Kiwiburn is a regional Burning Man event based in Hunterville, Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand celebrating principles such as inclusion, radical self-expression, gifting, participative art, communal effort, and culture.
History In 1994, Mark ‘Yonderman’ Stirling and his partner Jane discovered Burning Man by accident while on a camping trip in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada. Mark decided to stage the first regional burn in New Zealand in late 2003 as part of the South Island's Visionz festival. It was met with great enthusiasm from the participants, so the 2005 and 2006 burns took place as stand-alone events, attracting around 200 people (Mark co-ran these events with Grant ‘Tribalman’ Knowles, a friend and local drum-maker/festival organizer).
2007 marked the first year the festival was held in the North Island. In mid-2006, amidst the planning for the 2007 event, a group of highly enthused, motivated burners joined with Yonderman to form an organizational structure and bring the event north. The event was aptly named Megamorphosis, which means Massive Change. Kiwiburn has helped create a large community of burners around New Zealand, and the annual event, along with the occasional localized gatherings, continue to maintain its unique culture.
Kiwiburn celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2013 with the theme enlighTENment, and its 20th anniversary in 2024 with Decadance.
After seven burns in Whakamaru Domain, Mangakino, Kiwiburn moved to a private farm in Hunterville in 2014. It was a huge undertaking to find a new site, close to a town and away from roads, where the locals immediately embraced the festival's culture.
The event is now held annually at the end of January.
In mid February 2025, Kiwiburn organisers confirmed they were investigating allegations of inappropriate behaviour at the 2025 Kiwiburn festival at Hunterville between 22 and 27 January. A person attending the festival told Radio New Zealand that several individuals had masturbated and had open sex in the presence of children following the burning of the effigy.
Past events Year Theme Number of Participants Date and Location 2007 Metamorphosis 145 9 – 11 February 2007, Mangakino 2008 CombustInUnity 182 1 – 4 February 2008, Mangakino 2009 Future History 270 5 – 8 February 2009, Mangakino 2010 Elementality 450 29 January – 1 February 2010, Mangakino 2011 Twisted Reality 530 26 – 31 January 2011, Mangakino 2012 Disaster Holiday 536 18 – 23 January 2012, Mangakino 2013 EnlighTENment! 754 23 – 28 January 2013, Mangakino 2014 Forgotten Dreams 783 22 – 27 January 2017, Hunterville 2015 Wyrd 954 21 – 26 January 2015, Hunterville 2016 Pot Luck and Emotion 1,485 27 January – 1 February 2016, Hunterville 2017 The Robots are Coming 1,635 25 – 30 January 2017, Hunterville 2018 The Grand Bizarre 1,809 24 – 29 January 2018, Hunterville 2020 Eclectic Decade 1,995 22 – 27 January 2020, Hunterville2021Mythical Picnic2,21927 January - 1 February 2021, Hunterville2023Time Travel2,26825 - 30 January 2023, Hunterville2024Decadance1,76124 - 29 January 2024, Hunterville2025Trash Renaissance FairTBC22 - 28 January 2025, Hunterville
Kiwiburn did not run in 2019 due to difficulty obtaining resource consent, or in 2022 due to COVID-19.
Themes Each year's event is centered around an Art Theme, selected from community submissions.
Culture
As a Regional Burning Man Event, Kiwiburn adheres to the ten principles of Burning Man. Among these are the Leave No Trace philosophy, radical self-expression, radical self-reliance, and communal effort.
Theme Camps are one of the key components of vibrant regional Burning Man events. Theme Camps are established by participants to enhance the experience for all participants. Theme Camps often put on events during Kiwiburn so that participants get to know each other and encourage each other to get more involved .
Notable, recurrent theme camps include "The Hangout", "Where did all our couches go?", "funkhutt", "The Flojo", "Pillowtopia", "DanceAlot", "Chur", "Taradise", "Swing Fling", and "Camp F*ck Yeah".
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External links