“Burning Man now wants to see how it can shape the world it is part of instead of just reacting to that world.” – J. Duane Hoover
The past 14 months have been a turbulent journey of evolution and change for every human on this planet. We have had to adapt to the twists and turns of a global crisis, complex public health information, and the growing hope that we can start rebuilding our lives together soon.
All of us at Burning Man Project have been busy projecting all the possible scenarios that would allow us to bring our desert city back to life in 2021. The variables are many, and our capacity to overcome challenges is high. It’s what we do.
But, although here in the United States we may be feeling the weight lifting and the light at the end of the tunnel brightening, we are still in the pandemic, and the uncertainties that need to be resolved are impossible to resolve in the time we have.
We have decided to set our sights on Black Rock City 2022.
This is not a decision that weighs on just one specific issue; rather, it’s a combination of problems that in an ever-changing world resist certainty to move forward.
Humanity is experiencing collective trauma that is unprecedented in recent times, and while for some returning to Black Rock City may feel like “the answer,” there is very real rebuilding and healing that needs to be done before returning full force to the desert. The physical, psychic, and emotional impacts of this pandemic are real and the recovery from this experience will happen at different rates of speed. This is the time to gather with our friends, crews, families and communities.
We have the time now to imagine what we can bring to Black Rock City 2022 that will really make a difference. What would it look like if Burning Man culture shaped the future?
How do you want to bring the best of what you have to give to the next gathering in the desert?
How bold can you go?

Burning Man is Wherever (and Whomever) YOU Are
Many of us yearn to return to that dusty place to rekindle our imaginations, our sense of place, our sense of self, and above all, our sense of belonging. But we’ll let you in on a secret: Burning Man is not canceled. Burning Man is happening right NOW, all around you. “Going to Burning Man” simply means tapping into the 10 Principles and creating experiences and opportunities and connection at the local level.
Not sure where to start? We’re preparing a handy (if irreverent) Cultural Survival Guide to help you bring your Burner gatherings to any place on the planet this summer. We’ll share that and a few fun items to take with you in a few weeks.
In the meantime, you can connect with Burning Man culture by:
- Gathering with your friends, crew or community.
- Connecting with your Regional community, participating in a virtual or in-person Regional event, finding your local Burners Without Borders chapter, helping out your neighbors.
- Supporting the fully funded 2021 Honoraria artists to build their art wherever they are on the planet— from Moscow to Guadalajara, Manila to Brooklyn. Find out if Burning Man art is being built in your backyard! And then help it show up in your community or out in the world.
- Planning a Burn Night celebration! “BURN WEEK: Global Live Stream” invites you and your crew to live stream your Burn Night around the globe on Saturday, September 4, 2021. Start organizing now!
- Participate in Virtual Burning Man August 21 to September 5, 2021. Share your event, performance, workshop, theme camp, mutant vehicle… or jump in and contribute your mad skills. Here’s how to get involved in Virtual Burning Man!
- Log into your Burner Profile to tell us about the impact-driven projects and initiatives you’re creating out there in the world. Your information will help us map the future!
- Roll up your sleeves and join us in Burning Man Hive Labs. Connect with others and discuss Burning Man’s evolving culture around sustainability; Radical Inclusion, diversity, and equity; health and safety; and participation.
- Jump over here to see all the ways you can participate NOW.

Yes, There Still Will Be Visitors in the Black Rock Desert
Some of you will choose to gather, co-create and celebrate Burning Man culture on the playa this year. The Bureau of Land Management says at this time public lands will remain open to the public. Anyone choosing to camp on the playa this year will need to be entirely self-sufficient. For 35 years, since long before the current organization existed, Burners have looked after themselves and each other. If you do head out there, we wrote an invaluable summary piece to highlight “How To Do It Right!” Go there and breathe this stuff into your pores. To preserve our future in the Black Rock Desert, please recreate responsibly, support local businesses, read this important “know before you go” info, and remember to always Leave No Trace! Pull out your old Survival Guide or check out the last one online. The “required” lists of what to take were designed from early years on the playa. If you go this year, you’ll need to be prepared. Consider visiting at other times of the year beyond Burn Week (local communities will benefit from a more dispersed flow of people), and be mindful of how you engage with this awe-inspiring natural ecosystem we all love. Again, if you do plan to go, learn How To Do It Right in this post.
