The first time you ever heard about Burning Man?

[daratheresa]

heard about it in 96 from some rainbow kids at a party swinging on an oversized playground swing that was hanging from the ceiling... decided i wanted to go. am _finally_ going in 2011. took me awhile, no?

[moonrise]

Moonrise, computers predate Burning Man!

Yeah BAS, you're right, I should've said "before computers and the popularity of the internet" or something like that (I recall computers in the 70's, haha)

I do miss when all the interesting cars, covered in all sorts of art, would flow through and into the area...some were covered in the strangest things


Don't see much of that on the road through our burgs these days...

I gotta say, they look so much better in the desert, cruising along, unfurled, shooting fire, lit up, beautifully painted, loaded with interesting people, and loaded with loaded people and you name it...impressive!!

[tamarakay]

i heard about it years ago from friends of friends. I've always wanted to go. Kept telling kenman about it, he'd just look at me like i was nuts, then we would get busy with our six kids and life. Then august 2010 Ken sees the documentary on Current tv, looks at me and says "you ever heard of this? we HAVE to go" So, now i have proof he really doesn't listen to me and we are going 2011.

[lucky.bastard]

an honest answer: a recovering hippie i have known for 20+ years said he always thought it would be fun to burn with me and dragged me to Alchemy

[Dr. Pyro]

Why would he drag you to the capital of New York?

[TomServo]

Burning Man found me.

Quote of the year!

[jack_k]

It was around the time when I had my first job out of university... I was working in accounting and got heavy into yoga. When I started doing a lot of yoga, I became aware of how empty and unfulfilling my existence was. I used my time in the office to plan a trip to India (between corporate tax returns). Then the company gave me a month paid vacation because work was slow. So I discovered Shambhala music festival. I think someone told me about BM at Shambhala, or maybe I was told about BM in Rikishesh (that Indian village the Beatles hung out in).

[VeganChoirGirl]

Well, I grew up in an extremely restrictive and conservative home. I didn't watch much TV or have much exposure to the world outside my little christian bubble.

When I went to college in 2004 I befriended a young guy from Ojai. I went to his fathers home for a weekend and saw these CRAZY pictures on the walls. They were of gaminwench on the playa. I was....baffled, intrigued, astounded. I asked my friend, "where is this?? what are these from??"

He told me about burning man, about his dad and the OBOP. I couldn't really believe the things he was saying, to be honest. Out to dinner with his dad and he told me even more about it.

I vowed to make it out to the playa. I had to wait until 2009 when i had finally finished undergrad and grad school. It was an amazing experience and now I am totally addicted to the dust. I am getting ready for my third year, and I am so ready!

[Aiee! It burns!]

It was in a small cafe, on the edge of the desert. I was selling exit visas to the Interzone. The place was bring overrun by Factualists.

Then he appeared upon my doorway. That Hat casting a broad shadow. He whispered, "the man burns tonight", and I gave my soul to the dust and the flame.

[graidawg]

I have 3 memories of 'first' hearing about burning man.
the first was going to build and burn a wicker man in the alps in italy, on the way some random stopped a friend and asked if he was going to BM as he had a wicker man t-shirt on, we talked and i thought cool must look into that.
The second was in the Reno museum tring to make sense of the palce my dad had lived in for 13 years in november 2003 and it called to me, then life got in the way and i forgot about it
then this year on my fb wall was BM tickets go on sale today! and i didnt remember liking th page or anything, and i knew just knew if i didnt do everything i could to get there this year i never would.

there's a lot more to these stories but for once i'm going to use less words

WELCOME HOME, how can you miss somewhere you've never been?

[wraith]

Stumbled across it in 2009 while researching how to build large tents for a camping trip/party some friends were throwing, and now I consider it a challenge to make this happen.

[Monkeypoo]

Heard about it in August 1998. I was at a BBQ Chili & Ribs cook-off in Reno by the Nugget, I think. Out in the street. Yummy food and great entertainment. Live music on a huge stage outdoors. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts were singing "I Hate Myself For Loving You!" A friend and I were dancing, I asked her where her musician hubby was. She rolled her eyes, grinned, and replied, "Oh, he's out in the desert burning art or something with a bunch of naked people. He does it every year. He can have it."

Okay.

Sept 2003. Working at a hospital. My friend/co-worker Renee came back from her vacation. Something happened to her, something changed her. I could see it in her face, her smile, her eyes. They twinkled. She told me I had to go to Burning Man. She said I would have a spiritual experience beyond belief that would change my life forever. So I went. And dang, I cried a lot that week. I could not turn off my eye spickets. Poo had come home. Poo had found her tribe. The rest is history.

[disco_duncan]

At the peak of the ticket crisis there was a lot of talk about the numbers of virgins this year being swollen by the proliferation of YouTube videos and press coverage. I admit that I have seen just about every YouTube video (probably more than once ) but I have been trying to get to Burning Man almost since it moved out to the desert. How did you find out about Burning Man and what made you want to attend

[trilobyte]

I've moved this thread over to Open Discussion and merged it with a couple identical threads, since I think that's a better fit.

To answer the question, I first heard about the event through friends after I moved from NY to LA. As it was described to me initially (by non-burners) it didn't sound very interesting. As my circle of friends grew and connected with the local art and music scene, I started to hear stories from those who had been - it was very different from what I'd initially been told, and definitely something I wanted to participate in. I think I had my ticket before I ever saw a photo or video (but did end up seeing pics and a short documentary before I made it to my first burn). I was very, very fortunate to have a great group of friends and acquaintances to help me figure things out and answer all my questions.

