Burning Man is wrapping up for another year in Nevada’s Black Rock desert, but a recent article in the Telegraph UK has proclaimed that is wasn’t all “peace and love” this time around.
Over the years, Burning Man has grown to become more approachable for a mainstream audience, with the introduction of more recognised, radio-friendly musicians and global media coverage attracting a broader crowd. Generally speaking, this is a good thing for the festival’s growth, but that didn’t seem to be the case for some attendees who seemed to take offence from the wealthy “Burners”.
A specific camp that was the target of anger was the White Ocean camp. The camp was launched at Burning Man three years ago by DJ Paul Oakenfield and the son of a Russian billionaire (???).
White Ocean is known hosting high profile DJs on a state-of-the-art stage. This did not go down well with the some of the crowd members, who vandalised the camp, flooding it and cutting the power lines during a set.
The camp leaders were outraged, naturally, taking to Facebook with a massive post concerning the event. They said “a band of hooligans raided our camp, stole from us, pulled and sliced all of our electrical lines leaving us with no refrigeration and wasting our food, and glued our trailer doors shut.
“They vandalised most of our camping infrastructure and dumped 200 gallons of potable water flooding our camp.”
But it gets even juicier, with a Burning Man representative responding to their pleas with “It makes sense that you have been sabotaged as you are a closed camp and not welcoming”. Rekt.
Despite this, the White Ocean camp are not quitting, with full intentions to return next year. “We will absolutely not let this pathetic violation stop what we came here to do. We came here to unite people through music and love.”
It all seems a bit ironic that Burners are vandalizing camps out of “peace and love“, doesn’t it? But it is also definitely not in the spirit of Burning Man to market your stage for rich people. Lame.
Hopefully everyone learns from their mistakes and this doesn’t happen all over again next year! For now, enjoy this photo of Kyle Sandilands at Burning Man.
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