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[mysterious drum and flutes, ]

[drum and flutes continue, ]

[michael mikel] I drew a line on the ground.

And I said, "On the other side of this line, everything will

And everything has been different.

[ "Feel the Love" by Rudimental]

To a lot people who aren't here,

this is just a big party in the desert.

But really it's a place where you can explore

the possibilities of what we would create on this world

if we weren't so busy with our 9 to 5's.

[tom price]: The place is an idea.

And that idea is that people have permission to be whomever

That's so powerful and so alluring,

that people go to the worst place in the world,

just to get a little taste of it.

[woman]: Burning Man is all about

Why not dress differently, act differently,

[larry harvey]: We use the word ethos,

This is all about identity.

It's hard to belong.

And that's really, in creating a city here--talk about a

A cosmic sense of place.

[marian goodell]: We had drawn all these people

They were having these transformative experiences.

But what if they were more than we could handle?

[harley dubois]: People say, "What, you do

Which is insane, of course, because I feel like I do five or

And if we do our job well, no one even knows we exist.

They don't see the infrastructure.

[crimson rose]: There is no book on

how you do an event called Burning Man.

We sort of made it up on the fly.

Is this going to work? Let's try it.

[will roger]: I did have some advice from circus carnies

and designers and architects and people like that.

[goodell]: The ten principles are guidelines.

You know, it's something to work with.

It means...

Everyone is invited to come and play

Helping each other find that little spark of creativity.

It means being responsible for yourself,

and also being responsible for others.

I am holding the decommodification.

Gifting.

Pick it up, even if it's not yours.

You brought it in, you can take it home.

[goodell]: You know, we have very intimate partnerships,

Michael Mikel met Larry in 1988.

And then Larry briefly dated Harley.

And then Crimson came along and brought Will in.

And then I came along and was brought in by dating Larry.

So then what you have are, you know,

[larry harvey]: I'm not really a joiner.

And I like to stand off and watch how people behave.

See I never had to join anything, people join me.

You know, that was my solution to that problem.

[tv static]

[man]: Your first...

Well, I've had enough!!

[man laughing]

[harvey]: I really wasn't an artist.

I had a very, very modest, small landscaping business.

I was hanging out with a lot of people,

all of whom were, in their spare time,

writing novels or painting pictures or playing music.

So it was sort of a Bohemian scene.

We had a friend who was a carpenter, you know, and uh...

I just called him one day and said,

That's all it amounted to.

I think he may have asked me to repeat my statement.

[drumming and jingling ]

And along the way, we called a few friends.

[drumming and jingling continues]

[people chattering]

[woman] Stay back!

[mikel]: In 1988, I heard about a group of people

who were going to go down on the beach

and burn this wooden figure.

And at the time I was involved with The Cacophony Society.

We did things like parties in unusual places,

stage plays in abandoned buildings,

We'd do pranks.

[john law]: Anything could happen.

You don't know- you have no idea

Not necessarily fun, or great, but it could be.

[law]: Could be frightening, could be transformational,

That's the spirit of Cacophony.

[mikel]: We loved to dress up in all kinds of costumes.

And Burning Man takes a lot of that from The Cacophony Society.

[harvey]: Michael Mikel and John Law attended

That crowd were connected to others

who'd been out in the Black Rock Desert.

and using it for artistic purposes.

It sounded to me like an ocean you could walk on.

[ mysterious desert music]

[law]: We drew a line in the dirt and stepped across it.

And it was entirely transformational.

[

And it was primarily the environment and --

and a set of free spirits that made it so.

[harvey]: The diversions available were very modest

[chuckles]

[drumming continues ]

[engine roaring]

[gunshot]

Real slow, perfect, real slow.

Keep coming, right at that speed.

Hold that pose.

[people yelling, cheering]

[drumming ends with cymbal crash]

[cheering and howling continues]

[welding sparks]

[katy boynton]: I have a degree in child development.

And I was a nanny for years and years.

Burning Man definitely changed my life.

Once I got on the playa,

I remember, we hopped on our bikes.

and I practically slammed on my brakes and went,

"Oh my god. What is this place."

I walked away from Burning Man going,

"I need to learn how to weld 'cause I've got ideas."

[marco cochrane]: There's so much work involved in it,

that I needed people who were just tenacious lunatics.

Katy was one of the many miracle people who showed up.

And worked, just full-on, 10 hours a day, 7 days a week.

[sparks buzzing]

[boynton]: When I was coming back from Burning Man,

I had this vision in my head.

I had this idea of this heart that had been

exploded and pieced back together.

There's so many things that break our hearts.

And that's what we do.

We pick up the pieces and we put them back together

and we keep going.

I want to take large pieces of sheet metal

that will lay over top of it

and be welded together, riveted together.

In my head it's going to be about 12 feet tall.

So, that's it.

OTTO: How's it going, Avis?

