alone this week. I've never gone to something like this before, but expect to have a weird time (hopefully in a good sense).

Have you ever gone to something kinda like this (BM itself, a regional burn, outdoor multi-day music festival with that kind of vibe)? I'd love to hear people's stories/hard-earned wisdom.

Edit: It was the coolest thing I have ever experienced, and I now understand why people had a hard time picking out one specific story in this thread :)

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[-] [email protected] 33 points 4 weeks ago

I'm literally taking a break from the sun, packing out from a regional burn at this very moment. So many incredible stories and incredible people. Lots of cool, kind people who are just excited to share something they're excited about with others (especially at smaller events/regionals).

My hard earned wisdom is that you are not an audience member at a burn- you're a participant, an integral part of the experience for everyone else, so don't be afraid to talk to folks and to join in on whatever shenanigans are going down. Also, bring more sunscreen than you think you'll need and apply it more often than you think you should.

[-] [email protected] 12 points 4 weeks ago

I prefer covering up to regular sunscreen. A sarong or two will keep the sun off effectively. I found a few days of sunscreen application while camping got pretty manky.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 4 weeks ago

$20 camp shower and a storage bin solves the mank, but I burn easy, so its a yes and situation for me. :)

[-] [email protected] 7 points 4 weeks ago

Nice! Glad you had a good time!

Yep, I'm trying to keep the participatory aspect of it as front of mind as possible. Goal is to talk to as many people as possible, and say yes to as much stuff as I can (within reason/limits of personal safety). Was hoping to have some particularly cool thing/wandering experience at the ready, but for lack of planning gonna try and compensate by bolstering cool shit other folks are doing where the opportunity arises :).

[-] [email protected] 4 points 4 weeks ago

If you're heading to Sideburn, get the dust app. (If you haven't already). https://dust.events/docs/intro/ (link for Android or iOS app is here).

It is an app (for burning man & regional events) that has details of theme camps, art, music & the events on during the festival. They may have a paper guide and the app can be more up to date.

I recommend having a look through the events so you have the option of preparing for any you require something specific for (like a particular color clothing etc). The app doesn't require internet access after retrieving the event data if you don't have reception at the location.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 4 weeks ago

So I've considered attending these sorts of things for a while. And honestly, I think I'd be a good fit, based on what I've read about the sort of people camps look for. I'm cooperative, easygoing, helpful, and I like contributing to common goals. I have more experience in nature/camping than 99% of people and am well versed in LNT. I have a fair bit of experience doing diy projects, and am at least somewhat competent with carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, welding, and building/deconstructing temporary structures. I'm a big wall climber and am rope access certified, and am good at solving problems of moving heavy things where I need them or using leverage and ropes to exert lots of force. And I have the sort of athleticism that lets me do manual labor in the hot sun all day. For all practical purposes, I think I'd be a great addition to most people's camp.

you’re a participant, an integral part of the experience for everyone else

But this bit is honestly terrifying. Really, I never really "got" the appeal of festivals... you just show up at a place and... look at things? Talk to people? Based on pics and videos I've seen of these events, the art looks cool. And the people I've met who are burners are cool people. But I feel a kind of existential dread that once the work is done and it is time to "enjoy" the event, I'll just end up walking around, looking at things, being like "that's cool", awkwardly talking to no one or having very shallow, surface level conversations, and being bored.

So I challenge you: convince me that going to one of these events will be a good time.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 4 weeks ago

Lol, your last paragraph resonates. I'll probably have more to say about it once I've actually done it, but that's basically the risk - either you'll go, get out of your shell a bit, and have a good time, or you'll be kinda bored and anxious.

Will say that based on your skill set, you'd probably do well with the crew that goes out and does initial setup or a bigger, more involved camp. In doing the grunt work, you'd likely make a connection with those folks which will help bolster the social experience of it all.

I think you should give something like this a shot - worst you could say is you tried it out, and had a meh time. But it could be awesome - I've yet to see someone talk about a festival like this and say "Yeah, I went - I was bored and lonely as shit".

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Dunno if you're still looking for input, but I did say I'd have more to say about this once I did it, so here it is:

I helped show someone to one of the camps when I was wandering about, and they gave me a great piece of advice: you can think of burns basically as a giant version of the smoke pit outside a rave or a club. Everyone's having a good time, and 99% of people are open to whatever kind of pro-social interaction from the other participants.

Beyond this, unless people at theme camps are literally knee-deep in logistics/organizing specific stuff, they want you to talk with them. They want you to eat and drink the stuff they have on offer, sit in their plounges gabbing about whatever, poking the interactive stuff they made, asking random questions or sharing random stories (a good story is a gift!), etc. Basically, it's a safe assumption that people will act like they (and in 99.9% of cases truly do) want you there being part of the action, as your most authentic self.

If you're anything like me - a little more on the introverted side in unfamilar surroundings - it's a bit of an adjustment. If you want to be left alone and communicate this, people will leave you alone. But if you want to participate, you will be welcomed with open arms, even if you're a little awkward. 'We welcome the stranger', at least in my experience with the burn I went to, isn't just lip service. It's true.

Even if we put all of that aside, you know what's cool? Seeing a giant ass structure doused in accelerants go up in flames. The burns went incredibly well, and it was certainly something to see in its own right.

Bro - pull the trigger on this. I really do think you'd have a good time.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Damn, there's a local think happening near me in a couple days, but I already signed up for some shifts at work. But thanks for the encouragement! I'll look into it more!

[-] [email protected] 22 points 4 weeks ago

Went to burning man 15 years ago.

