If you didn’t like Burning Man 2024, you can stop going now

(A trip report by Jetpack)

Burning Man 2024 was, technically, one of the best years to be at Burning Man in recent memory. There was a bit of wind and rain during build week, that was all gone by gate opening at Midnight Saturday. And with the weather behind us, we had one of the most spectacular weeks in years: a perfect week with virtually no dust or wind and reasonable temperatures. In fact the first time this year’s Burning Man Virgins even knew what a whiteout was happened late Sunday night, during the temple burn, which, by the way, was so surreal and cool.

This year’s predicted apocalypse, the world-shattering, paradigm-breaking catastrophe of the event not selling every last ticket, resulted in a city with probably 67,000 peak residents instead of the usual 75,000. The easy availability of tickets was healthy for the city in a number of ways, bringing more last-minute and lower income participants, and reducing the Placement department’s ability to use their monopoly on Steward’s Sale tickets to cajole theme camps into working themselves to death just to get a ticket or two.

The theme this year, if I remember correctly, was Curiouser and Curiouser, which doesn’t really mean much in terms of Burning Man art, since we’re all doing Alice in Wonderland every year anyway. The man base was spectacularly beautiful and its spiral ramps gave a sensation of movement bursting out of a static object. The way those ramps brought you near, but not with, the people who had chosen to ascend a different ramp resulted in a moment of spontaneous interactivity as you waved and called your friends across a little chasm. This year’s Temple of Together, by Caroline Ghosn, recalled some of the delicateness of last year’s Temple of the Heart, but at night, it was better lit than any temple has ever been, which made for what was probably the most ornate and gothic temple we’ve ever had; it felt like it would not have been out of place as one of the great cathedrals of the world (without ever feeling sectarian).

Mutant vehicles? They just keep getting better. Mayan Warrior 2.0 made its surprise debut, and, as much as I wanted to be skeptical, found it to be absolutely stunning, four stories high, and with the best sound we’ve ever heard on playa. There were many other new mutant vehicles, large and small, including a simply massive one with a gigantic multi-tiered stage area behind the DJ so that there is virtually unlimited room to participate, even if you’re not a supermodel or friend of the DJ.

This year placement offered theme camps the option to take the year off and still get guaranteed placement for 2025, and a surprising number took them up on it, including some very major camps like Playalchemist, Distrikt, and queerborhood anchor Comfort & Joy. The result was interesting. Placed camps only went as far as approximately F or G this year, so there was tons of room for open camping. A lot of new, creative, smaller camps got some attention this year. My camp, the Future Turtles, had only 43 members but we managed to put on four big parties that were all mobbed. Many of the other newer queerborhood camps established in the last couple of years are starting to become institutions, from Pink Ponies to Fruitpop. This year saw Banana Hammocks, long established at Love Burn in Miami, establish their playa presence, along with a bunch of all new camps including Queertirement, Sandy Taco, Olympus (the first Queer camp on Esplanade in years!), BRC Municipal Pool (out of NYC! represent!), and Womxn Sex-positive & Pleasure Sluts, the first new all-women camp in the Queerborhood since Beaverton. The main drag of the Queerborhood was really F from 7:00 to 7:30 and the frontage of the camps there, many of them refurbished after last year’s mud, was absolutely perfection, making for one of the most on fleek blocks of Burning Man, with bars, clubs, sex clubs, a movie theater, cafes, Dusty Frogz’ Eiffel-fricking-tower, a candy shop, all done beautifully and without a single U-Haul truck or RV on the frontage. Gymnasium brought back their perennial favorite, naked oil wrestling and naked yoga, and also made room for the Pink Gym for lifting weights. Paradise Motel was back, after a year interruption, with sno-cones: show your junk to skip the line. 8-bit Bunny brought back the hot sauna and added a cold misting fan. Some of y’all ran San Francisco-clone parties with the usual pop music, tall men with perfect abs sipping vodka sodas and judging everyone, you know who you are, stop it, we don’t need to hear brat summer and feel bad about ourselves for not pulling some twink, when we could be biking into the playa exploring an infinite array of transcendent monumental art.

Time to go!

We’re packing up and ready to go to playa in time for Build Week which starts next week!

