Firestarters: How the Burning Man festival is influencing Charlottesville

Like most brides to be, Wendy Blair Winkler spent more than a year planning her wedding. Unlike most wedding parties, her guests spent months building the event themselves on a farm in Free Union. Winkler modeled her wedding on experiences at Burning Man, an annual art festival held on the arid salt flats of transient Black Rock City, Nevada. She and her tribe of fire-wielding locals are just a few of Charlottesville’s growing collective of “burners,” the nickname given to event attendees. Their influence is building in the local arts scene, and if they have their way, you might get a taste of the Burning Man experience right here in Charlottesville without even knowing it.

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