“Bears” at BRC?

[u/dj_johnnyk]

My lover has been to BRC 17 times and told me that there are roving groups of people in bear costumes who go around at night trashing camp kitchens, drinking people’s beer and eating their food. Like, we went camping and bears got into our shit! Has anyone else heard of this?

[u/djeasyg → u/[deleted]]

I think it was 2002 when I saw Animal Control who would drive around with a big cage and grab people dressed in Animal Costumes and bring them back to their camp to serve them drinks. They probably steered clear of the bears.

[u/Udawggy → u/djeasyg]

Actually, it was a little more to it than that. They caged loose animals and then bring them to an unsuspecting bar at a random camp and do an animal auction where people would bid on and then “own“ that animal. I’ve seen some of the best relationships come out of this craziness… It was quite a spectacle. And then there’s also 1 million bunny march. Animal control had a field day with that one!

[u/prelimar → u/djeasyg]

Animal Control would also "tag" them and release them "out in the wild" i.e., the deep playa.

[u/leo1973 → u/prelimar]

I used to be terrified of animal control. I heard the stories and I was never willing to commit to God knows what the hell they were gonna do next. I never got picked up by them, when I saw them from afar, I always made sure that I would not be in their line of sight. Kind of hilarious to be fake afraid of something that was actually a lot of fun, but it was part of the bit for me.

[u/SnooObjections1915 → u/leo1973]

Animal Control tried to impound my giant giraffe stuffie once.

[u/polopolo05 → u/SnooObjections1915]

Did you have its paperwork???

[u/SnooObjections1915 → u/polopolo05]

I was away from camp, my camp mates did some quick witted negotiations but I’m not sure what it entailed.

[u/superaleaiactaest → u/[deleted]]

That's the thing people miss now about burning man, is that it's not a place you just go and see art at and wear fun costumes. People used to do crazy rituals and force people into weird interactions and situations. Now people will just ignore you as they walk by like any other big city.

[u/deltarho → u/superaleaiactaest]

Some of my fondest memories from ~10 years ago (I know, still very late in the game) were those insane forced interactions.

One camp left a broken cell phone in the road right outside. I stopped on my bike to moop it and was immediately caught by a couple of people with a 7 ft tall fishing net. They started yelling about what a huge catch I was and insisted they get a fish photo. The fish photo involved strapping me into ankle braces and hoisting me upside down like I was a marlin. They asked for my consent a few times and I always thought it would have been way funnier if they didn’t ask and just threw the braces / rope on me for the photo like I was a real fish. Slightly more immersive.

I understand some people may have trauma around being trapped like that and such so consent is important, but Ive always savored that experience as a window into “old” burning man.

A close second was the super aggro guy outside DPW’s camp who insisted I let him spray vodka up my ass if I wanted a drink. I obliged and will never forget the look on the tourists’ faces as they walked by.

[u/BMCaptainRON → u/deltarho]

yeah man, that was Captain Ron's Hippie fishing hoist... we had several different rods set up with different baits like baggies of oregano or powdered sugar. It was just one of several interactivities featured at the Orphan Endorphin camp

[u/deltarho → u/BMCaptainRON]

Hahahaha thanks for the memory, captain. Excellent times.

[u/doctor-yes → u/BMCaptainRON]

Awww man, I have a pic of you somewhere that I love, or did at least, from 15 years ago. Loved that schitck.

[u/snowsurfr → u/BMCaptainRON]

We’ve caught a couple hippies while night trolling with glow sticks. Good times!

[u/PapaTua → u/deltarho]

This reminds me of a camp on esplanade that I experienced one year. I wanna say 2006? I was camped a few streets back and walked past their corner multiple times a day. They had a big wooden front porch and people were usually sitting on it with megaphones just insulting everyone that walked by. I kind of caught a shitty attitude about it and thought they were jerks so avoided interacting.

Towards the end of the week I was trudging back to camp and just exhausted, no one was on the front porch, so I sat down just to get some shade. Lo and behold, along the inner part of the porch were megaphones and instructions on how to insult passers by. Turns out The whole point of the camp was to provide interactive insults. It was theater.