This year there has been a lot of speculation about the weather (will it be hot and dusty? Oh no!), the city population (tickets did not sell out for the first time since 2011!), even where everyone is going to go after the Naked Pub Crawl now that Comfort & Joy is taking the year off (a new camp, BRC Municipal Pool, is the official afterparty). The one thing I’ve learned in five burns is that the thing that ends up being hardest in any given year is never the thing people are whinging about on social media beforehand. Just go, it’ll be fun!

I had a blast putting together this year’s Queerburners Event Directory which is chock-full of great events in the ‘hood and around the playa. You can download a PDF at that link and print it out, or just stop by the Future Turtles at 7 & F when you hit playa and pick up a copy, while supplies last.

The 2024 Event Guide is Here!

With so many things to do on playa, queer and straight, it’s hard to know where to go at any given time!

Queerburners has your back. Every year since 2022, we publish a directory of as many awesome LGBTQIA+ events as we can find. To make it easy to use without Internet access, we provide it in PDF format which you can print out and bring with you. Download it now!

The 2024 Black Rock City Queerborhood(s)

Every summer, it’s pretty glorious to see all the queer camps announcing their on-playa placement. The 7:30 sector continues to be a stronghold of the Queerborhood. In particular, F (Fascinate) and G (Gobsmack) are chock-filled with our friends, between 6:30 and 7:30, with other camps representing all over the sector. There is also a significant East Village in the 4:30 sector, clustered near BAAAHS village. This year we even have a Queer camp right on Esplanade called Olympus.

For a list of queer and ally camps that we know about, check the Queerburners Directory. And here they are in map form:

This is the final version of the Queerburners Map for 2024. There may be mistakes for which we apologize in advance, but please don’t send corrections — we’re busy packing our sparkly fairy lights! See you on playa!

Queerburners today

Hey everyone this is Toaster. It’s been a hot minute since I reached out to the community because I have been taking a break over the last couple years and working on figuring out what my future is going to be with Burning Man. As much as I have changed and evolved, so have a lot of people who participate in this amazing community. As the founder of Queerburners, as the president of the board running this as a 501.c3, we have went through a period of reflection and adjusted to the needs and wants from all of you.

The board decided to disband, but keep certain services working along with these web pages. This is largely thanks to Joel’s work who is deeply passionate about this project. Some of us from the board are still participating only to manage resources and assets that have been designated to go to another non-profit as soon as we are able to close the non-profit part of this down.

Who knows what is next. I personally have not let go 100%, because I think a lot of who I am is still tied to Queerburners and this community as a whole. I chose to be a part of this, to work on helping build and create, over the last fifteen years and this is something that is hard to give up. My personal ups and downs with this have been meteoric, but I am hold on to the best moments. I am focused on my local regional event, SNRG.org, and am looking around to new ways I can do more. My time as a BRC Ranger has been very rewarding, too. So, who knows?

I updated the front of Queerburners.org and am checking in with Joel with some frequency while he has been managing a lot of the online stuff and has taken over the BRC Queer camps map and his events guide is opening for submissions on August 15th.

Thank you again!

Give Love Burn a Chance

[Editor’s Note: Continuing our reporting from Love Burn in Miami, we have this report from Ski Rodge addressing some of the skeptics in the Burner community.]

I come from a community of hardcore burners. To them, surviving in a challenging physical environment is a critical part of a burn. This view of burning makes it easy to decide which regional burn to attend in February. Frostburn – which is held on a cold mountain top in West Virginia – offers much harsher conditions than Love Burn, which is held on a beach in Florida. A number of my friends thus tried to convince me to attend Frostburn instead of Love Burn. However, I ended up deciding to go to Love Burn, and I was very glad that I did! I was able to connect with some great people, and there was a large collection of spectacular art. 

The biggest warning I was given about attending Love Burn was about the types of people I would encounter there. The nice weather combined with the proximity to a major city supposedly attract people who are more interested in partying than abiding by the 10 principles. Some of my friends refer to Love Burn as “Miami Rave Burn.” I was prepared to see trash thrown in porta potties and people vomiting from drinking too much. But I didn’t end up seeing either. Almost everyone I came across at Love Burn was respectful and in control. People were responsible with their MOOP, and I didn’t come across any trash thrown in toilets or porta potties. An event with good weather, flushing toilets, and showers might seem cushy by burner standards. But people looking for a rave are probably focused on events with lineups that include their favorite DJs. At least for now, the people who attend Love Burn are great! 