It is going very well, sir, we're getting a lot

Okay. Are you helping with the muralists?

Or are you out painting out there?

Right now, sir, I'm just trying to locate a cigarette.

Here's a cigarette.

[otto von danger]: I'm a veteran.

I've put my life on the line many times

for people of this nation

and I really hate seeing it go down the toilet

like it is right now.

Wall Street has affected a lot of people in a lot of ways.

And I figured, if I'm going to do this,

I'm going to do it right and I'm going to do it big.

Burning Man is a great venue

to build giant stuff and blow it up.

[von danger]: There's five buildings involved.

They range from 50 feet tall to 72 feet tall,

so it's a huge piece.

Think about building a block in downtown in a major city,

that's basically what we're doing out of wood.

So this is the bull, this is going to go in the middle of

Tecate Park is the -- is in the center of Burn Wall Street

surrounded by its four banks and the New York Stock Exchange.

And then up here, we're going to have two big glowing red eyes

so at night, again, he'll have his big demon eyes glowing and,

you know, to show the evil that is Wall Street.

[von danger]: To me, it's more a representation of, uh,

of this is what happens to you if you don't fix things.

When the riots start, everyone will go down to Wall--

and they're going to blow it up

When you don't know how to feed your kids, what do you do?

Go kill the rich people and take all their stuff.

I'm a Marine.

I swear to defend the Constitution against all enemies

Congressmen and Senators and President.

These will be capped,

and you can see the ones that are completed over

I'm not a Kool-Aid drinker,

I don't believe in everything Burning Man

of the almighty or whatever like that.

Like, I don't think you should radically include the hippie

that shows up with just a backpack and no water, no food,

and expects us to take care of them 'cause it's a gift economy.

I think, everybody should carry their own weight,

and enough to help the rest of the community out.

I mean, obviously we are, most of the people go to

Hey! Stop hammering!

[john la grace]: I got married at 24.

She was 21.

And she at the time was a professional figure skater.

I'd always tell people what she does and what I do

it's the exact same thing.

The curtains go up, the lights go on and it's either

the Jon show or the Jamie show,

you know, she'd come home with a medal,

and I'd come home with a bag of money,

but it was still a show.

[la grace]: Well, it's very disconcerting,

in a one week period of time, to realize that

everything that you've done in your entire life

leading up to that point

could potentially be wrong.

The a-ha moment for me was, like, the burn of the man.

And I saw myself in that image.

I saw myself and my life and everything that I thought

that it was supposed to be

going up in flames.

I lost my job in banking,

I got a divorce,

I came out of the closet.

The last decade of my life has been

in a constant state of change

and the only thing that's been consistent in my life

in the last 10 years has been Burning Man.

Playa Skool is a Burning Man theme camp.

And we're about 150 members strong.

It was created as a school because we thought that

our form of giving back to the Burning Man community

was to create a platform of learning.

Welcome, citizens of Black Rock City, is this amazing or what?

[la grace]: I was a founder of PlayaSkool,

I've been leading the project management aspects of it,

leading the communication aspects of it.

We have water trucks that we have to rent.

We have a 40 foot kitchen trailer.

All of those things need to be transported to the Playa

and picked up from the Playa.

It's an overwhelming amount of work.

[goodell]: Yes, we decided four yes...

Okay...for crying out loud.

[andie grace]: Okay...four per person.

This is hard...

Okay so then the better way to do this is...

Because that's actually what we

[grace]: So the question isn't, "How does the system work?,"

maybe the question is, "How can I get tickets

And we need to change this to not say, 'Burning Man Ticket

this is 'Burning Man Ticket Distribution process FAQ.'

Are you going to make these edits or do you want me to?

[goodell]: There's a lot happening

We're trying to improve our infrastructure,

we're trying to improve our processes,

we're trying to grow the Burning Man Project

and have it go out in the world and create networks and connect

You know, a lot of change.

This is to help improve the ticket process...

But I wouldn't want anybody to think that

to prove that they're a burner.

I've been helping produce it since late '96, early '97,

depending on how you want to slice the numbers,

so at least 15 years.

Fifteen years?

I mean that's longer than my cat,

you know, it's longer than any roommate or lover I've had.

I think most of the people here are on the media team,

but you're the art team and you're part of art cars...

[goodell]: And we all took on whatever was in front of us.

I took what was dropped in my hands,

which was public relations and communications.

So Larry, this is the media team and -- and friends.

[goodell]: And all I wanted to do was

help Larry and the rest make the magical circus happen

in the Black Rock Desert.

Because that was the most interesting thing that I

...you know, why is it this, why is it pagan, or whatever it is

that you hear that you think the group might learn from,

please feel free to ask it.

[woman]: What are your thoughts on the expansion

Do you see where it could be a point where it gets too big

and it loses the essence of what it is?

Believe me, that-- that question's been asked for years.

I guess the question is 'Too big for what?'

There's some pretty important edits here that are...

