Burning Man 2019 Just Ended And Here Are 30 Photos Proving It’s The Craziest Festival In The World
This summer has been far hotter than usual and plenty of us have been practically melting in the unseasonable heat. However, this did nothing to stop fans from attending the epic Burning Man festival. In fact, it seemed that the heat only spurred them on — this year, the gathering was even crazier, wackier and more off-the-hook than usual!
Burning Man 2019 took place in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada and lasted from August 25 until September 2, and just like every year, this famous festival was fantastic. But then again, does Burning Man ever disappoint? Because autumn rains are already upon us and we’re in need of some of that glorious Nevada heat, Bored Panda brings you this sizzling list of the coolest photos from this year’s festival. So keep on scrolling, share with your friends, and drop us a comment about which Burning Man pictures you liked best and why. Once you’re done, have a look through Bored Panda’s lists about the Burning Man festivals from 2018 and 2017 as well. See how they compare with this year’s festivities for yourself and let us know which year’s gathering you thought was the most impressive so far. Be sure to scroll down and read our exclusive interview with Travis C. who was at this year's Burning Man festival in 2019 (you'll find his photo down below, he's the one in the stunning pink dress).
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So Burning Man is basically Comic-Con for the uber-wealthy? Although, some of the art exhibits are incredible.
Bored Panda talked to Travis C. who was at the Burning Man festival in 2019 and wore a fabulous pink tutu.
“Burning Man 2019 was amazing in so many ways. It was my third year and likely my favorite so far as each year you start to better understand the parameters and limitations of the experience. For example: which fabrics to choose for your Burning Man costume that repel dust and which attract it. Which foods reheat well and which do not. Can I wear heels while in drag or will I sink? The entire experience is not only a social experiment but also layered with smaller experiments of life in an alternate universe.”
The desert makes for a beautiful gallery for these mirrored sculptures. I mean look at this photo, wow
Travis said that his “primary attraction in attending is the level of extreme creativity you see from both those amazing people around you and within yourself.”
“Where else can I wear the wild and highly creative costumes you see there? I will spend the year sewing my coats and clothes and then sharing those I have made in previous years with others if they want them. Outside of just aesthetics, anything goes as long as you are trying to uphold the Ten Principles which emphasize community, kindness and gifting among other things.”
“My camp as a larger group build a massive sheep shaped art care with full sound system to host parties that are a truly inclusive place for all LGBTQ individuals,” the festival-goer went in-depth about Burning Man 2019 with Bored Panda.
“We also let anyone ride our car and ensure it is a place of inclusivity. Overall, the community of Burning Man avoids the discriminatory pitfalls of the default world and is a true alternate universe and example of what the world would be like if we valued each other more than the things we personally have. The week is full of kindness and excitement. Sure it is dusty, but that environment is simultaneously useful in its ability to disarm even the fanciest of attendees.”
Great use of 3D printing technique to achieve the layers on this fantastic sculpture.
“My husband is an engineer and loves the urban planning and engineering aspects of it. If you could rebuild NYC once a year from the ground up, would you change the road names? What about the street directions? Where would you locate the most important facilities like the ER? Burning Man gets to redesign itself each year and it is super fun to watch urban planning get a second, third, etc. chance. That just doesn't happen in regular life.”
“The most memorable moments are rarely the loud ones. They are the trips home in the crisp air at dawn with your partner just reflecting on how crazy the world can be,” Travis revealed the more romantic side of the festival. “Wondering what it would have been like if you never knew this pocket of fabulously cool people even existed because you never were persuaded to come years ago.”
“The one consistently memorable moment we have had though is our Temple walk. The Temple is one of the only sites where there is no party. No loud music. Occasional singing and acoustic sounds like a guitar/sitar but nothing caustic. It is where people go to say goodbye to a marriage and leave their certificate after their divorce. One of the most heartbreaking items and reflections left this year was the hat of a man who had attended and died. There was a note accompanying it from his parents who had come to the festival just to leave it behind, say goodbye and then watch it burn to the ground along with everyone else's heartaches and disappointment. It is honestly impossible to walk through that space and not tear up.”
“The night the man burns is a party. The night the Temple burns there is silence,” he said. “50,000-60,000 people just sitting their silently letting things go and heading home to reflect and focus. Our first year we sat next to a woman who had met her second husband at Burning Man after the passing of her first nearly 25 years prior. He had also passed away. She brought some of the clothes she had met him in to watch burn as she said thank you for the years spent together.”
