Burning Man and associated Regional Events base themselves on some fundamental guidelines, or the 10 Principles. In this series over the next 10 weeks we will focus on each Principle in detail.
This week features Principle 9: Participation
Kiwiburn is not like other festivals. There are no stages, no food stalls, no beer sellers. A Burn is created solely by and for participants. Art, music, Theme Camps, events, food, drink, are all created and curated by every person to varying degrees. Participation means to be present, to immerse yourself, to not merely be an attendee, rather to help form the event and thus the experience for everyone and on an individual level. Everyone contributes something, whether it is a helping pair of hands, a creative mindset, a Theme Camp or an Art Installation, and this participation makes each Burn event unique and truly of the people who are present in mind, body and spirit.
To participate means to do, to embrace and to make the event and the experience your own. Every principle feeds into this one as it is the actions of Burners that are the difference to how theBurn begins, exists and wanes again until the next time. They define radical self-reliance, gifting, communal effort and all the others into what makes a Burn special: The humans who are present.