The rest of this post contains my thoughts on a few aspects of Love Burn. I hope to convince Love Burn skeptics that there is a lot to love about this event, and provide some information about what to expect.

Love Burn Art is Amazing

The art at Love Burn is spectacular, and there is a lot of it! There were also a number of art cars. Most of the art cars were built on golf cart chassis, but XUZA and El Pulpo Magnifico (two large art cars that are brought to Burning Man) were also at Love Burn. There were no multi-story art pieces to climb, like at Burning Man. However, there was a lot more art at Love Burn than I have seen at any other regional burns. Love Burn offers art grants to make this happen. Perhaps the best part of Love Burn’s art setup is that artists are often camped next to their art. In my experience, the artists are very willing to talk about their art and how they created it. 

El Pulpo Magnifico, the Love Burn Effigy, and Tesla Coils created this scene at Love Burn 2024. Photo courtesy of TK Wanderlust.

There was Music in the Cafes at Night

Love Burn had a number of sound camps, with a large range in sizes. Many stages had DJs playing drum and bass music, but genres weren’t limited to this, and there were even a few acoustic stages. I never struggled to find a sound camp that was playing good music, and had enough room for me to dance comfortably. Some of the sound camps were right on the beach.

Getting There is Easy

I was initially hesitant to attend Love Burn because I thought I would have to rent a car. The event doesn’t offer shuttles. However, it’s easy to travel from the airport to Love Burn using Uber/Lyft. It cost less than $40 each way, and there was no line of cars at the entrance. When you get to Love Burn, you get out of the car and then wait to check in. Unfortunately the wait to check in gets long, but you get to wait in the shade for most of that time. 

There is a camp that will transport items from NYC to Love Burn and back again for a fee, and there are likely camps that do this from other cities as well. I managed just fine with items I took on the plane with me. I took a tent in my checked bag, and an air mattress in my carry on bag. 

Join a Theme Camp

The open camping areas are far from where most of the action happens. Joining a theme camp will allow you to camp next to all of the other theme camps. This will reduce the amount of walking you need to do, but it might make it harder to fall asleep due to the noise from sound camps. In addition to being a great way to meet people and contribute to the event, being part of a theme camp makes the event logistically easier. In exchange for camp dues, theme camps may provide food, cooking supplies, shade structures, and a communal hangout space. Cooking is often done in shifts, which reduces the amount of time any one person has to spend cooking. It also turns cooking into a social activity. 

Theme camps are allowed to let a certain number of camp members arrive on Wednesday, to help set up camp. In my experience, there was a lot happening on Wednesday. If you’re able to arrive this early, I would recommend doing so.  

Prepare to Walk or Bike a Lot

The event is spread out. Walking from one end to the other takes between 20 and 30 minutes. There are shuttles, but I didn’t see them around a lot. I took a shuttle from the gate to my campsite when I first arrived at the event with all of my bags. But I only used the shuttles twice after this. 

Bikes are allowed at the event, but some of the paths are pretty narrow. I found it harder to bike around Love Burn than I did at Burning Man. It was also less necessary because the event was smaller. If you are local and have a cheap bike to bring, it’s probably worth it. But if you’re flying in, I wouldn’t worry about not having a bike. There are also bikeshare bikes, but I rarely found one that was free. 

Weather

The weather in Miami in February is generally pretty comfortable, but it also isn’t perfect. I know of at least one year when Love Burn was unbearably hot. The temperatures in 2024 were pretty reasonable, but my tent was still pretty hot by 10 AM most mornings. There was also a storm on Sunday that brought strong winds and a fair bit of rain. 

Final Thoughts 

Love Burn is a great event that will be enjoyable for both veteran and virgin burners. At some point, I would like to attend Frost Burn as well. I think there is a lot to gain from an event like that. But there’s a lot to gain from Love Burn too, and I think people write it off unfairly.

— Ski Rodge

Report from Love Burn 2024

[Editor’s Note: We just got back from a terrific regional burn in Miami called Love Burn. With over 8500 participants this year, it’s already the biggest North American regional and has a huge and growing Queer presence. This blog post was contributed by Hammer from the Banana Hammocks theme camp.]

I’ve been burning since 2014 with Midwest burners. My home burn started out with about 50 people and today has grown to about 350. Unfortunately I haven’t been around them since 2018. I have a great mix of Festival, rainbow traveler family gatherings and attend all the burner sanctioned and burner-like events I’m able to.

