Theme for 2011 Burn

A keener and more poignant meaning can attach to unique instants in the private life of every individual: moments of crisis and frisson, as when a cri de coeur informs us that we've somehow crossed an inner threshold and are changed. Thus moving from one state of being into an unknown other can be frightening. This is not a facile transformation; it obliges us to face our innermost insecurities, and it requires faith, a willingness to leap off the ladder of ordered existence. The theme of Burning Man 2011 invites participants to join with others in creating rites of passage. The content of these rites may be as various as life itself. Whether such performances are ludicrous or solemn, their aim is to remove us from the context and the cares of daily life, confront us with our vital need to be, and then return us to the fellowship of a society.