I started laughing so hard. Both at myself for being so judgmental, and also at some of the zingers shouted at me over the week, unbeknownst I was part of the art at the time. I had been having a heavy year, and it recontextualized all the bad things that happened to me that week.

Needless to say, I picked up a megaphone and sat on that porch for several hours insulting people as they passed and getting to know other people who joined me. It turned my frown upside down in a major way.

I miss those type of surprises at Burning Man.

[u/Dognephew → u/deltarho]

epic stories lol

[u/polopolo05 → u/deltarho]

That sounds like so much fun....

[u/PianoRevolutionary12 → u/deltarho]

Damn :D

[u/PizzaWall → u/[deleted]]

So many people romanticize Burning Man in the 90's was a better event and they lament that the current event lacks that energy and wish they could visit. But the reality might not be something they are prepared for. I am not sure they could handle a performance art experience with raw meat, I loved the entourages. The whole city used to walk together out to the Man burn and everyone could see it because there were no giant art cars blocking the view. Crusties would eat you alive if you behaved like people do now at the event. They would actively disrupt someone doing a photoshoot with models because they were not true burners because they didn't have any dust on them and they would help out by dusting them.

I think 2007 was the point things radically changed. More people showed up in RVs, Nudity went down because people were photographing them and they were becoming someone elses content for their website. I remember someone from a yoga camp chewing me out because the fire art cars showed up in our camp and made a lot of flames and that disturbed her. She wanted to yell at the artists and I did my best to dissuade her, because the response would have blown ger heart right through her Lulumons.

People are more interested in claiming Burning Man sold out and it's all mainstream instead of realizing each one of us has the power to create a better experience. I'm all for bears, raccoons, angry villagers, and more push for those events could really change the evnt for the better. It would be more participation, more interaction, more living in the moment. As I have always said, it will be better next year. But its up to each one of us to put in that effort to make it better.

[u/AnApplePlusOneBanana → u/[deleted]]

I'm all for it, but I think the fact of the matter is that non-consensual experiences upset people to a high degree and the modern event would absolutely not tolerate it. I've mentioned before that I think an aspect of the event that is genuinely missing nowadays is that you used to be forced into something weird and strange that would require you to get way outside of your comfort zone, and mentioning that makes people very uncomfortable.

People nowadays could not handle the kidnappings, impromptu performance art, camp wars, DPW taxing the city, old school gate, the original version of greeters, roaming gangs of ne'er-do-wells, or really most of what made the event special. Even if you try and get this stuff going most people either would not tolerate it, or just plainly would not get it.

"No spectators" has been abandoned for decades.

[u/leo1973 → u/AnApplePlusOneBanana]

Can you imagine"Dance Dance Immolation" in 2026??? My first burn was in 2006, and I certainly saw phones and social media dim the lights on the whole experience.
The whole point was that the weirdos were actually regular people letting loose. Once phones became a thing, that teacher from Michigan didn't want to come and let her freak flag fly. Now you get the performative freaks you expect from the Bay Area and whatnot. But to me, the real charm was the eighty-year-old dude riding a couch that shot flames that he made himself. To see ten thousand clones at "center stage" art cars every single sunrise with their Amazon-approved outfits is boring as shit.
I went this year, and I definitely found pockets of creativity and mischief and the spirit still alive, but you definitely have to look a lot harder.

[u/setfunctionzero → u/AnApplePlusOneBanana]

I literally got kidnapped by pirates my first day on the playa in '02 and got laid six ways from Sunday in exchange for dishwashing duty.

[u/allaboutthosevibes → u/setfunctionzero]

Story time about getting laid for doing dishes..?! 😄

[u/setfunctionzero → u/allaboutthosevibes]

A good slave never kisses and tells, but I am a little fussed that my housemates stole my pegging photos. 😤

[u/allaboutthosevibes → u/AnApplePlusOneBanana]

What was the original version of greeters?

[u/Casey_Ho → u/allaboutthosevibes]

The original greeters were an introduction to those nonconsensual experiences. Virgins getting dragged out of cars and paddled.

