Burning Man is out of this world! 47,000 continue pilgrimage to the mecca of free-form festivals in searing desert heat








They’re battling near triple-digit heat, blistering winds, and waves of dust, but to the revellers celebrating at Burning Man, it’s all part of the pilgrimage.

More than 47,000 people from across the world flocked to self-sufficient Black Rock City today as the celebration passed its halfway mark.

The festival continued with another day of events, eccentric art installations, and elaborate costumes – each one zanier than the next.



Days from now, Black Rock Desert will be as desolate as it was before – one of the core beliefs of the week-long festival is leaving no trace.

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Pilgrimage: People walk and bike toward the temple at Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert; more than 47,000 people were at Friday's event

Strange creatures: A man with a mask resembling a Pixar character and necklaces around his neck walks the playa

Lucy in the sky: Artist Kirsten Berg cleans her artwork, a mirrored sphere that reflects the clouds and passers-by alike

Run aground: An art installation titled La Llorona is beached in the desert; two festival-goers are pictured walking away from it

Dusty: A woman walk towards one of the Burning Man compound on Friday

One masked man seemed to get his inspiration from the most unlikely of places – Disney. The man wore a green mask fashioned much like Billy Crystal’s character in the 2001 animated movie Monsters Inc.

Another woman could be seen carrying a large modular sphere through the dessert, wearing a cowboy hat, braids, and a flowing sundress.

In total, more than 60,000 'burners' have been lighting massive fire displays, donning eye-catching costumes and performing passionate dances at sunrise throughout the week.

The theme of this year's event is 'Fertility 2.0' in honor of the female form as well as the artistic creations that come into being on the occasion of Burning Man. This year's residents of Burning Man will enjoy the fervent community dedicated to self-reliance and self-expression that began 26 years before.

'Black Rock City is a kind of Petri dish,' its website reads. 'Theme camps cling in fertile clusters to its latticework of streets, artworks tumble out of it, like pollen on the air.



Fire: Participants watch the flames from El Pulpo Mecanico during the Burning Man 2012 'Fertility 2.0' arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada August 29, 2012 View: An aerial view shows the Burning Man 2012 "Fertility 2.0" arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada August 30, 2012 Overview: An aerial shot shows the Burning Man 2012 Fertility 2.0 arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada August 30, 2012

Perform: Aerialist Indie-Lou performs during the Burning Man 2012 'Fertility 2.0' arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada August 29, 2012. This year's residents of Burning Man will enjoy the fervent community dedicated to self-reliance and self-expresssion that began 26 years before Party time: Ciberfy, his play name, dances at sunrise during the Burning Man festival These nodes of interaction mutate, grow and reproduce their kind, only to efflorescence and spread across five continents.

'This year's art theme contemplates the tendency of any being or living system to create abundant life.'

Festival-goers were encouraged to create works based on fertility and all its many wonders. The Burning Man, so named for his destiny, will stand astride a grand pavilion that is similar in shape to the Pantheon of ancient Rome. 'Arching portals and two mezzanines will wrap around an atrium; circles will encompass circles, telescoping to an open skylight several stories overhead,' the site says.

'An interactive sculpture, sprouting from the courtyard of the chamber, will invite participants to clamber upward through the center of this mesmerizing space, much as bees might swarm about the pistil of a flower.'

Everyone visiting the 'hive' is encouraged to 'express their own peculiar sense of inner beeing,' which can include, but is not limited to pretending to be a bee and engaging in bee culture. Hoop: A young women hula hoops on top of bus while a band play music next to her at Burning Man near Gerlach, Nev. on Aug. 28, 2012

Art: Bingram Lai explores 'Zonotopia and the Two Trees' during the Burning Man 2012 'Fertility 2.0' arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, August 29, 2012 Affection: Rainbow Fish (left) and Ambidrextrous, their Playa names, enjoy a bottle of wine and a kiss at sunrise during the Burning Man

Inferno: Artwork that is part of the Circle of Regional Effigies is burned during the Burning Man 2012 festival

Burning love: Zane Salzetti (left) kisses Memory Collins while artwork that is part of the Circle of Regional Effigies is burnt

Sizzling display: Participants watch as artwork that is part of the Circle of Regional Effigies is burnt

Captivating performance: The Samurais dance at sunrise during the arts and music festival in Nevada on Friday

Id: Ruth Kidd explores the art piece 'Ego' before sunrise during the Burning Man 2012 'Fertility 2.0' arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, August 29, 2012 Building: The Temple of Juno is seen at sunrise during the Burning Man 2012 'Fertility 2.0' arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, August 29, 2012. The theme of this year's event is 'Fertility 2.0' in honor of the female form as well as the artistic creations that come into being on the occasion of Burning Man The festival, which has become a haven for hippies, artists, musicians and dancers, provides a week for people to explore artistic expression. No money is exchanged at the event; instead the festival-goers swap gifts to attain goods. Around 50,000 people attended the festival at the Black Rock Desert, which is 120 miles North of Reno, last summer. Jake Markow, a Seattle resident and fourth year attendee, told ABC before the event: 'I think that the emptiness and harshness of the desert really makes us look inside of ourselves, takes us out of our comfort zone and allows for that opening to happen.'

As always, Black Rock City residents are expected to obey the ten principles.

Radical Inclusion, Gifting, Decommodification, Radical Self-reliance, Radical Self-expression, Communal Effort, Civic Responsibility, Leaving No Trace, Participation and Immediacy are of the utmost importance to the community.



Inventive: Hallie McConlogue stays cool partially submerged in a fishbowl helmet in the Nevada sun on Friday

Where's Waldo? 'Nick', his playa name, rides across the desert during the Burning Man 2012 'Fertility 2.0' arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada August 29, 2012

Inspired: Patrick Sperry dances during the Burning Man 2012 Fertility 2.0"arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada Reaching for the skies: Seven-year-old Milo Miller gets help from Niz Arif in getting a kite in the air on the Black Rock Desert Performance: Mark Gower, dressed as a samurai in armor, dances at sunrise during the Burning Man as fellow dancers look on

Peaceful: People rest while others pray or meditate in the Temple of Juno during the Burning Man festival

Light march: The Lamplighters make their way across the Playa

Delight: People gather around an art installation at Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert near Gerlach, Nev. on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012

Follow The... People walk towards the Temple of Juno, which is alit at night, during the Burning Man 2012 'Fertility 2.0' arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada August 29, 2012 Glowing: People explore the Burn Wall Street installation during the Burning Man 2012 Fertility 2.0 arts and music festival Hop: Participants dance before the Billion Bunny March during the Burning Man 2012 Fertility 2.0 arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada Fluffy: Participants dressed as rabbits participate in the Billion Bunny March

Joy: Steven Babson, left, and Lila Wright sit at the Temple of Juno

THE TEN PRINCIPALS: BURNING MAN'S RULES OF THE ROAD (WHICH INCLUDES LEAVING NO TRACE)

Radical Inclusion

Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.

Gifting

Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.

Decommodification

In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.

Radical Self-reliance

Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on his or her inner resources.

Radical Self-expression

Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.

Communal Effort

Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.

Civic Responsibility

We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state and federal laws.

Leaving No Trace

Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.



VIDEO: Live feed from the Burning Man festival site...

VIDEO: Burners rave through the night around El Pulpo Mecanico!