Burn Night: Live From Home
We Will Always Burn the Man
Burn Night: Live From Home
Got plans for Burn Night?
After spending Burn Week exploring the marvels of the Multiverse, join us on September 5, 2020 for Burn Night: Live From Home.
Wherever you live and however you choose to burn, you’re invited to connect with the global Burning Man community for a worldwide, around-the-clock Burn Night extravaganza!
Create your burnable Mini Man effigy using our blueprint, or something from your own imagination. Then host a small Burn wherever you are, within your local COVID-safe limits, ignited time zone by time zone worldwide on Burning Man’s traditional Burn Night — September 5, 2020. You may choose to upload your Man Burn to our 24-hour live stream. These will all be streamed and shared in a portal with chat, so the entire Burning Man community can connect around our favorite fire for a full day and night of burns.
Read on for all the fiery details and participation links.
What’s This Man Burn Thing All About?
Once a year, since 1990, thousands of people have gathered in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert to co-create Black Rock City, a temporary metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance. This annual event culminates in Burn Night, a collective celebration where participants burn a man effigy. The exact meaning of this collective social and creative ritual is up to participants and is the climax of the annual Burning Man event. All are welcome in this crucible of creativity.
In 2020, the global pandemic catapulted Black Rock City online into the Multiverse, where anyone can participate in a collective, virtual Burn. People from around the world will build their own Man effigies and other creative offerings, burn them SAFELY, and gather online to share their Burns by uploading them to a community portal.
IMPORTANT: Is it permissible to have a fire where you are?
As seasonal wildfires burn in California and other places we want to acknowledge the Burning of anything might not be permitted or considerate to others. There are some areas where having a fire outside is simply not ok for any reason during the summer months. The risk of wildfire is real, and the results of your actions could be catastrophic. Local fire regulations must be checked to make sure your fire will not conflict with “No Burn” or “Spare the Air” days in your area. While you may have a certain comfort around fire, you do not want to cause concern in your neighborhood or receive an unexpected visit from the fire department. Consider checking in with your neighbors so they are aware of your plans and you can address any concerns ahead of time. Enjoy a safe Burn!
Build Your Own Man
One way to participate in this historic and first time global ritual is to build your own burnable Man at home!
To help make sure everyone can participate, members of the Man Build Krew have created and gifted to our community a simple Mini-Man design you can build yourself, along with some fire safety best practices. Using these blueprints and some common do-it-yourself tools, you’ll be able to build your very own, two-foot-tall Burning Man effigy.
Or you can build whatever is in your imagination. Make your effigy (It doesn’t have to be a Man!) out of toothpicks, or build something memorable to install in a place where you can SAFELY burn it. This is your Man and your Burn — do it (SAFELY) your way!
Need Some Tips?
Build Day with the Man Krew
Join the Man Krew for a virtual build day as part of the Build n’ Burn Your Own Man experience. Build, create and take a moment to hear about building the Man in one of the most challenging worksites possible. Take your laptop and set it on your work table. We will show you how using a few simple tools you too can build a Man!
Creating and maintaining our unique sense of community at the heart of Burning Man feels extra important this year. Entering at the Gate, going through the Greeters, building your camp, exploring the open playa and the projects you find there and of course the Man Burn and later the Temple Burn are what define the framework of the event week. While all of those actions and important milestones of the event were created over the years, the very first action and the most authentic act was, of course, the gathering of friends to build and burn the Man.
Using a printer and some simple tools we will show you how you can create a two-foot wooden Burning Man for use at home, safety conditions permitting. This live hour and a half build event will feature some tool use tutorials, simple shop safety information and tips and directions to help you complete the project. We will cut out the necessary parts of the Man and a simple Man Base. We will then assemble the parts using glue, tape and some basic hardware.
Hear the stories of past builds from those who were there and relive the challenges and jackassery that is stuff of legends. Showing us how to do it right will be Man build Team members Namaste Dave, Chipper and Goat. Joining the Man crew will be Dave X the Fire Safety Team Manager for the event with important lessons on fire safety.
Share Your Burn
Do you want to feature your Man Burn on the 24-hour feed for “Burn Night: Live From Home”? If so, please register in advance. You’ll have the option to pre-record and upload your video, or live stream it the night of the event in your time zone.
Join Us for BURN NIGHT
On Saturday, September 5, gather your Covid-safe, socially distanced crew to watch the global live stream! If you’re burning, SAFELY ignite your Man or other effigy. Fire dance if that’s your thing, showcase your art, bring your passions. Do it all!
Timing Your Burn Night (Wherever You Are!)
- Tentative scheduled start time is 2am PDT September 5th (that’s 9pm NZST in New Zealand).
- Burns will begin in New Zealand and roll westward approximately hourly, culminating in the US West Coast and Hawaii, with special Fire Conclave performances at 7pm PDT.
- Our collective Burn extravaganza will tentatively wrap up at 2am PDT on Sept 6 (that’s 11pm HST in Hawaii). This schedule will adjust based on your submissions!
We recommend creating your personal Burn Night profile in advance, so everything is ready for the big night. If you do, you can create a “camp” with your favorite humans to start an encrypted video watch party and enjoy the celebration together – and you can “drop in” on other camps that are open to visitors. If you just want to tune in to watch Burns around the world, registration is not required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Burn Night: Live From Home really go for 24 hours? When will it start?
- Yes, we’ll live stream Burn Night for nearly 24 hours. Burns will begin in New Zealand at 9pm NZST, and will continue westward until Burn Time in Hawaii. (You can use an online time zone calculator to check these time zones wherever you live!)
Where do I find instructions for my own Mini Man Build?
- Everything you need to build your Mini Man, including instructions and the blueprint, is here.
Do I have to follow those instructions? Or can I come up with my own design?
- You can build whatever you want! Let your imagination run wild. Just keep it positive and remember, this is an all-ages experience.
How can I be part of the Burn Night live video feed?
- You must register in advance to share your Man Burn on Burn Night: Live From Home. This is an all ages event! To prevent trolls and inappropriate content, all submissions will be reviewed and approved before appearing in the stream. You’ll have the option to pre-record and upload your video, or stream it the night of the event in your time zone.
What can I stream on the main video feed?
- Your backyard Mini Man Burn, Regional Burn, or whatever and wherever you decide to (SAFELY) Burn the Man or your creative offering
- Fire performances
- Storytelling about past Burns
- Your Build-a-Man experience
- Anything, really, that relates to Burn Nights past, present or future
I want to watch Burn Night with my friends or campmates. How do I do that?
- Create a personal Burn Night profile, and have your friends create theirs too. Then, on Burn Night, you can start an encrypted video watch party and enjoy the celebration together – and you can “drop in” on other camps that are open to visitors.