There's structural typos, and then there's...

[goodell]: If the most important thing about being a woman

is to have children and have a family,

yeah, I absolutely sacrificed having children

Hands down.

But I take a lot of solace in the fact that what I've

is build a community that won't be abandoning me

when I'm in my 60's or 70's or 80's.

I'm pretty certain that, that's what we've done is build

a community of people that are going to look

[goodell]: I don't have enough stress right now.

If you two would look at me and ask me to write faster,

it might help.

You don't like me, do you?

[boynton]: When I got back from the playa I kind of put

saying um, "I'm looking for work of any sort."

"I will paint your room, I will organize your closet."

"I will watch your kids, I will do your grocery shopping."

"Let me know what you need."

And I've been coming out once a week since then,

working my way through her house.

I was forced out of my house because I couldn't afford it

But, I do feel like if I have to go back to couch-surfing

and living out of the back of my car,

I feel like I'm stronger and I'll be able to do that.

Yeah, this is, this is, uh,

it's difficult to talk about my fears around her.

Just that...

She's gone through some scary things.

And she's gone through sheer terror and loss of everything,

and, um, is still doing it.

And, I don't want her to get hurt.

[la grace]: Listen -- listen, you guys.

The existential threat that we face as a camp,

is the fact that we are -- we're marked against the ten

And the one principle that we got really, you know, raked on

was leave no trace.

So, anyway, put some thought into it and let me know when

- [man]: Okay. - [woman]: All right, guys.

[man]: Take care, everyone.

Alright everybody, bye.

Oh my god.

You know, and it's like, I get anxiety.

I get, like, really -- like, here's when, like, I get all the

Because I realize, like, holy shit, you know, like,

we have this massive thing going on.

that's global with people everywhere

and so many moving pieces and,

you know, I do, I, like -- I get, like, tightness

because, you know, there's just so much to do.

[dubois]: You know, there's this camp out there that kind

And I kept hearing about it from this place and that place

And I pieced together that -- that it was one camp.

So I'm convincing myself that I'm ready, yes, I'm ready.

[dubois]: When I met Jon, he was really open

he could really help me get a leg up

on something that could ruin us.

Really, honestly, this could ruin us.

And there has been a regular stream of

about plug and play camps, that it is eroding our event.

You know, I think for us, you know, Playa Skool was an

in what plug and play really is.

We had 200 people, they wanted to come with a RV,

have everything that requires that most people that come

to really think through, they wanted it ready for them.

[chip conley]: I have been there seven times.

I had my 50th birthday party there.

I decided to do a gift economy to my friends.

And so I invited 110 friends and we did have a vegan caterer.

We heard Chip liked dark chocolate,

so we made aged balsamic dark chocolate truffles.

Our client asked if we could pre-decorate their bikes,

not because they don't want to be creative,

it's they want to get out of their car and --

They want to get on that art car and they want to get --

go do that sunrise, you know, photo shoot in the buff with all

[dubois]: The benefit of having these camps is that

we're getting people who can influence the world.

That can telegraph further and wider and better

to get our message out to people who are influential

and can help with it.

The trick is, do they really get it?

[conley]: The last thing any of us want is a --

a bunch of venture capitalists and Silicon Valley CEOs

being all that Burning Man represents.

But many of the artists' projects are funded by

So I actually don't think that money necessarily itself

it's what you do with it.

[goodell]: The electricity created by the Burning Man

will change lives and everybody who comes there repeatedly

is coming there for a reason- is getting something from it.

So helping contain that and frame it-super fun.

And the results from it are people connecting with

and people having hope, and having faith in other people,

and trusting humanity and our purpose.

And that's worth replicating, and manifesting,

[emergency warning sound]

[anchorwoman]: Well coming up ticket fiasco at

why some of the most devoted participants may not get to go

[anchorman]: Burning Man has been surging in popularity

and sold out the last two years...

Nobody expected the number of registrations that came in.

So, you know, that's -- that's, I think, why I can't

around the office right now, because they're all trying to

figure out what those next steps are.

We are fucked.

This is, like, the worst situation I have ever been

and I wake up every morning crying.

There's nothing fair about this anymore.

It's how do we keep our community from falling apart?

[anchorwoman]: The annual festival in the Nevada Desert

switched to a lottery for its ticket sales this year.

[anchorman]: The critics say the new system will destroy

the free-for-all spirit that Burning Man is known for.

All those theme camps and the art--is that going to

Because a lot of people say they can't go now.

They don't have enough tickets to go out and build their

There's a lot of people I don't see all year,

I only see them at Burning Man.

It's a thing that our community has done all together.

You know, what's fair?

The fair is that a lot of people put a lot of energy

into this event over the years.

All of the thoughts about doing bigger stuff, which we had--

we had plans to do, I'm not going to bother--why would I?

Our camp is called MalMart.

It was really beautiful.

Our structure, I think our top floor was nine stories.