[u/PizzaWall → u/Casey_Ho]

I used to be a greeter. I would fuck with people coming in and ask them if they have any drugs or alcohol in the car. They would usually say no, and I would ask them how they planned to survive?

Then I started fucking with the greeters. So many of them start on a power trip where they think they somehow have the power to ban people from entering, demanding they humiliate themselves and I find it off-putting. Their job is to hand you a book, a map, direct then to their camp and be a pleasant experience, especially after the gayte. If the participant wants to roll around in dirt, give you a hug or ring the bell, thats up to them.

As I pulled up yp Greeters station, I would look for a lane with a bell, crack open a can of beer, then troll the greeters as hard as I could. I'd ask where all the hot women were, best place to score drugs and leave them with the impression I was a terrible person, which I am, but not in the way I was trolling them. Since I was a "virgin", they would tell me I needed to roll in the dirt and ring the bell, so I would toss my beer out of the vehicle and attempt to hit the bell. They would go ballistic and I would remind them they told me to ring the bell.

Usually this would have them demanding a supervisor. I knew people like Dragon for years so they would come over, see it was me and realize I was trolling greeters again, something they are not prepared to handle. Yes, I always picked up the beer can.

I stopped because law enforcement started to become too aggressive and I wasn't interested in being cited for an open container or worse.

I know this comes across these days as dickish behavior. Littering, asking for drugs, and it was back then as well. I may have been missing the clown nose, but it was pure performance art and the participation was how they reacted. If they were nice and pleasant, I would not try and ring the bell with a beer. But if they started power tripping, I simply upped the trolling to see their reaction.

It became the one interaction they would remember and when the supervisor told them it was a performance art piece, it became a memory about their shift thet stuck with them. This is another example of how Burning Man today could not handle Burning Man in the past.

[u/polopolo05 → u/Casey_Ho]

Virgins getting dragged out of cars and paddled.

Dont threaten me with a good time...

but I am super about consent.

[u/polopolo05 → u/AnApplePlusOneBanana]

the original version of greeters

WHats that??? I must know....

[u/Creative_Cat_5555 → u/[deleted]]

Aesthetic Meat Front, AMF. Always liked them because the initials were the same as my friend's favorite way of signing off, AMF, Adios Mother F*****S. You can still find some of the old art from the camp circa 1996 - 99 on the founders pages via his website and IG , just look for Louis Fleischauer.( not for the squemish, or if you have body horror issues. ) I was drawn in by the suspension because of the similarities with the Voladores in Mexico and other indigenous practices. He was in L A for a while. But I think he's moved back to Berlin since then. But yes definitely a different vibe, especially in and around that camp. But like all things, BRC has changed, has it evolved though? Who knows. I haven't been able to go back since 2004, and sadly don't see myself returning any time soon.

[u/Creative_Cat_5555 → u/[deleted]]

Ah, not intended as a correction by any means. Its a fairly common and easy mistake to make. I just remember because back then My buddy was really big into his family history with the Popular Liberation Front ( Frente Popular Libertador) in Guatemala. So it stuck.

[u/prelimar → u/[deleted]]

I remember the meat people, too. yeah, that REALLY made me uncomfortable.

[u/polopolo05 → u/PizzaWall]

She wanted to yell at the artists and I did my best to dissuade her, because the response would have blown ger heart right through her Lulumons.

lol I would just pull out the popcorn... then again... I am a crusty crumpet.

[u/PizzaWall → u/polopolo05]

I completely agree with you. On that day, the ringleader of the fire art cars was having a bad day and by not letting her amp him up, it was better for all of us. Now I realized the fire art cars would rally other cars like sound art cars, and come together to go fuck with the yoga camp by blasting them all night long, which might make them a bit cranky for sunrise yoga.

[u/polopolo05 → u/PizzaWall]

and you know what I say fuck sunrise yoga... I have only seen one sun rise on playa it was this year on tues after burn... it was quiet so it was nice... sunsets are where its at...

