With Burning Man a few months away, event organizers are putting the final touches on the country’s premier celebration of self-expression, self-reliance and individualism. While organizers are expecting everything from “burners” dressed as cupcakes to neon gardens of towering tulips, what they weren’t expecting was Uncle Sam to rain on the parade.
In a cruel and ironic twist this year, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is pushing to require Burning Man organizers to erect a million-dollar VIP compound at the event to host government officials. BLM officials are not only asking Burning Man to finance the costs of the compound, but are trying to make issuance of the event’s permit contingent on these demands.
The VIP compound dubbed “The Blue Pit,” would cost Burning Man organizers over $1 million on top of existing costs and require extravagant amenities that fly in the face of the ideals of self-reliance and natural living the event was founded on.
The VIP Compound would be comprised of a group of luxury trailers for BLM officials and “VIPs” that would bump the event’s overall price tag over $5 million. In the past BLM officials have stayed in Gerlach, a town less than ten miles from the event.
As part of the VIP Compound, BLM is pushing for trailers equipped with ceramic urinals, flush toilets and “on-demand hot water tanks.” Burning Man estimates associated plumbing and sanitation would cost an additional $250,000. BLM is also requesting washer and dryer facilities that would cost another $50,000.
In a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, Sen. Harry Reid writes that “Burning Man’s philosophy is self-reliance and living with the elements” and that “toilets and laundry facilities can be found about ten miles away in Gerlach Nevada, if BLM’s employees need such amenities.” Clearly BLM officials are not as comfortable with nature as one would assume.
However the most exorbitant and outright embarrassing BLM requests are the food demands for the VIP Compound. According to documents delivered to event organizers last month, BLM’s requests include: 10 oz. (boneless) or 14 oz. (bone-in) steaks; beef and pork ribs; Chobani Greek Yogurt; salad bars; and a dessert selection with each dinner, among other things.
Yet the coup de grâce of the BLM’s requests is a “standalone freezer for ice cream available all day long.” The ice cream freezer is required to have a continuous supply of: Choco Tacos; Drumsticks; popsicles; ice cream sandwiches and assorted ice cream flavors. These demands not only mirror those of a five-year old at the pool snack bar but evidence a comparable level of awareness.
Burning Man is also not just a celebration of freedom and expression but the festival contributes an estimated $35 million annually to Nevada’s economy. Even so, BLM is now suggesting organizers use two Utah-based food vendors to supply their requests as opposed to local businesses, just another slap in the face to the event’s ideals.
As big a buzzkill as the BLM and its nanny state mindset is, these increased demands should come as no surprise. As Burning Man’s popularity has grown in recent years, the invisible hand of government has reached deeper and deeper into organizer’s pockets. In just four years the event’s cost has risen from $800,000 to potentially $5 million this year.
BLM officials obviously realize they have Burning Man backed into a bureaucratic corner, holding the event’s permit hostage until they get their way…or at least their ice cream sandwiches. Lawmakers in Congress should act to send a message that such government overreach is not just a threat to Burning Man but a threat to organized expression and freedom in general.