Burning Man just announced they have completed the purchase of the 3,800 acre Fly Ranch near Gerlach, site of the annual Burning Man festival.
One their website, Burning Man took great pains to confirm that the intended use of this purchase is not to move the Burning Man festival but rather to allow for other uses throughout the year.
“In the future, this land will offer new ways for people to participate in Burning Man culture. Activities at Fly will fuel the spirit and expand the possibilities of Black Rock City. This is all part of the evolution of Burning Man from an ephemeral experiment into a global cultural movement having an impact on social, economic and artistic norms and structures. Burning Man’s culture is becoming more recognized and influential around the world, but Black Rock City has been at capacity since 2011. We simply can’t fit all the clowns in the clown car.
What will Burning Man do with Fly Ranch?
Fly Ranch is a new initiative based on some compelling questions we’ve been asking for a long time. Namely, if we had a permanent place to build and play:
- What happens when the Burning Man community is invited to co-create at a year-round site beyond Black Rock City?
- Should Burning Man create a laboratory to experiment with shelter, energy, environmentalism, new models of living, working and governance, and other innovations that could drive social change?
- What if we had access to a year-round location to showcase large-scale outdoor art sculptures?
We believe these questions are worthy of meaningful exploration, and this purchase is an investment in that belief. We hope Fly Ranch and the activities, events, and dreams that can be realized there will increase and accelerate Burning Man’s capacity to create lasting positive change in the world.
Like Black Rock City, Fly Ranch will be a collaboration. Burning Man Project has secured the land and, in time, will create a context for community participation and immersive experiences. It is our hope that participants will join us in contributing to the ‘content’ in the form of ideas, skills, dreams, and creations.”