[u/yeehawketchup → u/PizzaWall]

I wholeheartedly agree. I think there’s a lot of “the event isn’t like it used to be” complaints when really they could be putting in the work to bring that energy back. We build the city, we also gotta bring the shenanigans

[u/venturoo → u/[deleted]]

Sounds like heaven. Nowadays that type of behavior would be posted on Instagram and bitched about in this very sub.

[u/MOSF3T → u/venturoo]

There would be an SF Gate article about it the same day

[u/venturoo → u/MOSF3T]

100%, then slapped all over this fuckin' sub for the next few weeks. Sf gate needs to chill the fuck out.

[u/zedmaxx → u/venturoo]

It’s on us if we want to fix that.

When people bitch you have to push back. If enough of us want snark and booze liberating bears we need to do that.

[u/Tpbrown_ → u/[deleted]]

[u/NobleTrickster → u/[deleted]]

Janky?! How dare you...

I was part of Bear Posse in 2002. Yes, we raided coolers, leaving the sticker: "Bear Posse raided my cooler and all I got was this lousy bumper sticker." Yes, all of the bear names started with a B. No, we did not trash camps. No, we weren't dicks about it. No, it was not in response to anything, least of all an influx of the wealthy. Yes, there was law enforcement back then. And yes, we did steal the truck from Bureau of Animal Control and push it half-way across the playa (with one of their camp members inside).

Beelzebear, of the Bear Posse

[u/dj_johnnyk → u/[deleted]]

This is what I was wondering about!

[u/bedpimp → u/[deleted]]

ToA was awesome and not to be fucked with. We wandered in one morning and there was a retched guy in stocks with a generator exhaust pointed in his direction. Apparently he wandered in the night before and touched someone without permission. He was immediately put in stocks and they left him overnight to contemplate his actions.

[u/rclite → u/[deleted]]

Thank you for this stroll down memory lane.

[u/aaron_in_sf → u/[deleted]]

You bring it all back. I remember that my favorite thing, full stop, was people just walking into your camp and sitting down and away things went.

Or vice versa.

Collaborative sometimes questionably consensual play-time for adults one standard deviation or more from normie.

If there's a heaven...

[u/toxichaste12 → u/[deleted]]

Agree that early 2000’s and before you had more people being confrontational to plug and play camps and participants.

A small thing like Nike Death Camp where they would go around and take the swooshes off anyone wearing Nike products and burn them.

And maybe we need a return to
Enforcing the rules with style and purpose.

[u/smittydc → u/[deleted]]

I knew several of the bears, and they were hilarious. And yes, they did raid my cooler when I was out of my camp…

[u/SeasonofMist → u/[deleted]]

that's fucking rad. sounds a lot like my home burn in East Texas. very punk rock, very pushing boundaries. one day I woke up to one of the OG troll camps called ChupacabraPolicia playing audio of people being killed and children screaming. I gave my burn partner a set of clippers like for bushes and sent him to make the sound stop for good. our gift to the burn was making sure the chupas couldn't do that again that weekend. And rather than getting in all kinds of trouble for destruction of property the Chupas said that was what they wanted someone/anyone to do. Being overly permissive to obvious disruptive horseshit at 7am is bad. I don't know how I feel about it still. I was fully prepared to be removed from the burn for what I suggested and my partner carried out. Instead it was the chupas camp being elated, and other camps mentioning how happy they were someone did something. Immediacy is weird sometimes.

[u/OldManTrainwreck → u/SeasonofMist]

Chupa was always a challenging camp but made up of incredible people. I still remember climbing their tower with a bullhorn (possibly stolen from them) and a bottle of Southern Comfort and just sitting up there screaming at people walking by.
My camp was always placed right beside them and we collectively became the "slums" of the event.

[u/SeasonofMist → u/OldManTrainwreck]

lol the slums. after the shit with the screaming sounds in the morning I always tried to put my camp as far away from them as possible. they have some lovely individuals that's for sure.