“The festival is often misinterpreted by those who don't have the opportunity to go. Sure, there are parties. Sure, I do see drug use. Never anything hard or massively troubling (at least not with those I hang out with), but many of those perceptions are the minority experience. The families aren't there for that. Nor is the often older demographic group that has been coming for years and helps to keep the festivals message on track. Nor are most of the young people. People go to spend time with each other.”
“During the day you can ride your bike around and just make random stops at all the camps giving things out. A typical afternoon might include a corndog, being launched in to a pool of stuffed animals, a freezer truck with hot beverages, the very gay "bear shower happy hour," a Madonna dance party with snow cones, and then a touching communal dinner back at camp.”
“You just never know what is out there and you can only see about 2% of it anyway so you give up and learn to just go with the flow. The place is unique but in a way that you would wish everywhere could be. The people seem freely themselves,” Travis told Bored Panda. “The hardest part about leaving is knowing there will be a loss of these freedoms. And, with those loss of freedoms is often what makes it hard to be the nice and expressive person you wish you could always be. Burning Man is an experience for sure. How you categorize... there aren't really words for that in any language. I think this is why it is so universally appealing.”
this is probably very heavy... would give me a headache 5 minutes in
How in the world does a 747 make it to the desert AND who has the $$$ to do this?
The very first Burning Man festival was held on Baker Beach in San Francisco, in 1986. And every year since, the gathering has attracted what seems to be the most creative (not to mention peculiar!) people on Earth.
When I saw photos from the Burning Man for the very first time, I thought I was looking at some alternate post-apocalyptic timeline where Mad Max somehow got crossed over with Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. It was mesmerizing. It was confusing. But nobody can deny it was a feast for the eyes.
Ugh, this picture reminds me of the conversation we had last year about Burning Man - how many of the attendees are legit and how many are models that just dropped in for pix. Yes, I'm talking to you, lady with your butt sticking out.
Note: this post originally had 151 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
But what does the festival stand for, and what are its core values? Well, back in 2004, the festival’s co-founder Larry Harvey came up with the Ten Principles that encapsulate what it’s all about. Among these are the ideas that absolutely anyone can be a part of the festival, that we should all give others gifts unconditionally, and that the festival shouldn’t become exploited by commercial sponsorship.
What’s more, the festival promotes radical self-reliance and self-expression, as well as communal effort and civic responsibility. Lastly, the Burning Man respects the environment, calls upon everyone to participate as fully as possible, and values immediate experience, which helps overcome our inner barriers.
I would love to experience Burning Man for myself — what about you? What do you love most about the festival? Is it the quirky costumes? The supernatural art installations? Or the marvelous atmosphere?
None of these people look like they're having fun... To be stuck in the desert with pretentious attention seekers would honestly be what purgatory would look like for me.
I could have done without the majority of the photos of "influencers" just standing in the desert looking like attention starved jackasses. Some of the art installations like the school bus converted into a neon lit space shuttler were cool.
Just seems like torture to me....bright hot sun beating down on you in the middle of a dry a*s dusty desert...no thank you.
I'm amazed by the size of it and the lack of ugly, old, fat and/ or mediocre people.
Some of this is really fantastic. However, I don't find the dust, distance, and exhibitionists appealing. Also I had no idea how spread out it was. I think I'll settle for the photos.
I absolutely love the creativity and massive group effort it takes to create the big installations, sculptures, and rolling art. I freaking HATE that a bunch of vacuous instagrammers think that wearing sexy costumes and standing in front of the art suddenly makes them creative and important.
so what I am getting from this is you have to be young,very beautiful and a total show off to go. Well Im none of those things so that'll explain why I have never been.
"Why are all these people young and thin?" The Bored Panda commenters will ask. B/c, if you're dressed like a weird-a*s when you're young and thin it's sexy, if you dress like a weird-a*s when you're old and/or out of shape you look like a hobo.
So it's an Instagram festival now. Too bad, use to be cool and somewhat mysterious.
Sponsored by IG..... It's a pity how the "Social Beggars" have commercialised it.
