Bringing the fire back with them

Phosphorescent faux fur. Massive sound systems. Mad Max-themed art cars. And, oh, yes, fire. Lots of fire. The fifth annual Los Angeles Burning Man Decompression is taking its in-your-face eccentricity to the streets once again.

Created by homesick attendees of the weeklong Burning Man festival in northeastern Nevada, decompression events, or “decoms,” give burners around the country a chance to re-create the desert experience in their own backyards, minus the sandstorms and sunburn. “A lot of people go out [to Burning Man] and get plugged into that world and [when] they come back into our reality, they want to reconnect with people that they’ve met out there,” explains L.A. Decom producer Marsi Frey. “So Decompression is really an opportunity to have everybody come out and play and showcase their talents.”

So, what sort of “reality” is the average citizenry in for? First off, theme camps like Dream Team and Hug Deli will set up makeshift shelters in the Decom’s downtown locale with free dream interpretation and complimentary embraces ranging from “snugly” to “slow and uncomfortable.”

Elsewhere, seven stages will feature live acts, a fire performance stage and an “UnderClown’d” circus-act stage. Dale Youngman of downtown’s Dale Youngman Gallery will curate the Burner Art Pavilion. All that’s demanded from attendees is “participation,” defined by the organizers as, well, just doin’ your thing, man.

“Participation can show up in a bunch of different ways,” Frey maintains. “[But] I hold space for people to come and observe and to play.”

-- Justin Hampton

L.A. Burning Man Decompression, Santa Fe Avenue between 4th and 6th street bridges (main gate: 1350 Palmetto St.), L.A. Noon to 11 p.m. Saturday. $10 in costume, $15 without. www.la-burningman .com.