Burning Man is an annual week-long event held in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, centered around community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance. It culminates in the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy called "the Man" on the Saturday night before Labor Day

. The event began in 1986 on Baker Beach in San Francisco when Larry Harvey and Jerry James built and burned an 8-foot wooden figure as a form of radical self-expression. It grew rapidly and moved to the desert in 1990 due to fire safety concerns and increasing attendance

. Burning Man is not a typical festival; it is a temporary city called Black Rock City built by its participants, who create all the art, performances, and activities themselves. The event operates on 10 guiding principles including radical inclusion, gifting (no money or sales, only gifts), decommodification, radical self-reliance, communal effort, leaving no trace, and immediacy

. The event attracts around 70,000 to 80,000 people annually, who live in a self-sustained community for about nine days, sharing art, music, workshops, and experiences. After the event, participants clean the desert thoroughly to leave no trace of their presence

. In essence, Burning Man is a unique cultural movement and community experiment emphasizing creativity, cooperation, and environmental respect in a remote desert setting