Burning Man is filled with wild art, sights and nudity. Some people bring their kids.
BLACK ROCKY CITY, Nev. — Mass naked bike parades. Erotic decor. An orgy dome.
Burning Man has a well-deserved reputation as an almost-anything-goes event where upward of 80,000 people gather in the Nevada desert for a week of unbridled enthusiasm. But while there’s plenty of naked people and sexuality on display, this is also, perhaps perplexingly, a place for kids.
"I think everybody should bring their kid out here," said California father Alex Tibbs, a longtime attendee who brought his son Axel, 8, this year for the second time. "When else do you see a 30-foot dragon spitting fire? I look at it as a learning experience."
Although complete statistics on the number of kids who attend are not available, about 4% of attendees have reported bringing a child to Burning Man at some point, with virtually none of them saying they would never do it again. About 57% of people said they'd consider bringing a child, and almost 40% said, "I would never," according to the Burning Man census. Last year, about 14% of attendees said no one under the age of 18 should be permitted.
Parents who brought their kids in 2023 said they believed exposing them to a wide variety of experiences will help them grow into well-rounded adults familiar with a wide range of human experience.
"Being exposed to different ways of being helps the normalization of the true reality of life," said mom Tracie Williams, of Portland, as a naked man on a bicycle rode past where she stood with her son. Later, a woman stood in the same dusty street and tried to entice participants in naked yoga. Later, hundreds of naked bike riders promenaded around the event, most wearing hats to protect from the hot sun.
Williams, a counselor in the "default world" outside Burning Man, said she believes American society has suffered from a kind of toxicity because people act differently in public than in private.
She said Burning Man gives her son, who goes by the name Pool Boi 01 during the event, a chance to see people at their best and worst. A first-time attendee, she hadn't planned to come to Burning Man but was recruited as a mental health volunteer relatively last minute. She said she's taken her son, 5, to multiple music festivals but acknowledged Burning Man is on another level.
“It’s been an amazing decision," to bring her son, Williams said. "About 90% of the art is accessible — just a few things where it’s like, OK, maybe not throwing axes.”
Kidsville camp has advice for parents of the youngest burners
Many families with young children camp at Kidsville, which offers an extensive guide to attending with kids. Among the advice: bring lots of diapers, apply sunscreen regularly and don't let kids build sand castles from the alkali dust that makes up the Black Rock Desert.
Kidsville organizers also caution parents that their kids will see naked people, and to use it as an opportunity to talk about "challenging" questions as they come up.
"Don’t worry about the nudity. It’s not 'Girls Gone Wild' nudity," camp organizers advise. "It’s artsy, natural and fun. If you don’t make a big deal about it, they won't either. Children will naturally spend the first few hours pointing at naked people, but they will soon get over it and enjoy the playful, open atmosphere."
Williams said she was surprised how kid-friendly the event is, particularly when it comes to nudity. She said it sets a good example for her son to see people unashamed of their bodies.
"People are making room for kids to be here," she said. "They’re not holding shame for their activity, and they aren’t ashamed that it is a debaucherous mess.”
As part of the safety protocol at Burning Man, organizers also close the event gates to all traffic if a child gets reported missing, and federal officials require Burning Man to provide spaces like Kidsville where children can be cloistered away from sexually oriented nudity and drug use. Law enforcement officers from both the federal government and Washoe County also patrol the event, and can ticket parents for negligence.
Burning Man officials on Wednesday declined to release their specific plans to keep children safe at the event.
Burning Man art, music and culture for all ages
Longtime attendee Sarah Matthews and her husband brought their 1-year-old son, Oaken, with them this year. Snuggled in a backpack, he gazed around as his parents rode bikes around the event to meet up with friends. While Tibbs said he waited to bring his son until he was old enough to use the toilets on his own and listen to safety directions, Matthews said she thought Oaken would benefit from being around the art, music and culture of Burning Man, even if he's too young to appreciate it now.
“We’ve prepared as much as we can," she said, mentioning plans to keep cool and to rush home to Reno if necessary. "He may not remember it but his nervous system will."
And Tibbs said he's glad his son gets to experience something that's so meaningful to him. Besides, he said, it's a good reminder to everyone that play is an important part of life.
“Even the people who are out here partying — they’re just being a kid," he laughed.