2022 is Our Badass New North Star
We’re only gaining a few months, really. But with that time off, playa projects will gain considerable steam. With this momentum, it’s exciting to imagine what Black Rock City 2022 can become once the world truly moves on from the COVID-19 pandemic. We are ALL gearing up for a glorious return to Black Rock City in 2022, and have already started the application process with the Bureau of Land Management for our permit. With another year of re-evaluating our systems and concerted planning, together we will co-create the most diverse, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable iteration of Black Rock City yet. Join us in designing the future of Burning Man! The Great Unknown is our open playa, an opportunity to imagine new and better things, and yes — to build the FUTURE.
We’ve made it this far as a direct result of the generous 22,000 people who contributed to get us to the next Black Rock City. Your support is the driving force toward ensuring the community can build our magical dusty city next year when it’s safe and feasible to do so. We feel the love and we can’t wait to see you in the dust.
Immediacy in the Great Unknown
The COVID-19 pandemic has separated us from our world, our friends and our family. It has sent us all on a search for our inner selves, our meaning and participation in society. Immediacy, perhaps our most important value, is where we overcome the barriers that stand between us, our inner selves, society and a natural world exceeding human powers. This year, Burners will experience Immediacy like no other year.
Wherever you are this year, in 2021, we Burn together. We will always burn the Man.
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Oh, if you’re STILL here wanting a little MORE info….There is that FAQ we wrote.
Ok, here ya go. Now, let’s prototype a new world!

Cover image and theme graphic design by D.A. of Black Rock and Tanner Boeger
FAQs
What is the question mark asoue? ›
According to Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler)'s spin-off series All the Wrong Questions, the Great Unknown was revealed to be the Bombinating Beast, which was referred to as a "question mark." The Great Unknown is mentioned in the “All the Wrong Questions “ book series as the “Bombinating Beast”.
What is the meaning of the great unknown? ›Oftentimes the phrase “the great unknown” is used to describe a place between the start and the end of a journey. It is the middle ground, the open space between destinations, and often, the home of obstacles and challenges.
Is Ernest evil in Asoue? ›Ernest is one of the identical brothers of the triplet Denouement family, consisting of Frank, Dewey and himself, and Ernest used to be a member of V.F.D. until he betrayed the organization by siding with the villainous side.
Who kisses Violet Baudelaire? ›The consensus amongst the fandom is that Violet and Quigley held hands and/or kissed.
Who was called the great unknown? ›Lord Lister, Known as Raffles, Master Thief: The Great Unknown (Dime Novel Cover)
Who was the great unknown? ›The Great Unknown is a mysterious question mark-shaped object that roams about the sea off the coast of The City. One of Kit Snicket's brothers, either Lemony or Jacques, first referred to it as "the Great Unknown". The books never clarify whether this object is natural or man-made.
What does it mean to be in the unknown? ›: a place, situation, or thing that is not known about or understood. explorers venturing off into the unknown. : a situation that one is unfamiliar with.
How old is Violet Baudelaire in the end? ›Violet Baudelaire, the oldest (age 14 at the start of the series, then 15 in The Grim Grotto and 16 by the end of the series). Violet is an intelligent, avid inventor and on numerous occasions saves the lives of her siblings Klaus and Sunny.
Are the parents alive in asoue? ›In the Netflix series— no. They died in a fire that consumed the entire Baudelaire mansion. (Spoilers below if you haven't watched the A Series of Unfortunate Events episodes 1–8 yet.)
Why does Count Olaf hate the Baudelaires? ›While the books imply his parents were murdered, in the TV series, he lost his mother in a fire and his father was later killed by Beatrice, explaining his hatred for the Baudelaire children.
Does Klaus love Fiona or Isadora? ›
He had feelings for both, but his feelings for Fiona were more like a passion, but with Izzy it was well developed during the books.
Who did Violet Baudelaire marry? ›In the play, Olaf's character is a "very handsome man" who marries Violet Baudelaire's character, a beautiful bride, at the end. Justice Strauss played the "walk-on role" of judge adjudicating the marriage.
Who is Klaus Baudelaire in love with? ›It is mentioned in later books that 'a girl named Fiona had broken Klaus' heart', indicating that he had a crush on her. The Baudelaires go to Briny Beach and meet Kit Snicket, Lemony Snicket's younger sister, in a taxi, due to finding a coded poem sent from Quigley.
When was the great unknown? ›The Great Unknown is the third solo studio album by the Matchbox Twenty lead singer Rob Thomas, released on August 21, 2015, through Atlantic Records.