So, it's $390, plus 9% tax, for normal tickets and then you need transportation, some place to stay (tent), your own toilet, shower, cooking equipment and your own food and drink for the entire event. There's nothing for sale there, but coffee and ice. I'll pass.
Despite the instagrammers being strippers, I kinda want to go to this festival.
I feel like Bored Panda has become really bitter and toxic lately. Anything too mainstream or any vanity at all is heavily criticized. These people may be privileged and kind of narcissistic, but we don't know whether they're actually bad people or not. Maybe lay off a little bit?
Love these comments. Kind of like here in the state of California... we're not starving for your attendance honestly. Have fun staying at home and being boring.
So I am guessing here but not the show for autistic spectrum people with social anxiety guess its pictures for me them.
I'm surprised at how many are being so judgmental/hateful towards this. I haven't gone myself (student) but my best friends have gone twice and sure: some is posed or styled for social media or privileged because of money. But what about the Beauty it brings, the incredible artwork, sense of catharsis, and escapism from our modern world. If someone wants to go they need to save like you would any trip from year to the next, it's not just for "trust fund babies" or for Instagram. Maybe my friends are special, I suppose I haven't gone myself. but they aren't rich and they are barely on Instagram, and they are living it up. I support getting the f**k away from day to day life, sometimes.
Burning Man is nothing like what it was. And according to a friend I have in Nevada, all the burners leave tons of trash and s**t behind on their way out of the desert. They leave the playa clean and the rest of Nevada and California a s**t mess. Nothing but entitled uber-hipster-rich dumb kids!
Are any of these instagrammers? Can good looking people not take photos without being on ig? Pretty sure this festival is older than instagram. This event is more of a weird culture than it is attention seekers.
This festival looks like it's straight out of a Mad Max movie! It's so nice to see people enjoying themsevles and the people around them; it looks like a lot of fun to be honest.
Burning is just a ripoff of the Zozobra festival in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Zozobra festival is true burning man. It’s a festival for true artist who don’t have corporate sponsors or wealth. Look it up an see how what was once true an pure has been stolen. Taken away an used by others for their own profit an gain!!!!
Burning Man is a dusty, expensive festival that does not even provide water or sell food. If you bought a ticket you should consider a trip to Hawaii instead. Fortunately, if you contact me at: donald@grindking.com I will purchase those tickets at full price from you and you can walk away from that big mistake you made and head towards the islands instead;)
Burning Man is very dusty and hot and expensive. You should definitely go anywhere else like Hawaii or Costa Rica . Anyone who made the mistake of actually buying a ticket should please contact me ASAP . I will take them off your hands and you will get a full refund for those rip-off tickets. DM me at : donald@grindking.com
WaiT!! who is "travis c."? No last name... LOVE THIS QUOTE: “You just never know what is out there and you can only see about 2% of it anyway so you give up and learn to just go with the flow. The place is unique but in a way that you would wish everywhere could be. The people seem freely themselves,” Travis told Bored Panda. “The hardest part about leaving is knowing there will be a loss of these freedoms. And, with those loss of freedoms is often what makes it hard to be the nice and expressive person you wish you could always be. Burning Man is an experience for sure. How you categorize... there aren't really words for that in any language. I think this is why it is so universally appealing.” ... sums it up perfectly.
You naysayers are creeps. It's fun. It's meant to be fun. You stay home with your Instagram.
They need to rename it from Burning man, to Burning money! What an absolute waste of it.
'Absolutely anyone can be a part of it' and 'Overall, the community of Burning Man avoids the discriminatory pitfalls of the default world' - so what would they do if Donald Trump turned up, or some Neo-Nazis? Is this Universal Tolerance, or just tolerance of people who think the same as them?
According to what I have seen, i would feel like a wierdo there because I wouldn't look like a wierdo there.
Dumb f#cks, dumb f#cks all around. I lived in SF for six years. We loved Burning Man weekend because all the insufferable @ssholes were gone, it was so pleasant that week.
How and why did it go from free admission to a ticket price range $1500-$4500 ?
Makes me think of the episode of Malcolm in the Middle where they ended up at Burning Man. Lois had the time of her life
Kind of like my home state of California, we're honestly not starving for your attendance at Burning Man. Have fun staying home and being boring AF folks. Much love.
