Burning Man: Encyclopedia II - Burning Man - Black Rock City

Burning Man - Black Rock City

Black Rock City, often abbreviated to BRC, is the name of the temporary urban phenomenon created by Burning Man. The city is arranged as two thirds of a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) diameter circle (resembling the layout of Poverty Point) with the Burning Man complex at the very center. Avenues extend radially from the Man to the outermost circle. In most years, these avenues are given a clock name (e.g., "3:00"), presenting the city as a clock in which the Man is the center of the clock. Occasionally, the avenues have been identified as the degrees of a circle (e.g., "300 degrees"); however, this has proven unpopular with burners. (This forces them to express location in polar coordinate, instead of one based on vectors. Also, "000 degree" actually refers to 030 degree on azimuth, often leading to confusion.) Surrounding the central complex and extending out toward the back of the playa is an area of empty space reserved for art installations. Within the semicircle of the city, arranged in concentric arcs around the Man, are the streets and villages where the participants camp out. The names of the streets change each year to coincide with the overall art theme of the burn. For example, corresponding with "The Vault of Heaven" theme for 2004, the streets were named after the planets of the solar system.

BRC has, in recent years, been designated a motor vehicle free zone, with the exception of extensively decorated art cars that have been licensed by BRC's "Department of Mutant Vehicles."

Burning Man - Center Camp

Center Camp is located along the midline of BRC, facing the Man (i.e., at the intersection of the Esplanade and 6:00), and serves as a central meeting place for the entire city. Various services, such as first aid and playa information, are found at Center Camp. Similar services can be found at the intersections of the Esplanade located at 3:00 and 9:00. Center Camp also contains art installations, a large comfortable seating area, and performance spaces available to burners.

Burning Man - Theme camps and villages

The innermost circles tend to be the busiest and are usually reserved for theme camps or large villages. Theme camps are designed with a specific theme in mind. Some well-known camps that have been at Burning Man for quite some time include:

• Thunderdome, where contestants battle in a large geodesic dome, inspired by the film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome;
• BRCPO, a parody of the post office, which actually does perform the service of delivering mail, both to the event and from the event to the outside world;
• Eggchair, a camp with a stereo-equipped Eggchair for passers-by to sit in and watch the world go by; and
• The Pancake Playhouse, which serves pancakes to all comers while playing soft rock classics.
• Kidsville, a camp designed specifically for the burners' children.

BRC also is host to a growing number of burners who experiment and innovate with the use of alternative energy. Both within and without of the official theme village, the Alternative Energy Zone, there are burners who still play hard and have the luxuries of home such as amplified music, lights, and vehicles, but use no petroleum products while in Black Rock City to enjoy these amenities. Villages such as Shangri La Village, Gigsville, Fandango, and Hushville are perennial staples of BRC.

Burning Man - Policing

BRC is patrolled by various local and state law enforcement agencies as well as the Bureau of Land Management Rangers. Burners refer to these people collectively as LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers). Burning Man also has its own in-house group of volunteers, the Black Rock Rangers, who act as informal mediators when disputes arise between burners. When the occasional eviction of a burner from BRC becomes necessary, volunteer rangers typically enlist the assistance of LEOs.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Black Rock City", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki