Worldcon and Burning Man—commonalities and differences

By Fred Curtis Moulton

This article will likely annoy many people who say that it is not totally accurate and over simplifies topic X or even ignores topic Y and the way it handles topic Z is scandalous. And they will be correct. This article is not totally accurate, it over simplifies, it does not cover everything. The intent of this article to give some minimal background and to quickly highlight some similarities and differences. So please realize the limits of this article and before using it as a basis for a decision or analysis please consult more complete sources.

The history of Worldcon (World Science Fiction Convention) is long and relatively well documented. The more than six decades of Worldcons is fine history considering it is put on by volunteer organizations. And let us not forget that we are 2/3 of the way to the Worldcon centenary. There are several projects to document the history of SF fandom and many of these have information on the web. Since I assume that most readers of this article will be more familiar with Worldcon I will provide a slightly longer background about Burning Man.

Burning Man has a slightly shorter history beginning in the mid 1980s when Larry Harvey and friends had a fire ceremony at Baker Beach in San Francisco. The history and growth of Burning Man is documented at Burningman.com and other websites as well as in videos and various books including the book, This is Burning Man, by Brian Doherty.

The authorities came to take a dim view of large fires on the beach and eventually the event was moved to the Black Rock desert area in Nevada, northeast of Reno. This area is a large dried lake bed and can be described as a very flat playa. In the summer it begins to dry out from the snow and rain that has accumulated. It is a high desert environment and by the end of August the playa is hot during the day and cold at night particularly when the wind blows. And subject to incredible dust storms that can cause white outs.

This is one of the main differences between Burning Man and Worldcon; the physical location. Worldcon moves each year to a different location; often but not always in North America. As long as Burning Man can keep the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) who controls the area happy then Burning Man will likely stay at the playa although it shifts a short ways on the playa each year to avoid environment damage. Currently there are about 50,000 people who show up to create Black Rock City (BRC) for Labor Day and the week preceding. But before they arrive there is a crew which works for weeks to create Center Camp, lay out the street grid, build the Man and organize the large number of porta-potties. This is one of the major differences between Worldcon and Burning Man; Worldcon uses the hotels, restaurants, convention center and other resources found in major metropolitan areas; the facilities for Burning Man are not as plush.

Burning Man and Worldcon both have a corporate umbrella although different in structure. Worldcon is a totally volunteer effort while Burning Man organization has full time paid staff. At both there is a strong volunteer spirit that gets things done.

Both Worldcon and Burning Man have a sense of being a unique place. A fan might refer to the “mundane world” in much the same way as a Burner will refer to the “default world” particularly if the Burner is at BRC at the moment. When a burner arrives at BRC the typical greeting is “Welcome Home” which conveys a similar sense of a tribal or family gathering that many people feel about Worldcon. Also common to each is the sense that there are no spectators; everyone is a participant.

This brings us to one of the harsh differences between Worldcon and Burning Man. You need to pay much more attention to preparing for Burning Man than you do for Worldcon. There are no stores to wander over to for picking up another pair of socks. At Burning Man Center Camp they sell only coffee, tea, lemonade, electrolyte drink and Ice. That is all you can buy at Burning Man; no other commerce is allowed. All the rest is a gift economy. So you need to bring your own water, food, water, shelter, water, sunscreen, water, health and other needs.

Did I mention water? If you need something and you did not bring it then you will need to ask; fortunately there is usually someone with what you need and usually they are willing to share.

There is no Dealers Room at Burning Man. This is a major difference since historically (particularly before on-line commerce) visiting the Dealers Room at Worldcon was a good way to get SF materials. So a trip to Worldcon might mean returning with books, DVDs, CDs, new garments. However when you leave BRC to head to the default world you take memories and also your trash. Burning Man is a “leave no trace” event. This means that if a button pops off your shirt you pick it up. There are no community trash bins. Except for things which are burned; if you bring it in then you take it out.

The harshness of the environment is also a major difference. Burning Man has an advisory which reminds you that you are voluntarily going to an event where you could be killed or injured. However death and injury are relatively rare. And there are people who have attended Burning Man with various physical challenges such as Multiple Sclerosis. It takes a lot of planning but it can be done.

One thing you will not see at Burning Man is long lines of people waiting to get to the parties because the elevators are overloaded; with a few exceptions Burning Man is a ground level event. The simplest way to think of it is that Burning Man takes place in circular area about a mile in radius. So there is a lot of walking or bicycle riding involved since you cannot drive your vehicle once you have arrived. However this is not much different from a Worldcon where hotels and convention centers are spread out often in a similar sized space. One difference is that at Burning Man the Art, the costumes, and the events are all around you in a more immediate way as you move around. Burning Man really is an immersive event.

At Worldcon nudity is not a costume. At Burning Man nudity is no big deal. At Burning Man some people cover up to avoid the sun and others do not. It is not uncommon to see someone walking along the street in just hiking boots, sun glasses and a hat. There are some clothing choices such as a large man wearing a yellow sun dress which are more likely seen at Burning Man than Worldcon. But Burning Man is not totally without rules. In addition to the BRC Rangers, the Federal and local law enforcement patrol Burning Man and there are a few rules which are strictly enforced such as: no firearms; no illegal substances; no theft; no violence. At Worldcon they also have similar policies and bond the swords.

The typical Worldcon will have youth programming and many have child care arrangements. Burning Man is not as child friendly as Worldcon although there is a family oriented section of BRC away from the more loud and risque camps. However there are families with children who attend Burning Man. I saw a mother and father with a still-nursing one year old toddler who were part of a camp and all seemed to have a great time. The little one seemed to be having a grand time and was almost never fussy and had an instant supply of “aunts and uncles” since they were part of a hundred person theme camp. One of the “aunts” enjoyed holding the toddler while the mother did an impromptu fire twirling performance. So even though the physical environment of the two events are incredibly different the response of watching after children and helping where needed is common.

This brings us to another area of commonality; that of a community of people who are generally helpful, sharing and resourceful. Burner culture overlaps with and has links with events and groups such as Maker Faire and the tech community. SF Fandom and Worldcon also draw from and influence a variety of communities including the tech community. Burner culture and fannish culture both generally value innovation and originality.

Both Burning Man and Worldcon have major events. At Worldcon many people look forward to the Hugo Award Ceremony and the Masquerade; at Burning Man the big events for most people are when the Man burns on Saturday night and the Temple Burn on Sunday night. A discussion of the symbolism, meaning and emotions associated with these two burns are beyond the scope of this article.

But as someone once pointed out it is usually about the people. Both the Worldcon and Burning Man attract some interesting and enjoyable people. There is overlap of the two communities with some persons attending both events whenever possible. For example this is why I pre-support Worldcon bids which are bidding for dates which do not conflict with Burning Man. So will there ever be a combined Worldcon and Burning Man event? Not likely. But it might be possible in theory. And there have already been fans throwing parties with that theme.

This article first appeared in The Drink Tank, issue #200. It is reprinted here by permission.