Fantastic constructions and images! I've never heard of it before, it's really striking! :O
The sculptures get better every year. So much creativity! Personally...I’d have to have a nice RV with AC to escape the heat.
Burning Man. The festival for loaded people, who usually spend their time flapping their hands about the environmental impact of your average sedan, spending a week wearing enough plastic between them to cover a small country, creating excessive pollution carting all the exhibits, and exhibitionists, out into the desert, and leave a mess behind for others to pick up. Yeah, great.
Sometimes I'm wondering if some of those people don't forget what is all about The Burning Man Festival. I mean that some of them rather looks like come there only because the event became famous. Quite sad.
So many pictures of young, thin, good looking people. I KNOW there are older, bigger, less model-like people there. Why no pics of them?
Rich wannabe hipster kids posing for the Instagram accounts. How dreadfully boring. It's a shame Burning Man has been ruined.
Burning Man..... let's go out in the dry dry dry earth and pretend that we are super talented artists that happen to be stunningly beautiful naked. Push go if you are rich and have a nice little trust fund.
Why does it always look like there are only thin people at Burning Man? Once your BMI hits 26, you're not allowed to be creative?
All I can think of, is how many people went home with massive sunburns
I guess their attempts to keep the instagram kids and trust fund babies out this year didnt work. What was the point of their exhaustive ticket application process then?
TBH never been a fan and don't understand why people want to be covered in layers of dust! At this point is just hipsters trying to post on IG the "coolest" photos - meeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhh I'm going to pass.
None of these people look like they're having fun... To be stuck in the desert with pretentious attention seekers would honestly be what purgatory would look like for me.
I could have done without the majority of the photos of "influencers" just standing in the desert looking like attention starved jackasses. Some of the art installations like the school bus converted into a neon lit space shuttler were cool.
Just seems like torture to me....bright hot sun beating down on you in the middle of a dry a*s dusty desert...no thank you.
I'm amazed by the size of it and the lack of ugly, old, fat and/ or mediocre people.
Some of this is really fantastic. However, I don't find the dust, distance, and exhibitionists appealing. Also I had no idea how spread out it was. I think I'll settle for the photos.
I absolutely love the creativity and massive group effort it takes to create the big installations, sculptures, and rolling art. I freaking HATE that a bunch of vacuous instagrammers think that wearing sexy costumes and standing in front of the art suddenly makes them creative and important.
so what I am getting from this is you have to be young,very beautiful and a total show off to go. Well Im none of those things so that'll explain why I have never been.
"Why are all these people young and thin?" The Bored Panda commenters will ask. B/c, if you're dressed like a weird-a*s when you're young and thin it's sexy, if you dress like a weird-a*s when you're old and/or out of shape you look like a hobo.
So it's an Instagram festival now. Too bad, use to be cool and somewhat mysterious.
Sponsored by IG..... It's a pity how the "Social Beggars" have commercialised it.
So, it's $390, plus 9% tax, for normal tickets and then you need transportation, some place to stay (tent), your own toilet, shower, cooking equipment and your own food and drink for the entire event. There's nothing for sale there, but coffee and ice. I'll pass.
Despite the instagrammers being strippers, I kinda want to go to this festival.
I feel like Bored Panda has become really bitter and toxic lately. Anything too mainstream or any vanity at all is heavily criticized. These people may be privileged and kind of narcissistic, but we don't know whether they're actually bad people or not. Maybe lay off a little bit?
Love these comments. Kind of like here in the state of California... we're not starving for your attendance honestly. Have fun staying at home and being boring.
So I am guessing here but not the show for autistic spectrum people with social anxiety guess its pictures for me them.
I'm surprised at how many are being so judgmental/hateful towards this. I haven't gone myself (student) but my best friends have gone twice and sure: some is posed or styled for social media or privileged because of money. But what about the Beauty it brings, the incredible artwork, sense of catharsis, and escapism from our modern world. If someone wants to go they need to save like you would any trip from year to the next, it's not just for "trust fund babies" or for Instagram. Maybe my friends are special, I suppose I haven't gone myself. but they aren't rich and they are barely on Instagram, and they are living it up. I support getting the f**k away from day to day life, sometimes.
Burning Man is nothing like what it was. And according to a friend I have in Nevada, all the burners leave tons of trash and s**t behind on their way out of the desert. They leave the playa clean and the rest of Nevada and California a s**t mess. Nothing but entitled uber-hipster-rich dumb kids!
