- Home
- Explore Truckee
- Events
- News
- Play Outdoors
- Living Here
- Truckee Chamber
- Contact
- Business Directory
- Truckee Jobs Collective
- Member Login
August 7, 2025
From Truckee Connections Quarterly Magazine, Summer 2025
You don’t have to be an artist, influencer, or hippie to attend Burning Man. Despite being a temporary city, like other cities, Black Rock City is made up of many different types of people. The diverse population of around 65,000 people includes doctors, mechanics, baristas, engineers, musicians – people of all ages and from all walks of life. You can ride your bike deep into the playa and come across a cart with ladies in their 70s handing out popsicles in tutus. Held the week before Labor Day in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, the event is just a few hours drive from Truckee-Tahoe, whereas many fly in from around the country and the world and spend thousands getting themselves and their gear there. So it’s no surprise that several long-standing camps from Truckee-Tahoe return year after year.
Tahoe-Truckee camps bring the region’s adventurous spirit, musical talent, and creative energy to the desert. You’ll find everything from massive art installations and interactive camps to DJ sets with a mountain-town vibe.
There’s no official tally of Truckee-based camps, but a study by sudden.net lists about 60 camps from the broader Reno/Carson/Tahoe area, with many based in Truckee.
Even if you’re not going to Burning Man, you can connect with local Burners at the annual Tahoe Burning Man Picnic. It’s usually the first weekend in August at the Truckee River Regional Park (it was last Saturday this year), and features music, dancing, and plenty of stories from the playa. You can also experience dance party fundraisers to support art installations or art vehicles. Check out Tahoe Burners on Facebook for more information. Here’s a look at some of the local theme camps and artists keeping the Truckee-Tahoe presence strong at Burning Man.
Disco Snail is a creative project and a theme camp by Alyssa Olivera, who started the Alpine Artists Collective based out of the Truckee Roundhouse in 2022. Disco Snail, recently seen at the Western Lights Festival in Reno, will be their third art installation in a row at Burning Man. The snail will be an elevated and climbable art installation. Last year the Alpine Artists Collective brought out “Prismatic Perspectives,” or as they started to call it, “Doors Galore.” The very photogenic structure was made entirely out of doors – 32 of them. The sculpture represented opening new doors or chapters in life and invited people to step into new perspectives.
You may know: Alyssa Olivera, Mike Crabb, Pauly Miltner, Alissa Aiton, Jessica Robinson, Eryn Grill, Alex Robb, Jillian Culver
Located at 9:30 & B, The Donner Party is an established theme camp known for its playful engagement They refer to campmates as “hungry humans,” aligning with the camp’s darkly comedic theme. The Donner Party, who is always pleased to “MEAT” you, are famous for hosting afternoon BBQs, both plant and animal-based proteins from their ox and covered wagon. They also host bumping dance parties from their art car, Waffles!
You may know: Chris Houston, Erich Lindeman, Michelle Mastroianni, Reese Abel
Originally the United Camp of Black Rock (UCBR), Emergenc(y) is named for their nonprofit,The Emergence Project, that supports bringing art to the playa. The crew started going out to the playa in 2008 and eventually built the Dusty Cobra art car, offering double decker rides, music, and impromptu dance parties all around the playa. Other events include pop-up pizza parties and other food pop-ups out in the dust. In 2022, they created Emergence (a large-scale Burning Man honorarium art piece). This year they’re bringing The “Love Tram,” which will be designed as a whimsical gondola suspended in the Black Rock Desert, offering a sanctuary for connection and creative expression. It celebrates love in all its forms, inviting participants to embark on a journey filled with art, interaction, and unexpected experiences. https://www.thelovetram.com/
You may know: Matt Connelly, Shannon Connelly, Justin Nistler, Stephanie Nistler, Meg Urie Rab, Nick Rab
Camp Touch This (see opener) is a welcoming theme camp based in Truckee with leadership in New York City and several campmates from Bend, Oregon and across the U.S. It’s known for its great DJs and dance parties and a four-story “Cuddle Puddle” structure that’s great for catching sunsets or chilling out above the playa. You can find Camp Touch This at 9:30 and B by the tower and by the large, beautiful kinetic bike sculptures parked out front, including Dreamcycle by Randy Gates and Tron and others by Fred Besch. Their signature playa event, “Wet Woody Wednesday,” features a steady flow of icy replicas of Garwood’s signature cocktail and an hours-long dance party under their shade structure.
You May Know: Jodi Hubbell, Randy Gates, Fred Besch, Kath Irwin, Deanna Neu, Jaime Burge, Bryan Burns, Wendy Wright, Brad Keoka Taylor, Claire Ullitsch
Awesome!(ville) is a North Lake Tahoe-based Burning Man theme camp that brings high-energy creativity and inclusive fun to the playa. Known for its daily classes, interactive art – including aerial performances on silks, live music, and a steady stream of shenanigans, the camp offers a space where participants can learn new skills, discover hidden talents, and enjoy a tasty cocktail. With a mission to celebrate just how awesome you can be, Awesome!(ville) embodies the spirit of organized chaos and community engagement that defines the Burning Man experience. In 2023 they built and brought a large-scale sculpture, Ascension, to the playa in memory of Tahoe Flow Arts founder Kelly Smiley. The piece was designed by Nick Palmer.
