This article was originally published in 2015, but we’ve freshened it up so that if you didn’t get a ticket this year – in 2022 – we have some other choices you can think about.
If you do not get a Burning Man ticket during Burning Man’s main ticket sale, you’re in good company.
Tens of thousands of people will walk away from the main ticket sale on Wednesday without one of the golden tickets to the big dusty self-discovery jamboree (We know! It’s not a “festival”!) in the desert. This year’s rendezvous takes place from Aug. 28 to Sept. 5, 2022, in the Black Rock Desert, about two hours north of Reno.
Get in the know: Burning Man 2022 main ticket sale, ticket vendor
Approximately 10,000 $575 tickets (That’s 13,000 fewer main sale tickets than sold in 2019) and 10,000 $140 vehicle passes are on the selling block. While there are far worse things than not getting a Burning Man ticket – a hot soda, a tick bite and a piano falling on your head for starters – we understand that some of you might be slightly distressed by your Labor Day weekend plans not working out.
Here are a few tips on how to still get a Burning Man ticket:
1. Work on a project
Truly the most admirable way to get a ticket is to earn one. Burning Man is issuing more tickets than ever to arts and volunteer groups. Every year, Burning Man issues tickets to critical theme camps, art installation crews, mutant vehicle crews and other core Black Rock City infrastructure providers. In other words, you need to be part of a team that is doing something pretty damn awesome to get a ticket this way, though there are tons of channels. Help build a stunning sculpture, or perhaps volunteer your time to building the city itself. If you’re in the Reno-Sparks area, check out the Generator maker space, where they have built countless Burning Man pieces, and, if you’re in the Bay Area, check out any one of the maker spaces in the San Francisco-Oakland area.
Upsides:
– You become part of a family of creatives, and you get to see the fruits of your labor contribute to the event.
Downsides:
– Not everyone that has contributed to the project gets a ticket, and you probably need to start looking for a project now. For a list of honorarium projects (projects that received funding from Burning Man) check out Burning Man’s website to see if there are any near you.
2. The OMG Sale
The OMG Sale includes the sale of 3,000 tickets at $575 each, and 1,500 vehicle passes available at $140 each, plus taxes and fees. The sale is essentially a last-chance sale of tickets and also is first-come, first-served and requires registration. Registration for the sale is from noon, July 27 to noon, July 29. The OMG Sale starts on Aug. 3.
Upsides:
– You can buy up to two tickets and one vehicle pass.
Downsides:
– You don’t know if you’re attending Burning Man until kinda last minute.
3. The Ticket Aid Program
The Ticket Aid Program, formerly the Low Income Ticket Program, is reserved for those who can demonstrate financial need. Tickets start at $225. About 5,000 tickets are available. The application period is open now through May 18. The application period may conclude earlier if capacity is reached before May 18. Burning Man does not list an income bracket that is eligible.
Upsides:
– Cheaper tickets.
Downsides:
– This program will take a little work to participate in. You must provide proof of your income and expenses; applications without documentation are not considered.
– Tickets are non-transferrable.
– You can only get one ticket, so if your partner or friend is also counting on a ticket he or she needs to apply individually. You can reference each other in the application.
4. Secure Ticket Exchange Program
The Secure Ticket Exchange Program (STEP) is an online system that facilitates the safe resale of face-value tickets and vehicle passes that have been purchased directly from Burning Man. It’s designed to avoid scammers and scalpers. Dates haven’t been announced yet for STEP.
Upsides:
– Ticket orders purchased in STEP in the past have been fully transferable and eligible for name changes.
– Anyone offered ticket(s) through STEP has had the option to purchase one (1) vehicle pass.
Downsides:
– In the past, any ticket order that has already begun the fulfillment and delivery by July process has not been eligible for submission into STEP.
– In the past, pre-sale tickets were not eligible to be bought and sold via STEP.
– In the past, there has also been an additional charge for each ticket and vehicle pass bought through STEP. All other usual fees apply.
– Availability of tickets is dependent on participants releasing tickets into the program.
– Tickets are given on a first-come, first-serve basis.