Over 60% of our camp does not have tickets.

It's pretty much impossible to put together a camp this year.

[goodell]: Less than 25 percent of their people have tickets.

That means our esplanade, our interactive infrastructure,

some of it is five, seven, and ten years old.

They're -- they can't come and interact, they can't bring out

they can't even bring out their rider truck.

It takes 10 people to unload.

Fuck you and your stupid lottery system.

It's really hard to take when people are just pummeling you

with all of the weight of their frustration--

Who the fuck do you think you are playing god over who goes to

When you're afraid, you can't think forward, okay?

Stressed..

People are panicked. A large section of the community

They are panicked, but we owe it to them not to be panicked.

Absolutely, but it's almost like we don't want to listen

Right now, let's see, the top one on my screen is:

"BMorg: Nice job fucking over all the people

whose lottery request for two tickets were denied.

Too bad you didn't save more tickets for theme camps

See how many U's are in this "Fuck you."

That's the whole comment.

There, to my knowledge, hasn't ever been a crisis

that appeared in the A section of the

um...

nine months before the event began.

That's probably a good indicator that this is in a different

The story is newsworthy, but isn't that more of a

authenticity that people are searching for

than it is whether or not this lottery system worked?

The fundamental value of this event is its social capital,

its absolutely unparalleled accretion of social capital,

which is being destroyed by the minute

by people's perceptions that the values that they

in the community,

they contributed to -- around a certain set of values,

are not being upheld by some nefarious force.

Well, what would you do?

I mean, you can't just make the event bigger.

Yeah, this is -- it's like in our house every day of the week.

[la grace]: Obviously everybody is freaking out about

what's going on with the tickets for Burning Man this year.

The -- the initial reaction was -- was absolute shock

and complete frustration and, you know, flat out anger.

And so then that heightened all the other little things

"Oh, they're, you know, it's -- they're -- they're, you know,

and "It's changed"

and "It's, you know, they're not what it used to be".

You know, and so it heightens all the things that it whispered

and it -- and -- and it elevates them to a shout.

If we can all get on board

and create a semi-transparent process,

one that might even say, that these groups..

CRIMSON ROSE: Curation.

Are the curators and are somewhat...managed.

[steven raspa]: I've just got to say though,

I'm very uncomfortable with the term curator.

The thing that I love about Burning Man is that

we haven't applied judgment to people's work.

Everybody's effort is equally valued.

Oh we totally apply judgment.

[raspa]: The biggest part of the experience has been

the uncurated aspect of it.

So if now we're -- we're placing a higher premium on things

judged by this small group of people,

I think it sort of antithetical to the larger amazing spirit of

of the whole thing, personally.

So I -- I'm saying that this is important but language-wise...

We don't have a choice.

We need another word.

We're already curating out there.

The camps themselves...

...Matt says you can't just join

[arguing loudly].

No, you're right.

That's why we wanted to change the word is what you're saying,

[raspa]: Right, and I don't want us, then, how -- how many --

how much effort did we put into saying, 'we're not a festival,

We don't schedule everything, we don't curate everything.

So I don't want us to become a festival.

It's not as -- as -- as simple as putting butts

That works if it's just a spectacle, that's --

but then people wouldn't feel the way they do.

I mean, people want -- people want to go to the Super Bowl

and they're disappointed but they don't get irate,

as if they had been betrayed by their parents, you know,

as if it was an intimate betrayal.

We've always faced existential challenges,

you know, from the very beginning.

This is nothing like the dread year of '96.

That involved personal, deep, dark stuff.

People are streaming into the circle.

This is swordfish- people are streaming into the circle.

We had 10,000 people and we got to that size that you couldn't

[fire burning, screaming, crowd yelling]

My children, evil lurks amongst you.

That's right, there are those amongst you who are not

those amongst you who are not creative.

Hard though it may be to believe, you know who you are.

[crowd screaming, becoming rowdy]

We'll talk to him after the show if we survive.

[law]: We did absolutely everything we could

to try and ensure that the event wasn't unsafe.

And -- and it was unsafe, we couldn't control it.

You know, we burned the Helco Tower

and that was a 32 foot tower with 10 gallons of gasoline

aerating in the dry air.

And I was watching the wind to make sure that it didn't shift

because if the wind shifted, you would have been -- I would have

[noisy crowd]

[explosion, crowd cheering]

[shattering]

[cheering and yelling continues]

[goodell]:And that was terrifying.

I remember -- I didn't think I was going to come back.

It was before I met Larry and thought I wasn't ever going to

I was terrified.

It was definitely Mad Max and scared the shit out of

You keep people back.

Move back as far as possible, we've got propane tanks right

So there was no guiding force, no organization at all.

So it was like a train tipping around a corner, like,

about to go off the rails for days.

[crowd yelling, fireworks]

[flames burning loudly]

[firetruck sirens]

At, like, 6:00 in the morning,

somebody who was high on something

ran over a tent with two people in it

and then hit another tent with another person in it.

