Our Man At Burning Man

by ANDREW FRESTON · September 3, 2008

    Burning Man 2008 Go Here for more photos from Andrew Freston

    How do I even begin to describe Burning Man? It's ironic because my friends who went there last year had the same problem. You really can't describe all of it; you must experience it. But on your first day, you feel as if you were blasted into space and you landed on the moon, to only come across the biggest intergalactic party ever. If you don't dress up in crazy outfits or don't dress up at all (naked) you simply do not fit in.

    People go all out and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on Art Cars that drive around the Playa keeping the party going strong. I was in the Robot Heart camp and we had a London double-decker bus outfitted with a 20,000-watt stereo system and TV, it was the loudest Art Car on the Playa. There was another Art Car designed as a rubber ducky which had a platform to hold over 200 Burners while it drove around, which was pretty impressive too.

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    Burning Man is far and away the most creative side of America I have seen to date. People come from all around the world for this event. I met a guy who flew from Iran, and then I came across a camp of Israelis. There were a few dust storms but it didn't hinder any partying at all. One of the coolest moments was partying at the Deepend camp during a dust storm where you literally couldn¹t see more than 3 feet in front of you while they blasted "The End" by the Doors.

    There are a few rules such as no littering, no corporate logos, and no money exchanging hands. You can only trade goods among your fellow Burners. For the burning of the man we had one of the best seats in the house as we all sat on top of the speakers on our bus. No calls, no emails, no watches; just sunrise and sunset, it was an experience I won't forget. Everyone is extremely friendly and they all hug you and welcome you home. That was something I didn't fully understand until I left.

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