I just got back from Kiwiburn and it was an amazing experience as most Burns are. And one thing I like about Burns is you often meet people with different interpretations of what the event is meant to be. I’ve always been a strong supporter of the idea that a Burn is not a festival, but a conversation I had this year has made me rethink that idea.
A Burn is Not a Festival
Coachella is a festival. Ultra is a festival. Tomorrowland is a festival. Burning Man is a full-on event.
Theresa Christine, Business Insider
Many years ago I wrote an article for Dragon Burn explaining why a Burn is not a festival. Later I would describe it as an “unfestival”, inspired after attending a few unconferences. This word would later be picked up by Chinese media when they wrote about Dragon Burn.
The term made perfect sense to me. At a festival the organisers curate and book the performers, the artists, the food vendors, and anything else they need. At an unfestival the organisers just create a space and invite others to bring whatever they want. In essence, a Burn is the opposite of a festival.
Of course, we didn’t come up with the idea of a Burn not being a festival. It’s an idea that stretches back before Dragon Burn existed. There are reddit threads that discuss it. There are news articles and opinion pieces about the idea. Some regionals put it in their Survival Guide. Even Burning Man itself has written that a Burn is not a festival.
So for a long time I believed that this idea of a Burn not being a festival was universally accepted amongst experienced Burners. The only challenges I ever had to this were newcomers to the event that didn’t “get it” yet. It was carved into my brain: A Burn is NOT a festival.
Then I went to Kiwiburn.
Kiwiburn is a Festival?
Kiwiburn is a participatory festival, where we, the participants, bring and make the things that we want to have here.
Kiwiburn Official Website
One of the things that really surprised me at Kiwiburn was how everyone referred to it as a festival. At first I heard it from a first-time Burner, and I just figured she’d understand once she “got it.” But then I noticed that even the more experienced Burners would call it that, and among these Burners were some of the event leads.
I also noticed that many of the official media released by Kiwiburn would call it a festival. Even the website describes it as a festival. Did they not get the memo? How can they not understand what a Burn is yet?
And yet, Kiwiburn is the oldest regional outside of the USA, running as early as 2004. As one of the oldest Burns, they should know better. And yet there it is on their website, in black and white, “Kiwiburn is a participatory festival…”
Language is Important
火人节是一个位于美国内华达州，黑石沙漠里的年度聚会。
Dragon Burn Official Website
In China the word for festival is 节 (jie2). However, unlike in English culture, it isn’t generally understood to mean music festivals. That would be 音乐节 (yin1yue4jie2). In China pretty much every celebration is a 节. Festivals can be public holidays like Chinese New Year or National Week. They can be celebrations of culture, of books, of beer, of anything. The word is very malleable.
When we first discussed how to describe Dragon Burn in Chinese, we actively decided to avoid using the word 节 despite its wider meaning in Mandarin. We settled on 龙焰 (long2yan4), which means “Dragon Flame.” The name was standardised, articles were written about the Burn, and the education of a new Burner culture started.
But the kicker was that the Chinese word for Burning Man was 火人节 (huo3ren2jie2), which literally means “Fire Man Festival.”
Taking It Back!
But it’s most certainly a festival, which is a very broad term encompassing everything from religion-based festivals like Diwali or Easter to traditional harvest festivals to art festivals to Cannes to the EDCs and Coachellas of the world, to to winter festivals, Greek festivals, comedy festivals, camel festivals, hell, there’s even a festival about throwing tomatoes at each other in Spain called La Tomatina.
Dr. Yes, BURN.LIFE
During Kiwiburn’s packdown, I was still startled that it referred to itself as a festival. We were invited to dinner at a friends place, and as we were talking I brought the topic up. A fellow Burner who I had befriended had a discussion about it, and I finally understood what was going on.
People who say that a Burn isn’t a festival are trying to distance themselves from music festivals. But, just as in Chinese, the word festival has a much larger meaning encompassing all kinds of traditional and cultural events. Even though people might shorten “music festival” to “festival,” the word itself still means more.
His argument was that Burns shouldn’t have to avoid calling themselves festivals in order to maintain their identity. In fact they should embrace the idea that they are festivals, cultural events were people gather to celebrate an idea. They aren’t a music festival, or a beer festival, or a festival of light. But, as Kiwiburn chooses to describe itself, they are participatory festivals.
He dislikes the idea that a Burn can’t be a festival. He wants to take the word back from music festivals, and allow Burns to use it once more. And then I finally understood. I was wrong. I was the one that didn’t know better. I was the one that didn’t get it.
A Burn is a festival, and that is something to be celebrated.
Pragmatism Versus Idealism
There is a footnote to this discussion, and that is the idea of pragmatism versus idealism. Taking back the word is an ideal that should be praised, but it’s one that comes with a caveat. Younger Burns might struggle to attract the right kind of people if they call themselves a festival.
Since many people would assume its a “music festival,” there’s a risk of attracting too many party-goers, sparkle ponies, and people who don’t care about leaving trash behind. It’s a problem that can make a Burn feel wrong, a Burn without art, a Burn without any care, a Burn where people do nothing but party.
The roots of any Burn are important, and you need to make sure you plant the right seeds so you can grow and nurture that Burn. And one important technique is to ensure people understand that a Burn is not a (music) festival.
So while I now understand and agree with the Kiwiburn point of view, I still think it’s going to take time before we can take the word back. But there’s a potential future out there where all Burns can call themselves festivals once more, and people will understand what that means.
