Over the weekend I went to the Love Burn music and arts festival in Virginia Key, near Miami. The location was amazing: a long sandy beach with clear turquoise water on a lush, green, palm covered island. The event is a regional burn and so follows the 10 principles of Burning Man. For those that don't know, Burning Man is a huge festival that takes place in the middle of Black Rock Desert in Nevada. It's quite the spectacle! The first thing I did on this trip was attend BM in September 2015 along with 70,000 other people.
My favourite of the principles is: no money, no commerce. Attendees bring all that they may require for the event: food, water, booze: and spend the week participating in a "gifting economy", everybody sharing what they have for the sake of sharing, without expectation of receiving anything in return. This obviously makes for an incredible environment to be in. Another golden principle is: leave no trace. Everyone is responsible for removing all of their rubbish, down to the last cigarette butt and bottle cap.
My weekend was full of beach, bass and bacon (my camping neighbours were always cooking up a surplus) and finally capped off by the burn! After a performance from fire dancers and a firework display, a huge wooden love heart was set ablaze. The crowd howled and roared as we watched the flames rise higher and the embers sail up into the night sky. A long night of dancing ensued!
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| The Burning of the Love Heart |
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