How to see Black Rock City as an outsider

August 16, 8:41 AMSF Boomers ExaminerSuzanna Stinnett

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Black Rock City, Nevada, exists annually for a blur of days at the end of August.

There are a handful of reasons why this art-fueled community is relevant to Web 55.0, and this Examiner column.

1. The event known as Burning Man could not exist in its current form without online communication. The good works done by "burners" around the globe happen because people can easily organize through the Internet. (One group, Burners Without Borders, went to work on rebuilding post-Katrina New Orleans, and spent over four months there.)

2. Burning Man is an intergenerational, self-educating, brain-expanding adaptation which invites cultural exchanges across the globe.

3. Boomers make up a substantial percentage of the attendees at this event.

The civic-minded faction of our Boomer population might be interested to know that the  organization (the people who run the event and the business of Burning Man) does encourage a little outside view from time to time. I like the way the "org" nurtures the strange little city as a friendly and accessible place to learn about art and alternative community.

It would be goofy to try to go to this event for an afternoon, like a dreamy tourist. Some people do, I'm sure. After all, there is an airport at the edge of the city. And you can sky-dive in if you're so inclined. But otherwise, you'll need to make it a goal to get hired as "government officials from the federal, state and local levels, museum curators, or other VIPs," which means you might then qualify to be driven around the event in one of the art cars (mutant vehicles, to be precise) volunteered for the task.  The org has asked owners of art cars which are appropriate for such a job to come forward.

Neat-o!

Suzanna