Las Vegas version of Burning Man set for March 2

Call it Burning Man: The Las Vegas Spectacular.

A group of artists is looking to re-create in the city the counterculture vibe of the annual Burning Man festival in the Northern Nevada desert, complete with a massive, burning sculpture.

The mostly wooden sculpture, a new version of the 20-foot-tall Lucky Lady Lucy that burned in the Black Rock Desert with many other sculptures last summer, is already under construction and is scheduled to be set aflame on a vacant lot in Las Vegas' Arts District on March 2.

"There has never been a burn in Las Vegas, so this is going to be history in the making," organizer Nikki Doran said.

The idea is to import to Las Vegas the primal feeling that calls tens of thousands of "burners" to spend a week on a desert playa about 120 miles north of Reno every summer.

The city Arts Commission, a taxpayer-supported organization that makes grants for art projects, contributed $3,000 for the sculpture that was hauled up north and the one to be assembled for the Las Vegas burn.

The city fire marshal is expected to oversee the local burn, city spokesman Jace Radke said.

Organizers aren't sure what to expect from a Las Vegas version, other than a cultural spectacle that could take off like wildfire. Nor do they know how many participants might show up.

Merritt Pelkey, the artist who designed Lucy, predicts the ritual burning at the upcoming First Friday will help people forge a deeper connection not only with the monthly music and arts festival downtown but also with each other.

The sculpture, which resembles a showgirl, is scheduled to be set aflame at 8:15 p.m. at South Third Street and East Colorado Avenue.

Pekley said he is keeping as much of the design as possible under wraps until show time.

"She will be a complete surprise. There won't be any of the slot machines, but there will be poker chips."

The burn date coincides with the "Burnal Equinox," the time of year that is halfway between the previous and upcoming Burning Man events at Black Rock.

Unlike the event at Black Rock, which lasts days, includes tens of thousands of attendees and involves creating a temporary, self-sustaining community on the desert playa, the Las Vegas version will last just one night.

Besides the burn, there will be live music, fire performances -- which will start at 6 p.m. -- and an invitation to attendees to wear burner costumes.

The event is advertised as open to all ages. And organizers, through the First Friday website, are advertising special "Burn Vegas Burn" rates at the Plaza, Golden Nugget and El Cortez.

Pelkey said he expects the Las Vegas sculpture to be more ornate and elegant than the version burned at Black Rock because it doesn't have to survive transportation and a week exposed to the elements in advance of the burn itself.

"There will be a few different looks, she will have more of a costume on," he said.

"She doesn't have to be as structurally strong and bulky looking."

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@ reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.