5. Purchase a ticket from a friend or stranger
The closer it gets to the Burn, the more people realize they cannot make it so buying from someone you know or don’t know is always an option. By then, however, STEP has closed so you have to figure out how to protect yourself from swindlers. Craigslist has ticket sales ads (both ones wanting to buy and sell), but figuring out how to not fall for a scam is on you. eBay is also known to have tickets for sale, but they’re often sold at astronomical prices and you don’t know who you’re dealing with. There also are Burner groups on social media (such as the “Burning Man Ticket Begging” group on Facebook) where you can make your case. The best option is to get on social media and throw a net, hoping that one of your coworker’s friend’s cousins has a ticket (worked for me once). Heck, offer to sell your soul. No, don’t do that. Ideally, though, try to make a deal with someone you trust.
Upsides:
– You could get a ticket.
Downsides:
– You could get scammed, never get a ticket and lose your money. Your ticket could be a counterfeit (Burning Man offers tips on how to distinguish a counterfeit ticket). You also could pay way more than face value, which Burning Man highly discourages because it perpetuates the scalping system.
6. Go to a different Burn
There are many official regional Burns throughout the year, including Nowhere in Spain, AfrikaBurn in South Africa, Israel’s Midburn, Flipside in Austin – there are more than 70 Burns throughout the world, according to Burning Man. There are tons of Burns all around the United States alone. Try something new. Be bold. Take a risk. It’s the true Burner way.
Upsides:
– The regional Burns are more intimate.
– Way cheaper to attend.
– You can see a new place and have a unique experience that many traditional Burners never have had.
Downsides:
– Travel expenses could be steeper, depending on where you’re headed.
– None of the regionals have as much, or as big, art as Black Rock City.
– Because of restrictions preventing wildfires, some Burns – such as Nowhere – don’t allow burning.
7. Attend Everywhen
There’s a new festival in town, and it’s not Burning Man, but it’s – ahem – very, very similar. Born from the absence of Burning Man, Everywhen was initially a Burning Man camp. Campmates gathered at the playa in 2020, as did thousands of other people, during “Not Burning Man” (a spur the moment rendezvous of thousands of Burners during the period that Burning Man would have been held). Everywhen campmates tried in 2021 to have an official, permitted event on playa, an event that sounded a lot like Burning Man, but the Bureau of Land Management denied the permit last year. Everywhen likewise hosts art and music and getting wild in the desert. Last year, the Everywhen event was held in the Mojave Desert because of the permit issues they encountered. This year the festival will be held for the first time in the Black Rock Desert from June 30 to July 5, and then again in the Mojave Desert from Oct. 12 to Oct. 16. Tickets to the Black Rock event are $325 each, and tickets to the Mojave event are $275.
Upsides:
– It’s cheaper.
– It’s a lot like Burning Man. Could be even more fun than Burning Man?
Downsides:
– It’s not Burning Man, so you’re risking still quite a bit of money for a festival that’s just getting started.
7. Do something else this year
There are a million bajillion ways to add excitement in your life besides Burning Man. While it is often touted that there is “nothing like it,” there is also nothing like going to Machu Picchu or fly fishing in Montana or taking a National Geographic photography class in India (Sorry, these are just a few of my bucket list items that I’m sometimes certain I’d rather do than Burning Man when it gets hot out on the playa.). Don’t forget how grand and giant this world is, and how many experiences you could fit in your life for the price of Burning Man.
Upsides:
– Burning Man costs a lot of money (don’t forget that beyond the tickets you have to buy the food, water, supplies, FUEL – oo eee that’s going to be pricey this year!!!, etc.) and for the price of one ticket, you could have a whole lot of fun.
– You can choose to go somewhere that’s not dusty, not hot and not full of dirty humans.
Downsides:
– You’re not going to Burning Man.
8. Go to the playa with friends, or alone
The Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area is an incredible area full of great recreational opportunities throughout the year. The playa can be seasonably inaccessible, but if you talk to the locals (Friends of the Black Rock High Rock is a good place to start) before you visit you can often get an idea of how to travel safely on the playa and some of the other roads around it. In and around the conservation area, you can see the stars, visit the hot springs, go opal mining, camping, hiking, off roading, hunting, etc. As always, be smart, be responsible while traveling to what can be an inhospitable environment, but try it. You might like it.
Upsides:
– You can go whenever you want, with whomever you want, wherever you want in the area at no cost, on no timeline. It’s public land. Enjoy it.
Downsides:
– The art is the nature and the entertainment in this case, so don’t expect any burning temples or trippy light shows or hilarious pranks or chance encounters with Elon Musk or a glitter covered fortune teller from Ireland who will make you an omelet as the sun rises.
Jenny Kane covers arts and culture in Northern Nevada. Support her work in Reno by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.
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