Burning bright in desert night

AFRIKABURN: ‘MORE ARTWORKS, MUTANT VEHICLES AND THEME CAMPS THAN BEFORE’

- Caxton Network News

On a windswept Friday night deep in the Karoo desert, a man dropped to one knee under a sky full of stars and before the dust could even settle, he and his beloved were married in a full-blown, impromptu celebration complete with singing, drumming and an African choir.

That's AfrikaBurn. Equal parts art festival, social experiment and desert dreamscape, it's a place where the extraordinary becomes ordinary and strangers become family overnight.

Set against the stark beauty of the Tankwa Karoo, AfrikaBurn is the largest official Burning Man regional event outside the United States - but to describe it as just a festival would be missing the point entirely.

AfrikaBurn is something you co-create. For one week each year, around 10 000 participants from around the globe gather to build a temporary city, called Tankwa Town.

Founded on principles of radical self-expression, participation and a culture of gifting, there's no money, no advertising and no spectators allowed.

Everything, from the intricately designed mutant vehicles to towering wooden sculptures (some destined to be burnt in ritual celebration), is built, brought and shared by volunteers.

Between 28 April and 4 May, under this year's theme, Out of the Blue, the desert pulsed with sea creatures on wheels, spontaneous performances, sonic adventures and hundreds of interactive art installations.

In a place with no phone signal, no commerce and no hierarchy, what you bring to AfrikaBurn defines what it becomes.

For Philip and Nikki, Cape Town residents, AfrikaBurn became an unforgettable part of their story when they said "I do" in a whirlwind wedding on 3 May.