Burning Man festival, Green Man

Burning Man goes off Early

By Joshua S. Hill

Thursday, August 30, 2007

For six days out of every year, ending each year on the US Labor Day holiday, the Burning Man festival is a symbol of a humanities ability to coexist peacefully. Described as an "…experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance", Burning Man brings together people from all walks of life, and allows them to express themselves in ways that would not normally be allowed for in our modern and uptight everyday lives.

Burning Man 2007's theme -- given each year to direct the inevitable artwork towards a common purpose -- is entitled the Green Man. Built upon the ancient lakebed known as the 'playa', Black Rock City forms a 2/3 circle around the Center Camp, the center for civic activities.

This year, along with many other years, Burning Man Widows and Widowers are being left behind; the spouses and partners of those who trek off each year to erect their monuments to artistic creativity and freedom of expression.

However Jane McGonigal has taken steps to ensure that, while her husband Kiyosh is off enjoying himself in Nevada, he will not forget his wife.

A noted game designer in her own right, Jane received a 2005 Innovation Award from the International Game Developers Association and a 2005 Games-related Webby. And though she is not attending, the 45,000 people who are venturing to Black Rock have been assigned a task -- or at least those who know of it.

Their task is simple, to spot Kiyosh, and to say "Jane says Hi" or something along those lines. This understated game is indicative of the pervasive games that Jane is renowned for.

Sadly though, the 2007 Burning Man festival has been marred by the actions of one sad individual, who decided to take matters in to his own hands.

Each year the "man" is burnt on the Saturday of the festival, the night prior to the sixth day. This year however, on Monday night Paul Addis, 35, of San Francisco lit the man on fire. And though contingency plans for such an event had long been in place and were enacted swiftly by organizers, significant damage was done to the big man.

"The Man is still standing, and an assessment is under way to determine the structural integrity of the Man and the Green Man Pavilion," according to a statement posted today at www.burningman.com. "The event will continue as scheduled."