This is not hyperbole : the most fun I ever had

And I’ve lived a life of fun

[-] [email protected] 16 points 4 weeks ago

It's worth noting that Burning Man from 15 years ago is not the same Burning Man today and it's tragic.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 4 weeks ago

I've heard that from folks closer to Burning Man before - what's different from your perspective?

[-] [email protected] 9 points 4 weeks ago

“I read somewhere online” that big luxury tents have been propping up owned by organizations that basically sell the entire experience as a package to rich people.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 4 weeks ago

To keep it short and simple, it was more organic back then. Today, it's more of a "designer" experience. You can still have a hell of a lot of fun, but it just feels less natural.

[-] [email protected] 18 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Nowhere near as exciting as Burning Man. But I was at Reading '05 in the UK. The year of the Reading camping riots. It was insane. All out debauched celebration alongside morons being in charge of camping equipment whilst inebriated. This amounted to gas canisters and fireworks placed casually on the tops of campfires, leading to one guy having his balls shredded by shrapnel as he walked too close to one of the pires.

I witnessed a few walking wounded, stumbling to make their way to medical help, dripping with blood, being hindered by the utter chaos that filled the 'roads' between campsites. People were clinging to the sides of fire engines as they tried to wade through the drunken zombies, a group pushed an ice cream truck over with the operator still inside and the marshals all got trapped in their crows nests and pelted with all sorts of projectiles (including flaming) whilst people set their tents and remaining equipment on fire below instead of having to clean them up and cart them home.

I've never been in a situation like it. Utterly surreal, super scary but also kinda dumb fun at the time when you're 17... I can remember the festival being quite good before all hell broke loose on the last night!

[-] [email protected] 8 points 4 weeks ago

me trying to find an article about 2005 specifically, only finding comments on forums and inferior social media platforms saying "Oh yeah, that's just the Sunday at Reading, flaming tents and explosions are the norm, happens every year"

That's a hell of an experience!

[-] [email protected] 5 points 4 weeks ago

Yeah I've been hearing that it kind of repeats itself every few years. I can't comment on any other year, but witnessing 2005 was an eye opener. I was trying to find an article to link too but only came across one from 2022 that referenced 2005 (and apparently 2002) being exceptionally bad, comparing them to 2022.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

I used to go a lot around then, idk why (youth maybe?) but we weren't that scared... maybe because it was a tradition of our group after the music on Sunday night to go on an adventure around the campsite, making friends with random other camps sharing drinks, uh various substances and generally chilling with randoms. So even though we were aware of all the chaos and mayhem going on around, we just cared about chatting gods-knows what to people we'd never met before

Now I do remember the bottling 50 Cent got in '04, my mate threw a camping chair on the stage. Funny back then, still funny now

[-] [email protected] 14 points 4 weeks ago

Uses to go to Mountain Jam at Hunter Mountain in NY almost every year. It’s still a smaller event than the big ones and I think it makes a huge difference. It’s amazing but I haven’t been since before the pandemic. Camping with a couple thousand of your closest friends that you’ve never met while live music plays all day and night is incredible. Just migrating between campsites and sitting down for beers with everyone while they do the same with your campsite is a lesson to humanity.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Last year I went to "Rock to the park", a free Colombian rock/metal festival. I went inside the "pogos" (mosh pits), some sort of way of violent dancing common in metal concerts, where everybody pushes everybody. I stayed there basically all night, despite being a very thin and physically weak person.

I think it was the most fun I've ever had in a social event.

Sample video of a pogo

[-] [email protected] 4 points 4 weeks ago

I love me a mosh pit! Mosh pit would be the north American term. From now on however, I call it a pogo

Cheers.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 4 weeks ago

Yes, many

[-] [email protected] 1 points 4 weeks ago

May you regale us with one? How about your least favorite memory and then a strange one?

[-] [email protected] 0 points 4 weeks ago

I don't know where to start. You should have been there

[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago

If it's the Canadian version of Burning Man, the craziest thing you'll probably see is people littering.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

[-] [email protected] 3 points 4 weeks ago

Never been to burning man but I would have loved to have tried it. I did go to Bonnaroo for 4 years straight and 6 years total. Almost a 7th but the fest was legit cancelled an hour before we were going to start driving. And yeah so many amazing stories to count. The first year going holds a special place in my heart since it opened me up to a whole new world. I went with friends who knew other friends. Campsite was about a dozen of us and made new friends for life after that. It's overload being able to not only have some of the best moments ever, but also see some of your favorite bands where some will do something you may never see elsewhere. Wish I could do this again someday, but I do think we are all done at this point sadly. I did say when we get really old like late 50's we should go back in style. We ran into several older groups of people that had hilarious stories to tell and I kind of want to be them haha.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

I’ve been to a few festivals but never burning man. Mostly when I was in my late teens and early twenties. The combination of camping with best friends, being young and carefree, smoking weed and using hallucinogens, and listening to fun live bands was fucking amazing. So many hilarious and awesome stories, it’s hard to choose just one to share. Would love to experience it all again some day.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

That's awesome! I'm going as a dude in his 30s - which was reason to have some pause about this event, until I went to an info session about it and discovered I was on the younger side of the group, lol.

Nothing like using your vacation days to recapture a little youthful irresponsibility (coupled with adult sensibilities, like bringing enough food and water. Have erred on that on camping trips with the homies in my younger days :p )

[-] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago

It’s gonna be a blast. I’m excited for you.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 4 weeks ago

Yes.
No.

this post was submitted on 11 May 2025

68 points (97.2% liked)

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