If you know what to look for, it’s everywhere: the enduring, year-round impact of Burning Man on Reno. Driving through the city’s neighborhoods, Burner houses and art cars stick out and remind you just how close Reno and Tahoe really are to the Playa. Reno is home to approximately 12 Burning Man sculptures, and as the big event approaches it’s hard to ignore the influx of vans, buses, RVs, and people that come from around the world to spend a week living in a communal desert city where money is worthless and art reigns supreme.
While the actual festival lasts only one week, from Aug. 25 to Sept. 1, its influences are taking root in Reno as the local Burner community continues to grow. For seasoned Burners looking for a like-minded community in the off-season, and for individuals that want to learn more before heading to Black Rock City, these organizations and efforts retain a small but vibrant patch of the Playa year-round.
GO FOR A RIDE
An essential item for the Playa is a bike, and the more flair the better. For those who can’t bring a bike from home, the Kiwanis Bike Project in Reno solves that problem with its Burner Bike program, which sells used bikes decorated in true Burner style. The bikes are sold for a base price of $40, though more elaborately designed bikes in stock — like one with an exhaust tank for a seat — may run higher. Last year, an estimated 1,100 of Kiwanis’ Burner bikes went to the Playa. And many people donate their bikes back to Kiwanis after the festival.
While the majority of bike sales occur in the summer, the proceeds support most of the year-round programming that Kiwanis has. “Burning Man makes it possible for us to reach more kids in more ways, both through buying and returning the bikes,” said Ellen Jacobson, who runs the Kiwanis chapter with her husband. “The bikes people buy for Burning Man help to pay our rent.”
Kiwanis’ Burner Bike project has become so well known in the Burner community that the festival donates a portion of its Playa ice sales to Kiwanis. Info: kiwanisbikes.org
GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY
The Generator Art Space, a nonprofit organization that operates out of a warehouse in Reno, couldn’t have a more fitting name. Since it opened last May, it has offered local and traveling Burners a 36,000 square foot space fully loaded with tools and materials, as well as wood, metal, and ceramics shops, a laser cutter, performance area, and more to generate inspiration, art, and friends. With 35 artists in residence this year and many drop-in artists, The Generator is a hub for anyone who wants to build art for the Playa, from art cars to projects like The Library of Babel, a collection of books handmade from found materials and homemade paper.
The main project coming out of The Generator this year is Embrace, a 63-foot (or seven-story) wooden sculpture of a man and a woman hugging. Embrace is the brainchild of Matt Schultz, executive director and head artist for The Generator. “One-hundred and fifty people have touched this project so far. It’s been a huge collaboration,” said Schultz. “It’s all wood, and it’s an amazing dedication to the relationships in our lives. It reminds you to be in the now.”
Schultz said that Embrace and The Generator share a common goal of helping people to “work less, build more, and play more,” and to appreciate community. Embrace will serve as an exercise in community building in the desert too because the structure, currently in large puzzle-like pieces, must be completely reconstructed on the Playa. Info: facebook.com/thegeneratorartspace
STAY AWHILE
A welcoming and wildly decorated entranceway, complete with a small stage for performances, greets guests of The Morris Burner Hotel. Burners can stay in one of 33 elaborately themed rooms — like the Sparkle Pony, Desert, or Goddess room — and live in a communal and creative space. “We’re becoming a destination right now and creating a reason for people to come to Reno in the off-season,” said the hotel’s manager, Alon “Vision” Bar.
“Jungle Jim” Gibson bought the 92-year-old Morris Hotel in July, 2013. At that time, it was falling apart and most of the rooms were chock-full of garbage. It took Gibson and his team over two months of cleaning in full hazmat suits to prepare the space for the next stage: turning it into Gibson’s dream of a fraternity-like club and permanent art space, playground, and home for the Burning Man community. “I fell in love with this building and the Burner community,” Gibson said. “It’s so gratifying to see people come to enjoy this space.”
With 15 current residents and an increasing buzz within the community about the Burners-only space, the hotel is on its way to becoming a membership-based organization through which people can live the Playa life and create art in Reno. “Burners are instantly connected to the Burning Man community,” said Gibson. “You have 20 new friends as soon as you step in the front door. We’re connecting them with the community here [that’s] doing what they want to do.” Info: morrisburnerhotel.com
~ Are you feeling the Burn this year? Comment below.
