Kids at Burning Man: It's better than Disneyland

RENO, Nev. (AP) — It's better than Disneyland.

That's what Laura Romero of Reno said her kids say about Burning Man, the annual arts festival running through Monday in the Black Rock desert about 120 miles north of Reno

The event attracts more than 50,000 people every year, about 500 under 18, according to organizers. This year, though, may be the last for children.

A lawsuit filed by Burning Man organizers claims Pershing County is unfairly imposing festival ordinances on the festival, which may allow county deputies to regulate "obscene, indecent, vulgar or lewd" behavior.

Some see the playa as a place with too much adult-themed content for the pint-sized playa player.

For parents, Burning Man has been a chance to bring kids on the ultimate field trip.

"It's always been a wonderful experience for my children and family," said Romero, who said she talked about drugs and what they might see at Burning Man.

"I told them never to take anything from anyone," she told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "At first, I worried about the nudity, but my kids didn't even seem to notice it when it was around. They were too busy looking at everything else."

Romero and her husband, Philip, started taking their three kids to Burning Man when their youngest was only 4 months old.

"It is one of my kids' favorite things," said Romero of her now 9-, 14- and 18-year-old children.

Her youngest, Matteo, was conceived at Burning Man.

"One year, the week before Burning Man, their grandparents took them to Disneyland," Romero said. "When they came home and found out we were going to Burning Man and they weren't, they were upset."

Her kids told her they would have picked Burning Man over Disneyland, she said.

"We always did stuff as a family at Burning Man," Romero said. "We would ride around. We went roller skating. We looked at the art."

Steve Leverett agrees.

Leverett has been to Burning Man 18 times, twice with his daughter, Genesis Sky, 6.

The first year, Genesis was only 1, but he said she picked up on the message.

"She heard us talking about giving and what it means," he said. "She watched people give things to us and saw us give things to other people."

When she went back as a 3-year-old, she brought a collection of rubber balls she kept in a Hello Kitty backpack.

"We pulled her around in a wagon and she handed them out to kids."

Every other year, Troy and Jacylyn Morgan of Carson City take their two sons to Burning Man.

Last year, the principal at their school made the boys, now 6 and 9, do a project at Burning Man and talk about the learning experience in class.

Another kind of Burning Man

"The biggest advice I can give for people taking their kids is realizing it is not going to be the same experience," said Troy Morgan. "Don't expect it to be the Burning Man you used to go to."

It's one of the reasons he and his wife decided to take their sons, Walker and Maverick, every other year.

"We need to have our time, too," he said.

He said he takes a marker and writes his kids' names and camp address with, "please return if found," on each of the boy's backs.

He introduces his kids to everyone they are camping with and around and takes the time to show them the area.

The kids wear costumes, just like their parents.

"They are out there in recycled Halloween costumes," he said.

Morgan said the best part is what his boys learn.

"They learn to trust their parents," he said. "And they learn the world is a lot bigger than they thought."

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Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press