Renegade Man at Black Rock City
was one for the history books
Fires were raging up and down the coast. The Bay had air quality reports far into the unhealthy range but unofficial Burning Man aka Plan B aka Renegade Man was gaining momentum. A decision had to be made by TechnoGecko on if it’s a go or no-go as the event was two weeks out. Do we go or do we pivot? A handful decided to go no matter what because even arriving and needing to turn back would be better than if we missed out. Our souls were yearning for something novel. The idea of it being different made it even more enticing. The barriers to entry were lower in some aspects but the self reliance was higher and that made the challenge more exciting.
With a small TechnoGecko crew everything had to get simplified. We didn’t have our Canadian technical crew, we didn’t have many of the supporting camp members to help fix things and for sheer strength, and many that went to Juplaya a few weeks back didn’t have another large desert event in them. The solution was to bring the dance floor and a truck to pull it around. That’s it. It wouldn’t be under its own power. We wouldn’t bring the head, body, tail, and the whale trailer with all the backup supplies would stay at home as well.
Despite all this, we were excited. Tracking the fires, weather, roads, and winds on a daily basis was now part of the prep work. We bought proper smoke masks, air purifiers, filters, and the early crew went down on Sunday. Normally we had a crew in a week in advance but since this was a ‘lite’ version we were hoping a week would be enough. They got the camp shade structure up. Our boots on the ground, despite some being very sensitive to smoke, said it was manageable and even ‘okay.’ More people joined the team going and the TechnoGecko campers grew a bit bigger. The vehicle came down on Tuesday and the majority of the camp on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Slowly the city formed. Roads came out of the dust. The What3Words app which was used by the community and camps were able to place themselves was being followed. Streets, although without names, were followed. The concentric circles appeared. The people of Black Rock city were proud.
Did we have ice? No. Porta potties? Certainly not. BMorg to set it up? Not this year. A man that burned? No. Street signs? Nope, not even street names - only three words as identifiers. Burning of temple offerings? In barrels but not with the structure. But, the guiding principles were followed. The lawlessness that scared some didn’t exist or at least wasn’t readily seen. Everyone wanted it to work. And some of the principles lake radical self reliance and radical inclusion were at a level that hasn’t been seen by the event (or un-event in this case) in a long time.
People came from the neighboring cities to see what it was about. Those always wanted to go but never were able to get tickets or those that were never able to afford tickets came. The worries about bodily fluids on the playa seemed to be no more severe than any other year. The incidents of accidents also seemed low (or possibly lower) than in a typical year. It felt like 20-30k people showed up with all those that just came for the day. We were doing it.
The camps brought their basic version of offerings - some had liquor to share that they made, others massages, others music, and some just safe spaces to hang out and chill. There were small art pieces that appeared late in the week and were left standing despite authorities warning that any structures not for sleeping or shade would be taken down. With very strong rules enforced against fire, a massive drone show was put on where a man made with drones burned in the air with red and yellow faux flames also made by the light from drones. Art cars came. DJs showed up. Robot Heart played. Fun was had. And, the playa provided - the weather was mild, the wind was mild, the temperature was mild. We appreciated it.
A community of people seeking hope, comfort, togetherness, and renewal found it in each other, themselves, and the earth. Two years of isolation, fear, and trauma was at least a little washed away after a few days. Our brains rested by disconnecting from our phones. We talked to other humans and were present.
TechnoGecko had a dance stage and the people created the memories. We made new friends and deepened connections with our existing community. Despite all the uncertainty, lack of structure, and non-existent oversight a beat wasn’t skipped. Black Rock City is made by the people, and we all showed up.