Burning Man bought a " $6 million" ranch for year-round post-apocalyptic dance parties

                                                                                                                                                                                    (John Collier / Flickr)

The non-profit that organizes Burning Man has purchased 3,800 acres of land in northwestern Nevada with the intention of establishing a permanent settlement. The group was vague on specific plans for the land, which is known as Fly Ranch, but expressed a hope that it could be a year-round example of the same ethos that drives the yearly festival at Black Rock City. The land cost $6.5 million, which was raised from anonymous donors specifically for the purchase.

"Fly Ranch is a much smaller space [than Black Rock City], but with potential year-round access, it offers the gift of time," the group said in a statement. "Eventually we’ll be able to create more opportunities spread out throughout the year."

First established in 1986, the Burning Man festival takes place over a single week each year, establishing a temporary community in the Nevada desert to celebrate radical self-reliance and free expression. In recent years, the festival has also become a staple of the startup world, with small companies establishing their own camps and projects. Google often provides in-kind donations like bikes to the festival, and Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, and Jeff Bezos have all been spotted there.

It’s still unclear how the ethos might spread beyond the yearly festivals, but today’s announcement laid out an ambitious course, describing Burning Man as "a global cultural movement having an impact on social, economic, and artistic norms and structures."