Why should we go into the unknown? ›Embracing the unknown makes you more inclined to do the things that are good for you and the things that will make you happy. You'll say no a lot more than you say yes. You won't care about disappointing others because you'll know that you can hold your own whether you disappoint them or not.
How do you get through the unknown? ›- Don't Give In to Avoidance. ...
- Understand the Causes of Your Fears. ...
- Utilize Mindful Techniques to Reduce Fearful Responses. ...
- Increase Your Self-Esteem. ...
- Challenge Negative Thought Patterns. ...
- Increase Your Tolerance of Uncertainty. ...
- Accept That You Will Fail Sometimes.
Arguably, the greatest motivator of human activity is the unknown; the anxiety that uncertainty provokes can drive a person to the brink of insanity; and that which is hidden from our view has more power over us than that which is in plain view.
What happened to Esme Asoue? ›When the hotel is set on fire, Esmé is trapped on the second floor, where she and Carmelita presumably die.
What is the motto of VFD in Asoue? ›"The world is quiet here" is the motto of V.F.D. It functions as a password and marks a letter or item as connected to V.F.D. It is also the phrase volunteers use to mark their allegiance in the field.
What does Violet Baudelaire say? ›Violet Baudelaire: I don't have time to argue with you! I'm trying to save each of our lives! Give me your hairnet right now!
What was so important about the Sugar Bowl in Asoue? ›
In "The End," Kit Snicket reveals that the Sugar Bowl contains a sugar capable of immunizing its consumers from the Medusoid Mycelium. A small amount was stored in the Sugar Bowl by the Baudelaire parents on their escape from the Island.
Did the Baudelaire orphans survive? ›And the big question, did the Baudelaires survive fleeing the island? Yes, and they lived on to raise Kit Snicket's child to be a new kind of volunteer. A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS Credit: It makes sense that a TV show would have a more traditionally satisfying ending than a series of very weird books from the '00s.
How old is Violet at the end of Asoue? ›Violet Baudelaire, the oldest (age 14 at the start of the series, then 15 in The Grim Grotto and 16 by the end of the series). Violet is an intelligent, avid inventor and on numerous occasions saves the lives of her siblings Klaus and Sunny.
What was Sunny Baudelaire's first word? ›As Sunny is a baby, she is at an age where one mostly speaks in a series of unintelligible shrieks. She cannot say many English words at the start of the series other than "bottle," "mommy," "bite," and the names of her siblings. "Bite" is mentioned to be the first full word she spoke.
Why did Beatrice not marry Lemony Snicket? ›We can assume that Beatrice at one time believed that Snicket was dead. When Lemony was revealed to be alive, she had already married Bertrand and she could not marry him.
Why does Count Olaf hate VFD? ›He believed that because Lemony Snicket's sister, Kit, smuggled poisoned darts to the Baudelaire parents at some point, that they were the ones responsible for his parents deaths. Hence, his hatred for the Baudelaire children.
Why does Sunny Baudelaire say Rosebud? ›Sunny shouts "Rosebud" as she pushes a sled towards her siblings. "Rosebud" is a reference to Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane," in which a reporter tries to figure out why a newspaper magnate's final word was "Rosebud." It turns out that "Rosebud" was the name of a sled the magnate played on as a kid.
Who did Beatrice Baudelaire love? ›Beatrice is none other than Beatrice Baudelaire — the dead mother of the Baudelaire children. She died in a fire along with her husband, Bertrand. But before she married Bertrand (and had Violet, Klaus, and Sunny), Beatrice and Lemony Snicket were in love and almost got married themselves.
What is the anagram for Beatrice Baudelaire? ›"Beatrice Baudelaire" is an anagram of "Carrie E. Abelabudite". In The Hostile Hospital, there is a patient with that name, making readers wonder if she survived the Baudelaire fire or if this is simply a red herring.
Why did Olaf kiss Kit? ›As Olaf is dying, Count Olaf kisses her gently on the mouth, saying that he told her he'd do that one last time, a possible implication that the two were romantically involved before Olaf became a villain. Right before Olaf dies, the two recite a bit of poetry together.
Who caused the fire at the Baudelaire Mansion? ›
The most popular theory behind the fire is that Count Olaf is the culprit. He has had a history of starting similar fires and admits to being guilty of "arson".
Did Kit Snicket love Count Olaf? ›At some point, Kit became pregnant. It is unknown who the father of the child is; Count Olaf is her only named love interest, but it is unknown how long their relationship lasted, and while Dewey Denouement seemed to love her, it is unknown if she reciprocated.