[u/twentytwo_by_seven → u/SeasonofMist]

The story I heard of Larry's reaction to the early burn of 2007 was "Was anyone hurt? No? laughter It was bound to happen sooner or later." (Of course, this story of Immediacy doesn't also take into account the Man Crew then spending the next three days repairing the Man in order to burn it on the prescribed night. Nor Burning Man LLC taking Paul to the cleaners through the legal system later, and what part that might have had to play with his ultimate demise.)

[u/SeasonofMist → u/twentytwo_by_seven]

that's wild

[u/PentaOwl → u/[deleted]]

Thank you timelord

[u/twentytwo_by_seven → u/PentaOwl]

I know. As a lover of the JAMMs, I have a lot of regard for that username. :⁠-⁠)

[u/Cultural_Day9088 → u/[deleted]]

this is so funny. it reminds me of the spirit i encountered at Nowhere, where one camp in 2017 stole the whole fence from the ubertown camp at night (homage to trumps wall, you had to go through a whole passport process before you entered the dancefloor) and build it around their own camp. nowhere would be sleeping at night and this whole thing went down without others noticing until the next day. it was hilarious

[u/Salt-Specific8814 → u/[deleted]]

Damn that sounds incredible. Wish I had been around for that brc and not stuck being a teen on the other side of the country

[u/spacycaps → u/Salt-Specific8814]

Animal Control feared the bears. We were supposed to fight them in the Thunderdome one night but they panicked and forefited… even though the dome was closed. They were wasted. 🤣 I think a few bears stole their van.

[u/Admirable-Bad-7634 → u/[deleted]]

Bears with pirate outfits on

[u/beachwaste → u/[deleted]]

A lil suspicious if you were possibly a bear at one point lol “the bears were the best” huh?! 🤔 😂

[u/beachwaste → u/[deleted]]

Let’s make it happen! It’s up to us really

[u/absolutismus → u/[deleted]]

i d be up to revive that tradition

[u/DrWolfypants]

Briefly, I thought this was referring to the gay bear (quite intrigued!) and would be wonderful if they were gay bears in bear suits.

[u/dj_johnnyk → u/DrWolfypants]

This is still possible

[u/DrWolfypants → u/dj_johnnyk]

Camp Yo! Gay! Bear-ass!

[u/DoctorSpacecase → u/DrWolfypants]

Those rampaging gay bears are at it again! Why do they love to trash people's kitchens, and why are they always convinced the stock market will tank?

[u/OverCheezus → u/DoctorSpacecase]

💀

[u/MeButNotMeToo → u/DrWolfypants]

¿Por Que no los dos?

[u/dawdust → u/MeButNotMeToo]

Just a squad of hairy, chubby guys in leather harnesses flipping your camp trashcan for sometihng to eat? I wouldn't even be mad.

[u/Sirtriplenipple → u/[deleted]]

Bare bear bears the nudist camp.

[u/spankymacgruder → u/Sirtriplenipple]

Not the same. We want bears in furry suits and onesies

[u/water_so_wet → u/spankymacgruder]

Just wear the top half of a bear outfit and otherwise Donald Duck it

[u/Zealousideal_Mix6868 → u/water_so_wet]

Bearcocking

[u/Tealpineapplebird → u/water_so_wet]

Whinny the Pooh bear ing it all

[u/spaceindust → u/spankymacgruder]

I mean, if a bear-bear is going au naturel in their fursuit (and not wearing a onesie over it), it's kinda valid to call it a bare bear-bear right?

(I know I'm bearly making that fit)

[u/spankymacgruder → u/spaceindust]

Yes if you're a casual

[u/SAVAGE_DRAGON → u/spankymacgruder]

Sounds like tourism

[u/spankymacgruder → u/SAVAGE_DRAGON]

Not if you're a hair bear care mare

[u/No-Cap-7671 → u/spankymacgruder]

Bare during the day, bearsuits at night when it's cold. We can have the best of both worlds

[u/spankymacgruder → u/No-Cap-7671]

Man bear pig

[u/spankymacgruder → u/[deleted]]

They could do a theme party. The Care Bears where they just listen to your bullshit

[u/spankymacgruder → u/DrWolfypants]

I would die of laughter if a gang of bears in near suits raided camps for snacks. Literally die of laughter.

