It's Official: Burning Man Bought Fly Ranch

Article by: Laura Mason|@masonlazarus

Fri June 10, 2016 | 00:00 AM


Many of you have heard rumblings that Burning Man might have a big announcement to unveil this year. Well, the big news arrived today, just in time for plenty of weekend contemplation. The organization has announced its purchase of Fly Ranch – a stunning 3,800-acre property 21 miles from Gerlach in Washoe County, Nevada – as a way to bring the powerful experiences many people go through at Burning Man beyond the playa and into a new, permanent home. That home is Fly Ranch.

Fly Ranch will give the Burning Man organization a chance to amplify and deepen Burning Man's projects, programs, and Ten Principles to an even larger population of adventurous minds. In the teaser trailer above – and it is quite a tease – Fly Ranch's lush, otherworldly beauty, full of wetlands, wild horses, geothermal pools, and even an alien-esque geothermal geyser, is juxtaposed against the desolate expanse of Black Rock City's iconic, dusty playa. Trust us: The stark contrast of the two realms will make your mind race thinking about the new and different possibilities Fly Ranch can make out of the rapidly evolving Burning Man experience. After all, the playa has been at capacity since 2011. Today, Burning Man put it simply: "We simply can't fit all the clowns in the clown car."

But Black Rock City isn't going anywhere. Burning Man will still take over the playa for its annual event. Fly Ranch is simply a new frontier in the expanding galaxy of Burning Man, where the event's principles can be put into practice the remaining 51 weeks of the year.

There are a lot of what-ifs surrounding the ways Fly Ranch will be used; there are a lot more questions than answers right now, and Burning Man does a great job answering many of them in their official announcement FAQ. The things we know now is that it will be as collaborative and community-based as Burning Man itself is.

The bottom line? Fly Ranch is intended to increase and accelerate Burning Man’s capacity to create lasting positive change in the world.

Stay tuned for more news about Burning Man's fresh Fly Ranch announcement coming next week.