Last year I joined a small camp at Love Burn hoping to make some good queer connections here in South Florida. I originally came to Love Burn in 2023 with a camp named Gaysayers. At that time certain political figures were pushing unfortunate laws through. So I joined this camp and hope to learn and give awareness to the current issue. This was my first queer and inclusive burn camp.

I came out as pansexual in the middle of 2020. I separated from my ex-wife on mutual terms for the new path of self-discovery. I definitely got to say that I feel like a whole different person and wish I would have been my authentic self years ago. Love Burn and South Florida has really helped me become who I am today. As well as many individuals over my lifetime have also been a great influence.

This year I was fortunate enough to make the connections to be able to join camp Banana Hammocks. While I’m an introvert by nature and had struggled in the first few days talking to others, by the end of the event I almost seemed as if my flow was only keeping me around those who were queer tolerant. But the zero judgment of the event from others of all walks of life really made me feel safe to be my authentic self.

I take great pride in being a part of a theme camp. I’m the type who likes to be there before anything starts: helping with the build, helping with little things people may forget about, chipping in or even organizing camp meals. Obviously I do love enjoying some down time and cutting loose and maybe even getting a little reckless. But when it’s all said and done I enjoy being around other like-minded folks like myself.

I’ve been nomadic for about 4 years now and enjoy the travels that present themself as a vanlifer. However seeing so many happy couples within our camp really made me wish I had someone to experience everything with. They may have even made it easier for me to be able just to walk up into welcoming theme camps or just start conversations with unknown individuals.

I’m looking forward to the upcoming years and returning to this camp or possibly joining other queer friendly camps at Regional Burns and hopefully make it back to the big burn in Black Rock City hopefully in 2025 if not by 2030.

This summer I turn 40 and my birthday falls on the Lakes of Fire Burn regional event in Michigan in mid July. I’m keeping in communication with my friends from banana hammocks and hoping a good portion meet up and join me in my celebrations with my Midwest Family of burners.

I try to live by the motto “Live positive, and keep true connection close to the heart.”

It truly is a mindset that things will always work out when you focus on the positive and push out all the negative that surrounds oneself.

–Hammer
Instagram: @outdoorshammer
Facebook: EmBARKingwithMig / 2024exploration

Announcing the 2024 Queerburners Directory

I don’t want to bury the lede here: in a bombshell announcement, Queerborhood anchor Comfort & Joy has announced that they are taking the year off in 2024 for “Radical Self-Care.”

That has already led to a lot of displaced campers looking for new camps for 2024, so we’ve opened the Queerburners directory to submissions to find out who is coming this year.

Last year we had about 60 queer and ally camps listed, and many people told me it was a great way for burners to find their tribes in a big city with over 70,000 residents.

The directory also serves as the canonical list of LGBTQIA+ camps for the Queerburners Event Guide – a big PDF listing an insane number of great events on playa that comes out a week before the burn.

If your camp is coming back to playa in 2024 and was already in the 2023 directory, you can resubmit your information in one click (just log on with the same account you used last year). If you are a new camp in 2024 that would like to be listed, it’s easy – just click the Submit link and tada! For any help with the directory in particular, I’ve set up the email address directory@queerburners.org.

The 2023 Queerburners Events Guide is Here!

Getting ready to head to Burning Man? We’ve put together a detailed guide to all the LGBTQIA+ events on playa – at least all the ones we know about! It comes with a map of the Queerborhoods, a guide to your favorite camps, and all the events we could find. We even know where BAAAHS is going to be!

Download your free guide here:

2023 Queerburners Event Guide – Download PDF (29.6MB)

Print it out, bring it with you, and share it with your friends.

Board / Town Hall 8/8 Video

Tonight we opened a forum for any member of the community to join us and learn a little more about Queerburners. We also had doped to recruit some interest in participation in the board and inspire the community to help us in our mission. Where could Queerburners go with new leadership at the helm?

Document referred to in the video include:
Roles and Responsibilities Document (PDF)
– Emails: info@queerburners.org, toaster@queerburners.org, matt@queerburners.org
Please take your time and let us know if you see yourself taking a role in the future of Queerburners. The next Board meeting will be October 2nd to install the officers for 2024 and start planning for the next season.