Burning Man founder Larry Harvey dies at age 70
Larry Harvey, co-founder of the Northern Nevada counterculture festival Burning Man, has died. He was 70.
Harvey died Saturday morning at a San Francisco hospital surrounded by family, according to Burning Man officials. His cause of death has not yet been determined, but Harvey had been hospitalized since April 4 after suffering a massive stroke.
In a statement Saturday, festival CEO Marian Goodell said, “Burning Man culture has lost a great leader and an inspiring mind. He adeptly interpreted the manifestation of what became a movement.”
Harvey co-founded Burning Man in 1986 on a San Francisco beach before relocating the festival to the Black Rock Desert in Northern Nevada. Held annually in a dry lake bed, the festival traditionally culminates with the burning of a large wooden effigy known to festivalgoers as “the Man” on the Saturday before Labor Day.
“A humanist at heart, Larry did not believe in any sort of existence after death,” longtime friend Stuart Mangrum said Saturday. “Now that he’s gone, let’s take the liberty of contradicting him, and keep his memory alive in our hearts, our thoughts, and our actions. As he would have wished it, let us always Burn the Man.”
Harvey is survived by his son, Tristan, his brother, Stewart, and his nephew, Bryan. He also leaves behind “a global community of devoted Burning Man participants inspired by his vision to build a more creative, cooperative and generous world,” Mangrum said.
Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.