Lack of Virtual Burn 2021 Enthusiam?

[scriptorpress]

Hi all,

I haven't posted here too much, but would like to get into the habit. My wife KD and I are planning to return to BRC in 2022, not having been since 2009. Had gone to all the Burns 1999-2009, so feeling like a returning veteran

Meanwhile, as the world continues to slowly recover, we have had virtual burns last year and this. I am very glad there is lots of energy and enthusiasm to keep up the spirit while waiting to return to the playa, yet I find myself not really, personally, all that interested. It's like: this is some other kind of Burn from what I love and wish to return to. I wish everyone involved much fun and fulfillment in it, but will pass.

Weirdly, I found this same feeling in 2016 when I went to the Firefly Fest in Vermont. Regional Burn, been around years. I thought: now that I no longer live on the West Coast (where I had moved in part to be closer to BRC, and had left when I no longer went to BRC), and am back East, where I am from, maybe it's time to check out Firefly? So I did.

The people going were all wonderful. Lots of good Art, good vibes, and trees! Threat of ticks did not help, but the Burners I met were the real deal. That said, my final assessment was: I need to get back to Black Rock City.

Do others here feel this way, for their own reasons? For me, despite the cost of getting there, the distance from Boston, the worry that in the years since I've been that rich folks have taken over the city somehow, I need to get back! I was going to go solo, but my wife (she went to 6 Burns back when with me) shocked me and said she was going too.

What I loved about BRC, and look forward to again, is leaving the rest of society behind, and dealing with the primal things. Nature, living successfully in a very harsh environment, being among wonderful Art big and small. Feeling like every person I pass, even if we had little to say off-playa, are, for a week, collaborators, fellow citizens, sharers in this amazing thing we raise up, burn down, and leave with dust on our faces and music in our hearts.

Wondering the feelings of others in this matter?

[Carthage]

I've only been to my regionals, but one of the things that I love most about them is disconnecting from the world. It's amazing to spend a few days surrounded by a group of people who are just as weird as I am. It's like a mental and spiritual vacation. But the physical nature of it is crucial to that. Being around people, art, and music, and away from the world, is at the core of a burn, and it's vital to the whole experience.

The virtual burns are a great stopgap. They offer people, art, and music that you might not always have in your daily life, but they don't offer the physical presence of it all. You're still at home, and there's still work tomorrow. You haven't escaped anything. And it's hard to be as excited and enthusiastic when one of the key elements is missing.

[BBadger]

I poked around in one of those virtual burns and while there was a good effort made, it seemed so empty and dead and I didn't bother returning.

You might consider going out to the Black Rock Desert around the time of the normal burn. There will be people camping out there in a sort of camping tribute to the event that normally takes place there. It won't be the official burn, but there will be burners, and it'll be an experience in one way or another.

[scriptorpress]

That's a lovely idea, but I live in Boston, and work on contract at my job, so no vacation time.

I'm sure it's beautiful out there, from the years past I went, loved it all times day and night, calm and storm.

But the desert is not Black Rock City, any more than something online is. It's a combination of the two, a City of Art created in the desert, with the intent not to stay, but to visit. That is what I look forward to next year.

You guys are kind to engage so positively with these thoughts of mine. I was afraid I might get reamed for sharing them. But talking about where I'm at right now, strangely, is comforting, makes me look forward to 2022 even more

[Jackass]

But the desert is not Black Rock City, any more than something online is.

I beg to differ. All of the ingredients are there, without any of the organizational features

[Papa Bear]

I tried logging in to a couple of the virtual burns last year, but I agree - it all just felt flat and uninspiring. But then, I live most of my life online, so the physical in-person aspect of BRC is a big part of the reason I'm attracted to it.

I've also not been hugely inspired by the couple of regionals I've been to. But again, that's a personal preference as much as anything else. I'm not into burns for the 24x7 EDM dance parties or "party favors", but those have deemed to be more dominant features in the regionals. Then again, perhaps it just feels that way because the smaller physical footprint at most regional makes it harder to find space away from those things.

At BRC, you can wander the back streets and the noise and the crowds of Esplanade and 10&2 will be far enough away to fade into the background. Since many of the partiers gravitate to those big sound areas, you also have a higher chance of having real interactions elsewhere with all of the quirky, creative, and community-oriented folks that still attend. (Note: I'm not saying someone can't be all of those things at once, just that the general vibe changes with location in the city.)

Having recently done a little summer camping on-playa, I'm also convinced that the physical aspects of the playa also play a much larger role than I ever realized. Obviously it makes things like big art burns much easier to make happen, and the wide-open rural nature of the place makes it easier to point large-scale sound out and away from the city proper, but it is more than that.

There's also just a unique feel that permeates your experience there - from the hard-packed clay to the dry climate to the smell of the air. I hadn't realized just how big a factor that was until I was out there without BRC.

[ranger magnum]

My sentiments parallel yours. While I went to the “not burningman” burn in 2020, I also checked out the virtual burn. I poked around a bit, then just as quickly left, never to return.

The journey to the Playa in 2020 was cathartic, and necessary for me to move forward from some personal issues. I could have never found what I needed by sitting behind a screen.

I’m looking forward to next month as well

[scriptorpress]

I'm glad the playa is still there to be visited!

[Captain Goddammit]

Black Rock Desert at the usual Burning Man time is WAY more “burningman” than any virtual stuff.

[gaminwench]

The Art project that we shepherd has translated well to Virtual. It has now become an octopus; going to regionals, running online, possibly making an appearance on the playa this year.

I do miss the desert and the weirdos (waves happily), but my ArtHeart is fulfilled.

[FlyingMonkey]

care so little about virtual burns I almost didn't open this thread. And to be honest I didn't even read most of the posts.

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[Captain Goddammit]

I only looked at it because this whole forum is all but dead and there wasn’t much else to see.

[some seeing eye]

https://beat.com.au/vr-parties-are-all- ... ally-like/

Too boring for me.

[scriptorpress]

Well, nearing the one year mark to Burning Man 2022:
Monday, August 29, 2022 - Monday, September 5, 2022