I mean, that was terrifying.

[harvey]: It became apparent that we were responsible

there wasn't anybody else.

It was on us.

So then we were de facto The State,

which -- which was a conundrum for the -- for

you know, what -- what does an anarchist say to that?

[raucous crowd, fire burning]

[law]: I could see where it was going.

It's like if we're going to keep doing this event,

we're going to have to have a bureaucratic infrastructure,

and, you know, spin stuff.

And I can't- I couldn't do that.

I couldn't be part of that.

[harvey]: It was a question of two different visions of what it

Should it be civilized or should it be essentially a --

a repudiation of -- of order and authority?

But if it's a repudiation of order and authority

and you're the organizer and it involves thousands of people,

what's that say for you?

What kind of a moral position is that to be in?

We could have just said, okay, we're done.

That experiment was fun, it's done, it's complete.

And we could have not gone to the other level,

but clearly there was more to be had if you were interested in

Well, I didn't want to be a cop and I didn't want to be a

and it was clear that that's what was necessary for

Well life after Burning Man has been, you know, like 15 or 16

I keep my little office for my little sign business here, and

and it is a unique building, they have giant neon clocks

and neon letters that wrap all the way around the building on

So I keep the neon going and also work on the clocks.

I took my son to Disneyland not that long ago and we had the

A wonderful time.

But you have to accept the control factor

that maintains the infrastructure of Disneyland.

Same thing with Burning Man.

It's a great event,

but it's anything but an uncontrolled event.

It's a controlled, professionally mounted,

which makes money.

[mikel]: During those early days that John Law's referring to,

yes, there was tremendous amount of freedom.

And we can always go back to that -- to that small group,

But...

You're never going to go any further than that.

In order for us to survive and get along on this planet,

we need to engage everyone.

We have to engage thousands, millions of people.

kAnd I think that, for me, is the most important freedom.

This is significant, it's a significant thing,

We have to do it, we're giving our lives to it,

[boynton]: My engineer ran into some major problems

with the calculations that she couldn't get past

and so she asked if I could find somebody else.

So that's -- that's actually kind of stressful for me

I don't really know how much it's all going to cost to build.

So that part has been very stressful.

So, like, tonight is to give me a good nest egg

so that as soon as I know what I need to order,

I can order some of it and get started.

It's behind the freezers, the double freezers.

This one's still -- they're still dirty though. Okay.

Do you have tablecloths?

Yeah, she can't find it, we're using the blue ones.

Okay.

The thing is is that you have to have your Burning Man

if you want, like, placement and stuff, which I do.

You do have to know, like, what kind of a footprint

like how much you're going to need to dig and all that stuff,

which I don't know yet.

So I can't even start.

Can't even do anything.

Can't order metal, can't do anything

until I know exactly what we need to build with.

Not that I have any tickets yet anyway, so that's still

[inaudible conversations]

[tinkling glass]

[applause]

Thank you all so much for coming tonight.

I really, really appreciate the enthusiasm and support.

This piece, um, it started a long time ago for me.

And there was something that happened there on the playa.

And it really really inspired me and I thought of this idea,

And I thought, "You know what, I have to make this."

So the final piece is going to be 12 feet tall

There will be -- there will be hammocks inside where you can

and really feel safe and warm and loved inside of it.

With this whole ticket thing, I mean,

everybody lost a lot of faith in Burning Man.

And I, myself, had to think about that

and why I went to Burning Man in the first place,

what made me fall in love with it.

And what made me fall in love with it

was the art was for everyone.

And that's really important to me

and that's what I love about the Burning Man culture,

is that, you know, we all come together

and we make this happen.

[goodell]: Come here. Come here.

What? Oh yeah, get me out of here.

Come here, come here, come here, come here, come here.

So this is a perfect day for all of us to appreciate

Very grateful for everybody

and for our opportunity to be here together.

And thank you for the creative act

that sparked other creativity and inspiration

and desire to be around each other.

Who are you talking to?

You.

Oh, right, thanks.

You're welcome.

Thanks.

Now let's carry on.

Thank you, Larry.

Community is a pain in the ass,

because you have to deal with all kinds of drama, you know.

And as you get older, you're kind of less patient with drama.

But really, the reason for me to keep doing this

is a very sound one.

I know myself.

And if I detest and quit this thing...

it would kill me.

My life would not have meaning.

[stammering]

I wouldn't be forced out of myself.

I wouldn't be in contact with, with people.

I would...I'd be just this wretch,

I'd be this lonely guy.

This is the best thing that ever happened to me.

[quinn payton yarbrough]: DPW is the

which is the crew of volunteers that come out for a month

prior to the event, set up the infrastructure,

and then maintain it during the event and take it down

and pick up all the glitter and peanut shells

The entire infrastructure of Black Rock City is stored

so I am responsible for the overall care and maintenance

but also the infrastructure that supports that.

