California: The Weird "Desert People"

Shriners.

 

odd fellows and rebeccas

 

Art cars.

Burning Man (honorable mention for being outside borders).

Both preceded by the Bohemian Club. Things have been weird for a long time.

 

Nice way for hollywood art wrenchers to network and show off spec projects.

Everyone I've met who went to burning man came back wanting to run their own burning man. I guess some of them are up and doing it now.

 

Normal Hollywood.

 

Do they get HOV stickers for those?

 

HOV? I don't even see any license plates!

 

Who's gonna bust em...

 

Stickers? We don't need no damn stickers!

Starship like above was for Dodger Dog; palliative avatar. I think I see truffles and avocados there.

 

Actually I think such a sticker would fit right in and be a hit with the crowd. Just as long as it's plainly identifiable as distinct from the real one, shows contempt for the authority of the real one, and is then tattooed onto somebody's leg. The wearer would explain that they are the HOV sticker, and that allowing them to ride with you brings you great fortune, cures ailments etc.

 

Magic candles are just the ticket for great fortune and curing ailments. Unsure that Pennsylvania markets surrender shelf space for them.

 

My daughter in law who lives in California City and now my daughter and her closest friend go every year. It's actually a great weekend with very strict management, including rules on behavior and costumes. You need to buy tickets way ahead of time to attend and a few people have been banned over the years for inappropriate behavior. They're not afraid to bring in local law enforcement but it's rarely needed.

They're not even remotely crazy. They're just having a tremendous amount of fun. People come from all over the world to attend. One of the highlights is a memorial they build each year to commemorate the regular attendees who have passed away. It looks a lot crazier than it is.

 

The management provides security and over the years they have demonstrated no hesitation to call local law enforcement as needed.

 

I just talked it over again with my daughter. The California City Police Department actually assigns officers to the site every year in addition to the private security firm hired. The same officers keep requesting the assignment every year since they have so few problems but get treated so well.

As for the desert itself, the people in charge have a crew of "pre-Weekend" volunteers who clean and secure the area. Campers are then required to leave their campsite at least as nice as they found it. Post-Weekend there is another volunteer group called the "Trash Pandas" whose duties include checking/cleaning all sites and are authorized to publicly shame anyone who leaves even a cigarette butt behind.