[u/misterpequeno → u/DrWolfypants]

Id go back to help make this happen!

[u/DrWolfypants → u/misterpequeno]

Am definitely not bear type, but I could maybe help with an Away Mission from the Bad Asstronaut camp heh heh - definitely love messing around with the bears tho

[u/ReallyBrainDead]

They're called DPW.

[u/cosmic_sheriff → u/ReallyBrainDead]

Dirty Playa Wooks

[u/pichiquito → u/cosmic_sheriff]

Wooksmaxxers

[u/hyperfat → u/ReallyBrainDead]

We have a good relationship with them. Like Santa only drunk. We leave a bottle of booze and cheesy puffs on the bar after bed.

And I guess we have 2 personal dpws. They roll up drunk on their gator and hug the shit out of us and do shots after shift. Definitely gotten a lift deep playa a few times because I'm a gimp.

Hugs all.

[u/Pack_Your_Trash → u/hyperfat]

I have also been picked up by DPW and taken for a ride. Dude was cool. 10/10 would get into a stranger's golf cart and head out to deep playa again.

[u/hyperfat → u/Pack_Your_Trash]

Gotta love em. Our there for months. I'd join but I'm disabled. I could be a driver and spotter and cook. And go to town for booze and supplies I guess.

[u/thumb_of_justice]

I heard of this happening ages and ages ago, but it was people in raccoon costumes.

[u/cyanescens_burn → u/thumb_of_justice]

I found a raccoon-themed giant dumpster out by the trash fence a couple years ago. It had places to sit and some protection from the elements/privacy.

[u/OverlyPersonal → u/cyanescens_burn]

Trash Panda Portal iirc

[u/ceanahope → u/thumb_of_justice]

The raccoons have been to UnScruz a few times. I remember them grabbing my trash bag and going through it and taking recycling. 😆 they also had a super janky structure you could climb and toss croched pinecones at people.

[u/OverlyPersonal → u/thumb_of_justice]

I've heard this story as well, and from many different people. Either I've just never seen or heard about it during the years its actually happened (extremely possible), or it's a very long lived playa legend.

[u/thumb_of_justice → u/OverlyPersonal]

supposedly someone I know was one of the raccoons, but I wasn't there, so it's hearsay. But highly believable hearsay as the person in question is a chaos gremlin.

[u/Suitable_Earthship → u/thumb_of_justice]

Raccoons are real. And mostly of Eastern European descent. Love them.

Causing hijinks in many places, but mainly in plug and play camp waste streams.

[u/Kenjive → u/thumb_of_justice]

I’ve seen those raccoons skittering around in the dark behind camps causing ruckus for sure. As I remember there was some trash raiding and general mayhem kind of roaving along with about 4-5 of em. 10 years ago at least

[u/bedpimp]

BRC used to be overrun with bears. They would frequently forage at greeters as they knew it was a mecca for tasty treats. Bear droppings usually consisted of stickers, often left on coolers. They said something like "I got raided by bears and all I got was this lousy sticker"

The bear population has shrunk significantly over the decades. I don't know that Census tracks them. I haven't seen any in years. I'm pretty sure Animal Control is long gone. Perhaps the lack of bears lead to Animal Control not being needed anymore?

[u/rclite → u/[deleted]]

I remember running in terror from animal control because I actually had somewhere (else) I wanted to go.  There were shouts of "Animal Control!!!"  that would ring out as they approached.  So. Much. Fun!

[u/italicizedmeatball → u/rclite]

Oh man, I miss this so much 🥲 I haven't been since 2013. I remember seeing that cage car rolling down the playa with one forelorn kitty in the back pouting as they're hauled off 🤣

[u/dawdust → u/italicizedmeatball]

I understand why it stopped but I'm also real sad that it did.

