Over the last few years, Burning Man has become known as a haven for Silicon Valley tech bros and Instagram influencers who cough up thousands of dollars to party in "Mad Max" desert cosplay.
21.08.2024 - 14:02 / insider.com
"Isn't that the thing in the desert for young people on drugs?" My mother-in-law probed when I asked her to stay with our teenage son while my husband and I went to Burning Man. Here I was, a middle-aged mother of three and recovering attorney, setting out to the middle of the Nevada desert without much more than some goggles and bikinis.
I worried I wasn't ready, I wouldn't fit in, or I'd get lost in a dust storm, never to be seen again.
Out of anxiety, I over-prepared for my time in Black Rock City. I needed sun protection, and I couldn't look plain. ("Radical self-expression" is one of the core principles). I bedazzled a hat with ribbon, feathers, and gold paper. The feathers added flare but also symbolized Native America. I am Muscogee (Creek), and I like people to know Native people are still here, living, teaching, and dancing in most communities and, in this case, at Burning Man. I planned to give away feathers to everyone I met.
Upon my arrival, the Burning Man greeter expressed utter disbelief that I would bring feathers. Worse than plain? Apparently, feathers. They create "moop," Burning Man lingo for litter.
I took these as bad signs: I had no hat, no radical self-expression, and no gifts.
Feeling defeated, I arrived at my Burning Man camp. The camp leaders — including the friend who invited us — are the "tech bros" people love to complain about. They had names like "Cowboy" and "Chaos." One set up my tent and blew up my air mattress, while another made me an ice-cold margarita. "Better Lover" introduced himself, giving us juicy hugs and inviting us to his upcoming wedding on the Playa. There is not a lot that a margarita and a hug can't solve. Slightly refreshed, I went to my tent to change into the first of my many outfits.
Related stories
For weeks before, I searched social media for outfit ideas. What does one wear to a drug-induced dance party in a dust storm with 69,999 of your (soon-to-be) closest friends? The answer is not much.
I donned a purple velvet bra, high-waisted bikini bottoms, a fringed silk kimono, a cowboy hat, and the mandatory goggles. Out on the Playa, I felt strangely conservative in my bra-bikini get-up; most women were showing a lot of ass. When I say a lot, I really mean all. I also noticed the trend of small nipple covers as a shirt.
At night we cruised the desert in an "art car" — a massive truck with a dance floor and DJ booth on top of it, created expressly for hauling not-sober people around the Playa. A young man — wearing only a g-string and a hoodie — boarded our party truck and started grooving with us.
This was one of my favorite parts of the Burner experience: the social freedom people have to meet, talk, dance, and hug strangers, who then become
Over the last few years, Burning Man has become known as a haven for Silicon Valley tech bros and Instagram influencers who cough up thousands of dollars to party in "Mad Max" desert cosplay.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, August 27, 2024, and now, here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Southwest Airlines has extended its bookable flight schedule through April 7, 2025.
Alva Vanderbilt's 39th birthday present from her husband was a 140,000-square-foot summer "cottage" on the shores of Newport, Rhode Island.
Hundreds of charter and personal planes touched down on the same tarmac this weekend — and it wasn't in the Hamptons, Lake Tahoe, or any other particularly bougie hot spot. It was a pop-up airport called 88NV in the middle of the Nevada desert.
I'd never cruised before — but when 12 of my friends from high school hatched a plan to celebrate our 60th birthdays on a four-night Royal Caribbean cruise, I immediately said yes.
The night train boom is continuing with a new sleeper across Europe launching in 2025.
Southwest Airlines is expanding its flight schedule and adding new destinations. The airline known for low fares and free checked bags recently expanded its flight schedule to April 7, 2025, and added new flights to popular spring break destinations such as Punta Cana and Cabo San Lucas. In total, the airline added six different routes to its spring schedule, according to a news release. From the music city of Nashville, Tennessee, Southwest will begin weekly, Saturday service to both Cabo San Lucas / Los Cabos, Mexico, as well as Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic on March 8, 2025.
Oman Air is replacing its first-class cabin for specific routes, joining a growing list of carriers to do so. The replacement is called “Business Studio” and will initially feature on London and Bangkok routes.
During the Gilded Age, Rosecliff in Newport, Rhode Island, was the summer home of Theresa "Tessie" Fair Oelrichs, a silver heiress.
As interest in visiting Porto only grows stronger, visitors are finding even more things to do in the city. What was once seen for many as a short trip is becoming a longer break, with exploration outside of the city centre and into neighboring areas. Porto may be Portugal’s second largest city—after Lisbon—but it did give the country its name from the Roman Portus Cale. Centuries later, the city became famous for port, its “divine nectar of the Gods,” tastings of which are highly recommended in any of the port lodges lining the riverside in Vila Nova de Gaia. From there, look across the Douro at Porto’s colorful jumble of medieval houses, soaring church towers, and glossy blue-and-white tiled façades. Here, our selection of the best things to do in Porto can help you weave your way through the city, dipping into its sights, sounds, tastes, and smells to better get under its skin. To be sure, Porto will get under yours too.
More than a year since wildfires ravaged Maui’s western coast, including the beloved coastal town of Lāhainā, the community is still working to rebuild — one one organization is aiming to give hope to survivors and their families in an upcoming festival.