These are staff art cars-- the DPW.

They may not be as pretty and flamboyant

but we're busy putting the event together and not so much time

working on the cars.

Just to create a -- a line of 100 shipping containers straight

and all these are -- are pretty much guaranteed

[yarbrough]: Okay, so this is a caf container,

I'm seeing some tar pitch and tents and some bicycles and

benches and tables and -- and yes, we picked this one

[otto von danger]: I want to get that done today.

I want to be done with that damn building.

Most of the crew has been here for about two months,

two and a half months, some of them.

Administration-wise, you can add another four months.

When all is said and done, it'll be seven and a half months

Every one of their problems is my problem too.

Because if they're not happy, then they're not producing,

or they quit.

It's a huge endeavor, I cut every corner I can,

and we have to work at a pace that's fast and furious.

You know, at least we can see the light at the end

We're a month out, we're about two weeks

So this is the paint crew. Say hi, paint crew.

Hello.

Burn Wall Street!

We were really surprised by the demand.

The lottery system worked just the way it was supposed to.

And what we found out is that a lot more people want to come to

So we're in a supply and demand issue right now,

and it's stressing the community as a whole.

We're going to be offering some theme camps tickets

The people that it really takes to make sure that camp happens.

The criteria we used to judge which camps

are going to be getting tickets is based on first of all

Whether you fully embraced the 10 principles...

If you take a collaborative group and

you break down the entire purpose of the collaboration.

And then people don't trust their membership

And that sucks.

We are hell-bent in doing what we do best,

which is finding really good solutions to problems

that other people might just walk away from.

Because this is our community.

And everyone in our community is valuable.

And we're going to take the coil, Katy, back over to...

Oh god, we are a week and a half out from Burning Man,

a week from when we pack up and leave.

I don't like talking about it 'cause it freaks me out,

but we're going to be fine.

Oh my god. Let's put the pump up through the square, the

We are putting on the first two heart-shaped ribs of the

which there will be a total of six of them,

so these are the first two of the largest ones.

So this is -- this is a big day.

Luckily, I have a really good crew of people,

that keep showing up every day,

so we have extra pairs of hands and that's been critical.

There we go. There we go. Wait that needs to stop.

The breathing deeply and yeah.

Watch your step on those things, Jenny.

Usually every year, I mean, we get a group of us

and we come down to Haight

and kind of kick off our -- our adventure down here

looking for costumes and whatnot, so...

Look, it doesn't matter how I dress up,

I always end up looking like Bea Arthur.

That's adjustable.

That's a good thing, yeah.

Medium doesn't work,

I think I need large.

Woohoo!

I've got a little kudunkadunk I got to get rid of.

[will roger]: We're at the Black Rock city center

where the Man is going to stand in the 2012 event.

And we're probably within a few feet of where

I was a dreamer.

Once I was a dreamer.

I thought I could be an artist and I opened up a

And Crimson saw one of the ads, and it's a self-portrait

of me with a werewolf mask on holding a glass dildo.

[crimson rose]: I was immediately drawn to it.

Yeah, so we finally decided that after 19 years,

we're going to get married on the playa.

We thought that that would be appropriate for us,

for our wedding.

[ilo kratins]: This is our -- our Burning Man effigy.

It's made of a little more than 400 pieces.

It's about 35 feet tall,

it weighs approximately 3,000 pounds.

We have a crew of 20 to 25 people.

It takes us about six days from start to finish

from a pile of lumber and plywood.

The procedures for making everything

are put together in people's minds

and passed down as sort of an oral history each year

because there's a definite way that this has to go together

in order for it to go together easily.

They say, "Build it, burn it, repeat as necessary."

[rose]: It's basically a bunch of wood that's nailed together.

And I don't know if it's a child-parent relationship

or it's something much bigger than ourselves

that is a relationship that really is about drawing you

But for me, it's more psychological and subconscious.

Much deeper.

I don't know if I'll ever know.

I mean, maybe that's the reason why we don't

we want you to figure that out for yourself.

Oh no.

Oh guys that's even more sacrilegious.

No clown nose on the man!

Right now, this is the Black Rock Desert,

but as soon as you break the bottle of champagne

it's Black Rock City.

It's the city that we build, 2012.

Mr. Will Roger, cofounder of DPW, actually the founder-

my best friend for the longest time, I love you, Will.

[cheering, applause]

You still got the touch.

So this is my 18th burn.

The real thing begins in this moment.

So what we have this year coming is 60,000 people

and those people are all going to be affected.

You people here today are the people from this moment on

that creates the framework and the cauldron

that will cook their souls.

[cheering] Okay?

You're -- you're creating that cauldron.

And so I -- I hand this off -- I hand this spike, the city,

it's dedicated to you and this moment going forward

and the effect it will have on the world.

[cheering, clapping]

What's happening is we're setting the trucks

They're trying to square it.