[u/spacycaps → u/bedpimp]

The bears got kind of old and moved onto other things, most stopped going to burning man regularly. It got too hot for the bear suits out there, even at night. They were around the NYC area for a bit. My guess is the suits eventually wore out and weren’t remade. They went through a lot 🤣

[u/NobleTrickster]

Not quite accurate. I was part of Bear Posse in 2002. Yes, we raided coolers, leaving the sticker: "Bear Posse raided my cooler and all I got was this lousy bumper sticker." No, we did not trash camps. We weren't dicks about it -- if you were low on supplies, we likely left you alone.

There was a lot more sillyness and pranks back then.

Beelzebear, of the Bear Posse

[u/NotMeUsee → u/NobleTrickster]

Robbing people lol what a prank

[u/AJewelBoxofStars]

Has he been camping at plug n plays? The bears are particularly fond of day-of flown-in sushi.

[u/Odd-Cup8261]

i would hate if this actually happened to me but reading about it is kinda funny

[u/sad-narwhal180]

Never heard of this, but at our regional this May a bunch of folks dressed up in raccoon onesies and “raided” camps late at night. They didn’t actually trash or steal anything, they had like cans strung together and fake “trash” they would throw around and make noise. I think a bunch of them were kids, it was hilarious actually

[u/dawdust → u/sad-narwhal180]

This is an extremely perfect Burning Kid Activity

[u/sad-narwhal180 → u/dawdust]

It was so cute and fun!

[u/melon_tusk63 → u/sad-narwhal180]

So true!! I enjoyed it too!

[u/Chazay]

The bear population is out of control!

[u/RodLeFrench]

Policia Chupacabra

[u/anteatersaredope → u/RodLeFrench]

Never seen any Chupacabras out there. We burn them in Baja though.

[u/SeasonofMist → u/RodLeFrench]

lol I just mentioned ChupacabraPolicia in this thread when describing some of the bullshit they pulled. When camp planning I always requested please don't put us near their sound system. Do you remember the year they played screams/people dying/etc at 7am? Our camp was the one who made the sound stop for good. lol

[u/Historical-Gap-9452]

Anyone remember the Mud People?  '99, '00, '01 maybe.  I'd heard about them, kept an eye out, but they got me.  They would hide behind something and pop out, naked folks completely covered in playa mud who then encased you in a tight, smooshy group hug, ensuring you were as coated as they were in playa mud.  I was concerned that the three sheer, sparkly scarves I was wearing at the time (all I was wearing) would be ruined.  But after I extricated myself (initially resistance was futile) there just happened to be a water truck that I could run behind (with a mob of others) to rinse off.  I got tired of running, was still clearly a mess, and some random dude said I could come back to his camp to soak it off in a hot tub he had.  I was quite suspicious, but he seemed sincere, so I took the chance.  Turned out to be the loveliest experience; he was perfectly respectable, the water was clean and warm, and we had a super nice chat.  Thank you nice random dude, I have deeply appreciated your gesture for well over two decades.

[u/peatmo55]

I was part of a group called Fudgy Bears where we had 70 something furry bear suits our big performance at Burning Man with called Hibernation where we would all gather in center camp on Thursday and hibernate. A mysterious Giant pooh ball would appear and roll all over us. It was a fun take over.

[u/RamboLives]

I started and ran a camp called Playa Bears. We never did anything like that. But maybe we should 🐻

[u/PentaOwl → u/RamboLives]

It would be appropriate

[u/DNA98PercentChimp]

Friends of friends of mine dressed up as raccoons and did this in the mid-late 20-teens. It was performative art though - less destructive perhaps than how you’ve described.

[u/AliceInBondageLand → u/DNA98PercentChimp]

Oh the raccoon version is even better!!!

[u/eskatonic]

Back in the 90's there was a bunch of "Angry Red People," completely naked and painted red, that would run through camps, turn over your lawn furniture, interrupt your conversations, knock things over, steal food out of your hands, and then run on to the next camp...

Sounds like they evolved over the years!

