Burning Man an economic blip for Fernley
By Kyle Roerink, Las Vegas Sun
The city of Fernley is among the last signs of civilization on the road to the Burning Man festival.
The majority of the 60,000 beatniks, bohemians, freethinkers and adventurers attending this year’s Burning Man traveled through the town to arrive at the event, which started Tuesday.
The town’s Wal-Mart Supercenter and Lowe’s Home Improvement are beacons to the bands of travelers who come to Northern Nevada for the weeklong fete, where radical artwork and nonconformist behavior are on display.
Many “burners” tout the experience as a crash course in “self-reliance.” After they pay for the $380 ticket, they build a makeshift community and use nonmonetary means to barter goods.
But before they partake in the noncapitalist festivities, many of them stop to shop in Fernley.
Before people start bashing Burning Man over an accidental death that happened last night, let’s not forget about the multiple accidental deaths at the Reno Air Races two years ago.
Or how about Street Vibrations about five years back with an open gun fight in a casino?