You may know: Meredith Solin, Lindsay Dimitri, Susi McQueen, Mark & Lily Kuehne, Brandon McGrath, Bruce Lee, Dana Olson, Martin Cavada, Nick Palmer
The Burning Man Bike Course is a series of features that challenge, thrill and entertain the citizens of Black Rock City. They don’t encourage people to get off their bikes, they encourage them to use their bikes in new, fun and exciting ways. Black Rock City is flat and monotonous for bikers, but their Bike Course provides an opportunity for riders of all abilities to test their skills over a rhythm course (pump track), bridge, balance knife, as well as teeter totters, and boardwalks. First time riders to experts will all find something fun at the Bike Course.
Started in 2010, the course is expanded and improved every year. It looks awesome when lit up for 24-hour bike action. They are taking 2025 off, but plan to return in 2026. The course creates features for Burners looking for a challenge, and they always have gifts for the riders, including stickers “I crashed on the Burning Man Bike Course,” for those who qualify.
The Bike Course founded MuMu Mondays – embodying the free spirit of spending the day in a shapeless dress – which has since become a Playa-wide tradition. They also host the Nitro Bike Circus and Competition – a fun-filled spectacle for participants of all ages and abilities!
You may know: Jesse Desens, Tract Desens, Scott Ackley, Shawna White, Nate Melen, James Diggins, Maeve Smith
Black Rock City Snow Club (BRCSC) started in 2021 as a social club to gather people who loved skiing/riding for après and to share the stoke. The club grew quickly to 700 members and they decided to bring BRCSC to Burning Man 2022 as an official theme camp. On the playa, they hosted daily après ski parties and hosted snowball fights surrounded by snow-themed decor and interactivity.
They wanted to expand on the snow-themed goodness and had a vision to bring a ski slope to Black Rock City. Their first fundraiser was held at Alibi Ale Works in Truckee and featured DJs Major Trouble and RUMPUS, BRCSC members who drew a big crowd. Success: the ski slope was created and built on the playa in 2023. Over the course of the week, they sent hundreds of participants down the hill on skis, snowboards, sleds, and even a snow skate. There were no major injuries (helmets are required). In 2024 they made the ski slope even bigger and they drew even more visitors. You can join BRCSC. Check them out on brcsnowclub.com.
You may know: Alexei Griesbach, AC Corona, Stavi Gamboa, Kyle Song
Individuality n. 1 or “Space Dog,” 2016 with Arteclettica; Wings, 2018. As Truckee-Tahoe’s premier blacksmith and handcraft metal workers, Mountain Forge has contributed to numerous art installations for Burning Man over the years. For several years, Anton also set up the Blacksmith Shop on the playa, enlisting friends who are also blacksmith experts from Canada, Tasmania, and across the U.S. The eclectic shop received prime placement near Center Camp and also right at the base of the Man one year. The shop, with 8 anvils and 4 forges would open at sundown, with blanks for people to forge made according to theme year. Burners would line up for hours to try their hands at this old world, yet still contemporary craft.
Helga Viking Art Car, 2014; Vroom Art Car, 2016; MagnaKlash Art Car, 2017; Coming for 2025 Swords in Stone, a 22’ medieval style sculpture made of wood that will be burned on the playa.
M Theory Mechanica, 2018; several other pieces with fire. As a career firefighter, Matt knows quite a bit about fire and is also an accomplished welder, two things that go well together for creating Burning Man art. He has also made several custom metal signs for camps.
Edna the Art Car, 2018. Edna the Elephant has been a party fixture around Truckee-Tahoe since James Cole brought it to life, with an emphasis on the sound system. Besides being a main feature of Tahoe Burning Man camp “Meow What?!,” Edna was a winner and crowd favorite in the 2022 Truckee 4th of July Parade. James brings Edna and her fantastic sound system to support many Tahoe-Truckee public events and fundraisers. Check out their website for private Edna parties.
Emergence, 2022. Led by artist/builder Jesse Lightcap, The Emergence Dragonfly was a major large-scale art installation at Burning Man 2022, created by the Project Emergence team. A 40-foot-long steel dragonfly with a 30-foot wingspan, the wings and head were adorned with fully programmable LED panels (by Peter Kowalcyk), creating a striking visual display, especially at night. Emergence was built in honor of former UCBR campmate Steve Shelby who died in 2020.
Martin has been a key creative builder on several large-scale Burning Man sculptures spanning more than a decade. Embrace, The Space Whale, Phoenix Rising, The Head Maze, Power to the People, LOVE and HAHA (by Jeff Schomberg, artist), as well as several art cars.