And this is our boss. That's Otto Von Danger.

This is his project, Burn Wall Street.

[over construction noise] Pay a little attention, move it into

Alright, I'll try.

And you can do a little bit. That's way too much,

you're not going to be able to move it.

That way?

- Oh, shit, shit, shit. - Relax, just relax.

Fuck, fuck, mother fuck.

Just relax .

I need to go out like that.

Yes, what are we doing?

They're going to try to set that corner first.

Oh my god. Oh, it's looking good.

It is, it looks beautiful right there.

One side down, the other side resting.

Thank you God.

I'm frustrated about the piece not being out.

There's still a lot of work to be done to it,

which can't happen 'til it's installed and it's still sitting

And I keep getting told "Go talk to this person. "

"Oh, you're going to need that? Okay, wait, first you've got to

"And then go back and talk to that person."

Then I go back and that person's not there anymore.

Well, now who do I talk to?

That's cool, we'll dig stuff out, it'll be fine.

It'll be fine, thank you.

Is it true that you get billed for heavy equipment,

you get a bill for what you use?

No, I don't know.

But you've got -- just tap into your endless wealth.

Yeah, this is the first I've heard of that at all.

Your trust fund.

I would think that -- how could they trust

-- they'd have to tell you and get you to sign an agreement

I would think so. And frankly, right now I wouldn't feel like

'cause they aren't fucking showing up.

Katy, start crying.

It's tough to be the boss.

But she's doing good, it's just really stressful.

But then when it's hers, it is hers and she's doing it.

Welcome -- welcome -- welcome to the Cordon Bleu.

We're really doing well, we're really on good schedule.

You know, making sure that the infrastructure's going in place,

making sure that the build is going on time.

Are there any parts that we can take off the back side?

You guys know my goal is, you gotta stack people

if we're going to fit the maximum, maximum amount of

It's like 180 degrees from where we were last year

in this complete panic mode.

Knock on wood, ahh!

Can you do me a favor? Can we pull down the schedules?

Awesome. Thanks, Travis.

Alright, next adventure. Daxie!

So you want to go for a ride?

[indistinct chatter]

It's nice out there, very calm.

It's beautiful.

Oh well this is my leg-pilot, see?

Radical co-dependency.

Collective Interdependent- so someone said,

"this is a radical, collective, co-dependency experience here."

We believe in radical co-dependency

Radical collective codependency. That's why they corrected me.

That sounds like something you go to a clinic to get cured of.

I know. Well, the clinic for it is Burning Man.

Why don't we start a clinic to cure people of Burning Man

and that's where- that's where the money is.

Oh the ticket thing.

Yeah, the ticket kerfuffle.

It turns out it's the best thing that ever happened to us,

but I didn't expect the public to think of it that way.

In curating those tickets, we sent out a message.

It's not quite always enough to just attend.

You need to contribute.

[zolie mae]: Yay, I get to drive.

Just steer towards what you want to see.

Where are we going, Zolie Mae?

[zolie mae]: Uh, Salt Temple!

Who's got the map?

I do. If you follow the esplanade around,

Do you want to go see that thing right there, Zolie?

I think that might be the Temple of Salt. We have no idea what

ZOLIE MAE: Then why didn't you look on the map.

KYRSTEN: We did look on the map?

ZOLIE MAE: Let's go on that first.

- Make yourself at home! - Okay.

Hold out your hand, I want to give you something.

- Thank you. - You're welcome.

What you got there? Want me to put it on for you?

White out.

Get in the car for a minute until the weather blows over.

Stay down low, Zolie Mae.

[zolie mae]: I am.

How close are you to being done?

Everyone always keeps asking us that.

When you find out, let me know.

Everybody's so frazzled.

We've been working on average 16 hour days

since we got here two Sundays ago,

trying to keep, you know, trying to keep the morale of the troops

and myself up as much as we can while we fight this weather.

Literally, last week was 110 degrees every day and

In fact, one of the windstorms was so bad it took this trailer

and launched it about six feet in the air

and back on its rear end while I was in it.

There's been some engineering changes.

I scaled back one level off the Bank of UnAmerica and three off

In this weather, there's only so much work you can do

and my crew is totally exhausted at this point.

But uh, that's -- that's life out here.

Now I've got to go out and play strong leader,

keep these people motivated,

keep them on task or getting resting so that when the weather

I can get them moving.

It's an endless job.

There's a few buildings that they had planned to build

and they're not going to be able to build it.

They're also not going to be able to have people

up on the second story of the main building

because there's not time to build the stairs and the balcony

and the balusters and railings and everything you need

to make it code.

Like show biz, you have a date that you open

and everything has to be up and running.

It gets to be these traditions.

Some of these camps are so well established,

they have a following.

And one of my favorite camps, Brand-Ur-Ass.

[carnival music, ]

It's a Disney land where the participants create

And it goes on for miles.