[shykat]

Heard about from a friend,who heard from friend,who i'm sure heard about it from a friend.

[OregonRed]

Burning Man was on the title page of Wired in Nov 96.

Bruce Sterling wrote an article about his trip: Greetings from Burning Man! (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.11 ... an_pr.html)

This was my first introduction to TTITD as well. Some friends and I were talking about our dream vacations and they said, "Check this shit out! This is our dream vacation" I read the article and it became my dream vacation too.

Incidentally, that is the reason I got to know my husband as anything other than the hyper guy with two beards. The friends that showed me the article in "Wired" pointed him out to me at a party and said, "Justin goes to Burning Man." I proceeded to walk up to him and say, "That Burning Man thing you do? I'm going. Tell me everything you know."

The rest is history...

[Triken]

In 2007, my son and his best friend went to Burning Man their first time. (We're in Arizona)
From the time they got back, he kept telling me,
"Pat... (he never has called me 'Mom') You absolutely have to go to Burning Man!!!
It will change your life, and give you new faith in humanity!"

I kept thinking how I'd love to go, but it seemed something always kept me from actually going...

until...
Sept. 2010, he was in a devastating motorcycle accident, (probably hit and run)
and was kept in a medically induced coma for days.
Nobody knew if he'd even make it at first.
At one point, he opened his eyes, saw me there, grabbed my wrist, and said,
"Pat... if you never do anything else, YOU HAVE TO GO TO BURNING MAN!

I told him "You pull out of this, and we're going!"
(I DO keep my promises.)

Later, I told my sister in Quebec, (Delle) who squealed with excitement,
and said "We want to go with you!!!" (she and sweet hubby)

And, even later, we told another sister in British Columbia, (Neata)
who said, "Me too, me too!!"

Delle, Ken and Neata all came here a week before we all headed up to BRC. (What a blast!)
Suffice it to say, the 2011 burn was definitely everything he said, and so much more!
It's up there in the top five best things I've ever done for myself!

There are not ten minutes in any day that goes by without thoughts of Burning Man,
and of all the wonderful friends from ePlaya, many of whom I met in person
at the meet'n'greet.

My son is still healing... it has been a long road.
A year and a half after the accident, his left arm and hand are still seriously impaired,
but his attitude is positive, and we know nerve damage is slow to heal,
so it has been a (long) exercise in patience for him.

I have thanked him profusely, multiple times, for turning me on to Burning Man
and will likely do so multiple more times.

[Savannah]

Amazing story, Triken. Thank you.

[wh..sh]

WOW!
Triken, thats a wonderful story.

[ranger magnum]

It was 96. I was up in san francisco for a week working with my best friend. On friday morning, he said something about burningman, and asked if i had heard of it. I said no. He suggested we check it out, so we bought tickets at an outlet, and by midnight we were there. This was the year of Helco, and the man burned on sunday night. Been hooked since.

[Stephendragonfly]

What is it about 1996?
Jeanie was one of my housemates in Palo Alto. One fine day she came back from an event (precompression??) in San Francisco simply ecstatic that she had sold her soul. Later that year she completed the journey by going to Black Rock City for a week. When she returned, covered in dust, she regaled us with tales of desert camping, drive by shooting ranges, natural hot springs, mutant vehicles, dust storms, Helco burning, and, of course, the Man.

[PurplMyst]

It was mid 2003 for me. I was working at a .com startup in SF & my coworkers started chatting about "Burning Man" and who was going with what camp about July. I looked it up & read just about every post on ePlaya. Sadly at the time I was just too broke to buy a ticket on such short notice. Monday the week of the burn we had a meeting at work & the coworkers who were going were all leaving that night or Tuesday. Another coworker took me aside and asked me why I wasn't going. Not wanting to admit to being poor I just said that I had only just heard about it & just couldn't "get it together" in time. He said to me "I know you & I know all about Burning Man, and you NEED to go to Burning Man". Tuesday afternoon I was handed a "bonus" check that was just enough for a Burning Man ticket & enough gas to get me there & back. That first year I went solo, had a wicked sore throat the entire time, and a dust storm killed my once-trusty pup tent. It was awesome & I've only missed 2 years since.

[Savannah]

I love these.

I want to hug your co-worker, PurpleMyst. (Unless he likes his personal space.)

[Wrath]

By the time this article came out I had heard about Burning Man from people in the BBS scene. My first opportunity to go came in `98 or `99 when I was living in Chico. Couldn't afford it at the time, but I knew something was up when my roommate came back with his record cases filled with dust.

By 2003 I had been living in San Francisco for a few years, and going to a lot of related parties here having no idea what Black Rock City was like. Everyone I kicked it with had already been going for six or seven years on average, and they all told me to go each year. Never got around to it. There was always some other rave to go to or a climbing trip on the horizon. One year though, a very dear friend of mine told me that it was in my future to go, and gave me one of these:



Finally in 2008 a buddy I climb with (who had already been going a few years) told me he was going, and taking one of my friends from high school. I grew up with that kid, and I'd be damed if that yuppie went before me.

Not knowing what I was in for I brought enough backpacking food to feed me for a week. Didn't eat any of it.

I rode home with that friend from high school. On the way home he kept going on about how he needed to give cash to this guy for this, and cash to that guy for that, to say thank you for the experiences we had and allowing us to camp with them.

Then and there I reached into my pocket for the coin and gave my first gift.

[PurplMyst]

Savannah, that coworker was one of those that I'm sorry I lost track of. He was great at what he did professionally & despite being "older & wiser" he still knew when to say "the hell with it!" and have a good time. The company itself is long gone, but I do still run across the other burners from that group from time to time.