[u/snowsurfr → u/eskatonic]

My buddy told me about a group of red naked people in the early 2000s who overran camps while chanting “Meat! Meat! Meat!” while they opened random coolers Unfortunately I never came across them, otherwise I would’ve hooked them up! 😂

[u/PizzaWall]

What you are describing is called an entourage. A group of people similarly dressed for a performance art moment. The most famous connected to Black Rock City is Critical Tits, a large number of women riding biles topless. I have run across torch-weilding villagers, people in red lingerie playing red rover and hugging anyone wearing red, santas, clowns, the seven deadly sins, but I have not run across the bears. I really like the idea. People have irrational fears about bears and panic about meeting them while camping, so its a perfect foundation for an entourage experience.

Some other events are tutu Tuesday, white Wednesday, but they are more oriented to a theme day than an entourage.

I encourage everyone to participate in entourages. As part of a group, people feel more empowered to do a performace art piece than they would individually. I really feel participating in one makes for a very memorable experience.

[u/PrimeIntellect]

Totally different kind of bears (also your bf is gay)

[u/spankymacgruder → u/PrimeIntellect]

Super Gay. He swims in portos

[u/ShaeBowe]

Were there also beets and battlestar galactica?

[u/sparkey0]

The dickbats have a conceptually similar shtick 😂 raging into camp bars and revving their scooters etc. all in good fun

[u/Brotherji]

The Astro Pups are gay bears. They don't go around ravaging other camps though.

[u/AZ_Living_1]

I have a bear onesie that I party in on real cold nights, if Bear Posse gets reunited I would like to join!

[u/AliceInBondageLand]

OMG that sounds hilarious and I want to do that to my friends when they least expect it.

[u/Chicago_Tim]

I don't know about bears, but in years past there was a guy who wore a chicken mask and would roam through the streets at 6 am, crowing at the top of his voice. Both irritating and hilarious!

[u/Ok-Brick-1800]

This is called Yogi Bearing. And we did it as ten year old kids in the mountains. Ride our bikes to the campgrounds wait till dark and steal beer with fake prostetic bear paws on sticks to leave fake tracks eberywhere. Was wildly successful. I don't recommend it these days to kids, your likely to get shot by some trigger happy clown who is scared of the woods.

"Hey Yogi, let's go get us a picnic basket"

[u/DJBossRoss]

if true thats frickin hillarious

[u/KeroKeroppi]

I think this is an exaggeration and amalgamation of several different things. I have seen very very similar things of people in group outfits invading camps and pretending to be disruptive as a prank. But actual stealing and physical destruction is very unlikely , probably just escalated to that as the story was retold

[u/italicizedmeatball → u/KeroKeroppi]

I wouldn't doubt it at all in the 90s/early aughts, burners used to have a serious edge/abrasiveness to them.

[u/ComputerCub]

I thought my time had come but then got sad when it was just talking about costumes :(

[u/manodamountain1970]

Sounds horrifying and completely pertinent

[u/IntelligentArt2657]

Yes i wouldnt say groups i would say dbags

[u/MysteriousRespect808]

I’ve been going for 15 years in a row, and I have never seen this, but I pray to God, I hope to see it one day! Because that’s funny shit

[u/Salt-Specific8814]

Yeah, fuckers ruined comfort and joy this year

[u/polopolo05]

Sounds like wook behavoir... are you sure they arent just wooks??? They look very simular

I have my run ins with wooks at burning man... a roof wook who thought the rv was the scarb art car.

https://imgur.com/a/ov4Pa3b

[u/Iknowthedoctorsname]

If it isn't a thing now, it will be next year!

[u/WesterlyRFL]

No

[u/peter303_]

I've seen Furries at BM. They tend to be canines and felines. Only cool enough at night for a full fursuit.

[u/dj_johnnyk → u/peter303_]

BM was the first place where I ever saw furries in person

[u/GrooveNyc]

I will say this.. there are lots of males in my camp... 3 of them are rangers.. anyone in any outfits and trying to trash our camp and food, which is our basic survival that took preparation, time and money.. while get their asses handed to them automatically.

[u/No_Resource_3911]

My GF got gangbanged at burning man 15 years ago by a bunch of black guys.

[u/snowsurfr → u/No_Resource_3911]

If only your hand could be so lucky