Don’t Miss the Tiki Bar at Burning Man

Eric Fenster, 35, co-owner of Gather Restaurant and Back to Earth Organic Catering in Berkeley, Calif., is a regular at Burning Man, the weeklong arts festival that has been attracting tens of thousands to Black Rock Desert, Nev., since 1990. (This summer it starts Aug. 27.)

On his first trip in 2000 he was caught in a dust storm while riding his bike on the playa. Only when the storm passed did he notice a giant pirate ship rolling by him, carrying dozens of revelers and towing a gorilla-suited man doing a handstand on a skateboard.

“It was definitely an appropriately wacky induction into Burning Man,” Mr. Fenster said.

Below are excerpts from a conversation with Mr. Fenster on how to prepare for the unpredictable at Burning Man.

Q. Black Rock Desert, a flat stretch of about 1,000 square miles, is so desolate it’s used to launch rockets. How do you prepare to live there for a week?

A. Weather is extreme out there: it can go above 100 degrees during the day and then get extremely cold at night. I bring an aerodynamic, four-season North Face tent and stake it to the playa with steel rebars to keep it from blowing away (I’ve seen plenty that have). I also pack a zero-degree mummy sleeping bag and a down coat for nighttime. For food, I recommend bringing things that hold up in the heat like avocados, melons, cucumbers, pitas, hard cheese — no leafy greens or berries — and packing them in coolers with dry ice.