Good morning! That is beautiful!!

Get me a Marian and me shot, you know what I'm talking about.

I sure do.

You look so good, you look so freaking H-O-T Caliente.

Yeah you should have received a page. Over.

[on talkie]: I did, it said that you wanted to

Did they happen to use the word "urgent" on that? Over.

Okay, if you guys are part of the volunteering for the stuff,

if you could wait under the shade there.

And she's eating with us too, right?

Um, no, I had- I didn't arrange for that.

I would mind talking to you for just a brief moment...

Okay, Rosie-Lelia, I think I'm going to send Matt in to

Was there some drama going on? I saw rangers here.

And then also there's the couple you have on the list. Are they

Who?

Hi, Marian. These gentlemen here are looking for Matt

Can you -- and they're supposed to meet them at the VIP lounge,

are you able to direct them?

There's no VIP lounge.

I'm going to kill Matt Cheney for even saying there is.

We know everybody who's in the camp.

I -- I -- I don't have just anybody drop in because

with a bunch of people that don't want to be...

Right, I understand.

...bothered.

Are you having fun?

Yeah, we're having a good time.

And this is your first time, right?

Yeah, do you have any recommendations?

Ummm.... no.

I can't walk through this camp without getting bombarded

from people about how, you know, can I, you know,

"how do I get water in my RV,"

or you know, "how does this work," and you know,

that's all part of radical self-reliance,

is them really figuring that out for themselves.

They're investment bankers, they're artists,

they're interior designers, they're medical doctors,

they're models, they are, you know, I mean you name it.

They're all used to their lives,

and I understand that because I used to be that person,

and you know, now I'm not.

They see me as this, you know, this guy who just like does

I need to shave, this is not appropriate, I am a diva.

He's a sparkle pony.

I am a sparkle pony.

[la grace]: Here, you know, it's really about trying to

and explore for 7 days,

a different experience because of that.

We're PlayaSkool, you know, and we're all in this together.

It already looks super rad right now.

Seeing those back pieces on makes it really feel like,

It's that enclosed space that I wanted it to be,

like that comfortable spot.

Yeah, the plaques are inside, it's awesome.

[muffled] It's beautiful.

Congratulations.

[unidentified song]

[intense, loud drumming]

[desert wind]

I'm late I'm late, I'm so friggin late,

it's a very important date.

Gotta go, gotta go!

no time to say hello goodbye-- I'm late!

Alice when did you arrive!?

More tea for the queen!

[drumming]

We have Merril Lynched.

Bank of UnAmerica,

Chaos Manhattan,

and Goldman Sucks!

[chorus singing]: We are the 99%

REVEREND BILLY: Watch out.

We may be hung over!

But we are the 99%!

We're going to occupy this stock exchange!

We are the 99! We are the 99...

CHORUS: We are the 99%...

Now I can buy everything.

I can buy everything I need.

Anybody else want some free money? Free money!

[chorus singing]

We are the 99%

[cheering]

Now this is going to be a satisfying burn!

Does anybody know what I'm talking about?

Oh yeah, give me one like this...

Try the ramp of death right here.

Leave the planet surface, be free.

Be one with the air.

You hesitate, you're going to do it,

and you're going to hit the ramp of death.

Look at that tiger fly.

Look at that, look at that.

That was impressive.

Did you see that, ladies?

You're gonna get laid tonight.

Come on green fairy girl.

Come on, pink tutu boy.

Come on, we haven't had a naked man do it yet, let's go.

Ramp of death!!

[fireworks]

[fireworks, dub step music]

[cheering]

Ohh yeahhhh!

[crowd roaring]

[music ends]

Next year, I will not do this.

Let's get this show on the road, what do you say?

You know, if I can create something out of dust

that's pretty fabulous,

then I can do pretty much anything that I set my mind to.

I feel like I really got from this what I was looking for,

which was to get my mojo back.

And feel really confident that I could start a project

and find success in that for myself,

not from the outside world telling me that it was

I love Burning Man, I'll always -- it'll always have

but this does not define my life.

I mean, my life is way more than just this.

It's been a catalyst for me

but it's not, you know, this does not define Jon La Grace.

[cheering]

It's been a really interesting journey to be part of a six-way

I think it's a perfect synchronicity that of the

that two of them are life partners.

It's actually sort of symbolic of the six of us and our

'cause we can't really separate from each other and what we're

And your union, to me, is part of a collaboration

not just the six of us, but all 60,000 of us, are doing,

so thank you.

[cheering]

I now pronounce you with the power invested in me by all of

[cheers, applause]

husband and wife!

Procession is leaving Center Camp.

[bells chiming]

Thank you, everybody.

Thank you, firemen.

It's going to be a great night, no dust.

Mwah, mwah, mwah, I love you all.

[crowd cheering loudly]

[intense dub step music ]

[loud explosions]

[music fades]

[ "Let it Go" by Michael Franti and Spearhead]