Are any of these instagrammers? Can good looking people not take photos without being on ig? Pretty sure this festival is older than instagram. This event is more of a weird culture than it is attention seekers.
This festival looks like it's straight out of a Mad Max movie! It's so nice to see people enjoying themsevles and the people around them; it looks like a lot of fun to be honest.
Burning is just a ripoff of the Zozobra festival in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Zozobra festival is true burning man. It’s a festival for true artist who don’t have corporate sponsors or wealth. Look it up an see how what was once true an pure has been stolen. Taken away an used by others for their own profit an gain!!!!
Burning Man is a dusty, expensive festival that does not even provide water or sell food. If you bought a ticket you should consider a trip to Hawaii instead. Fortunately, if you contact me at: donald@grindking.com I will purchase those tickets at full price from you and you can walk away from that big mistake you made and head towards the islands instead;)
Burning Man is very dusty and hot and expensive. You should definitely go anywhere else like Hawaii or Costa Rica . Anyone who made the mistake of actually buying a ticket should please contact me ASAP . I will take them off your hands and you will get a full refund for those rip-off tickets. DM me at : donald@grindking.com
WaiT!! who is "travis c."? No last name... LOVE THIS QUOTE: “You just never know what is out there and you can only see about 2% of it anyway so you give up and learn to just go with the flow. The place is unique but in a way that you would wish everywhere could be. The people seem freely themselves,” Travis told Bored Panda. “The hardest part about leaving is knowing there will be a loss of these freedoms. And, with those loss of freedoms is often what makes it hard to be the nice and expressive person you wish you could always be. Burning Man is an experience for sure. How you categorize... there aren't really words for that in any language. I think this is why it is so universally appealing.” ... sums it up perfectly.
You naysayers are creeps. It's fun. It's meant to be fun. You stay home with your Instagram.
They need to rename it from Burning man, to Burning money! What an absolute waste of it.
'Absolutely anyone can be a part of it' and 'Overall, the community of Burning Man avoids the discriminatory pitfalls of the default world' - so what would they do if Donald Trump turned up, or some Neo-Nazis? Is this Universal Tolerance, or just tolerance of people who think the same as them?
According to what I have seen, i would feel like a wierdo there because I wouldn't look like a wierdo there.
Dumb f#cks, dumb f#cks all around. I lived in SF for six years. We loved Burning Man weekend because all the insufferable @ssholes were gone, it was so pleasant that week.
How and why did it go from free admission to a ticket price range $1500-$4500 ?
Makes me think of the episode of Malcolm in the Middle where they ended up at Burning Man. Lois had the time of her life
Kind of like my home state of California, we're honestly not starving for your attendance at Burning Man. Have fun staying home and being boring AF folks. Much love.
Fantastic constructions and images! I've never heard of it before, it's really striking! :O
The sculptures get better every year. So much creativity! Personally...I’d have to have a nice RV with AC to escape the heat.
Burning Man. The festival for loaded people, who usually spend their time flapping their hands about the environmental impact of your average sedan, spending a week wearing enough plastic between them to cover a small country, creating excessive pollution carting all the exhibits, and exhibitionists, out into the desert, and leave a mess behind for others to pick up. Yeah, great.
Sometimes I'm wondering if some of those people don't forget what is all about The Burning Man Festival. I mean that some of them rather looks like come there only because the event became famous. Quite sad.
So many pictures of young, thin, good looking people. I KNOW there are older, bigger, less model-like people there. Why no pics of them?
Rich wannabe hipster kids posing for the Instagram accounts. How dreadfully boring. It's a shame Burning Man has been ruined.
Burning Man..... let's go out in the dry dry dry earth and pretend that we are super talented artists that happen to be stunningly beautiful naked. Push go if you are rich and have a nice little trust fund.
Why does it always look like there are only thin people at Burning Man? Once your BMI hits 26, you're not allowed to be creative?
All I can think of, is how many people went home with massive sunburns
I guess their attempts to keep the instagram kids and trust fund babies out this year didnt work. What was the point of their exhaustive ticket application process then?
TBH never been a fan and don't understand why people want to be covered in layers of dust! At this point is just hipsters trying to post on IG the "coolest" photos - meeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhh I'm going to pass.