AP Photo/The Reno Gazette-Journal, Andy Barron
In this Aug. 27, 2014 photo, participants enjoy the Burning Man festival on the Black Rock Desert in Gerlach, Nev. Organizers call Burning Man the largest outdoor arts festival in North America, with its drum circles, decorated art cars, guerrilla theatrics and colorful theme camps.
Published Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019 | 11:09 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019 | 3:10 p.m.
RENO — The organizers of Burning Man are making "substantive" changes to the annual weeklong summer art festival in the Nevada desert.
The organization's CEO, Marian Goodell, said in a post to the Burning Man Journal over the weekend that the changes are an attempt to combat an increasing culture of exclusivity and consumerism created by pay-to-play "concierge-type" camps, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported on Monday.
Ticket-seekers for Burning Man should expect the pre-sale this year to be moved until after the directed group sale, which is for burners who are "key contributors to Black Rock City (theme and mutant vehicle camps, art collectives, and core teams)," according to the post.
That directed group sale is also growing by 10 percent more tickets in an attempt to boost "meaningful participation," Goodell wrote.
The application-based Low Income Ticket Program will grow by 18 percent.
The organization also is reducing the number of high-priced tickets available by 30 percent: "Higher-priced tickets will now be limited to 2 per person instead of 4 per high-priced tier, and buyers in what was formerly the 'Pre-Sale' will no longer be able to participate in subsequent public sales," Goodell wrote.
The limited sale will also be eliminated this year, which for the past two years allowed burners to purchase $1,200 tickets into July, according to the post.
Burning Man is scheduled to take place Aug. 25-Sept. 2 in the Black Rock Desert of northwest Nevada, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Reno.
