Hundreds of people, many just back from the Black Rock Desert, turned out for this year’s Burning Man Decompression 2025 at The Loom on Oakland’s Embarcadero.
The festival is a celebration of the arts, bringing elements of Black Rock City to the local Bay Area community. Burning Man art installations, mutant vehicles and performances graced the streets of Oakland in an event that is meant to help participants transition back to daily life and share the spirit of self-expression and community found at the Burn.
The celebration began at 2 p.m. with family-friendly programs and continued into the evening with more performances, maker and technology demos, speakers, workshops, a mini film-festival, food and drinks, and much more. The festival ran through midnight outdoors, with bonus indoor festivities until 3:00 a.m.
People were also treated to interactive art theme camps, DJs and live music, along with a Silent Disco by ZEROdB.
Attendees walk through the “Primitive Obsession” art piece during Burning Man’s Decompression event on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Oakland, Calif. The performance art piece was created by Squid from San Francisco, and is an “homage to the beauty of geometric shapes.” Photo by Douglas Despres for the Bay Area News Group. Vanessa Boyd, an Oakland resident, participates in the “Talk to God” art piece during Burning Man’s Decompression event on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Oakland, Calif. The performance art installation was co-created by Miles Eastman in 2004 down in Ojai, Calif. Photo by Douglas Despres for the Bay Area News Group. Event goers during Burning Man’s Decompression event on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Oakland, Calif. Photo by Douglas Despres for the Bay Area News Group. A pinball-fire-game art piece at Burning Man’s Decompression event on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Oakland, Calif. Photo by Douglas Despres for the Bay Area News Group. Phoenix, an Oakland resident, spins inside the “Human Gyroscope” during Burning Man’s Decompression event on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Oakland, Calif. Phoenix grew up in Las Vegas and is familiar with expressive performance art. Photo by Douglas Despres for the Bay Area News Group. An Attendee walks through one of the main entrances of The Loom indoor art space during Burning Man’s Decompression event on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Oakland, Calif. Photo by Douglas Despres for the Bay Area News Group. Dayna Kitty, a resident of San Francisco, dances in front of the Bounce Art Car during Burning Man’s Decompression event on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Oakland, Calif. Photo by Douglas Despres for the Bay Area News Group. Exo pours tea inside the “Tea House” room for guests during Burning Man’s Decompression event on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Oakland, Calif. The Tea House, founded by Annie Oakley, has been a feature at Burning Man events for 13 years and promotes “harm reduction,” through offering a safe space, support and sleeping quarters among festival goers. Photo by Douglas Despres for the Bay Area News Group. “Un Nuevo Camino,” an art project by Mark Rivera, is viewed by attendees during Burning Man’s Decompression event on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Oakland, Calif. Photo by Douglas Despres for the Bay Area News Group. Festival goers view the “Tipping Point” art piece during Burning Man’s Decompression event on Saturday, Oct. 18, in Oakland, Calif. The performance art installation was created by Christopher Schardt and Terri Einbund to explore the delicate balance between tyranny and democracy. Photo by Douglas Despres for the Bay Area News Group.
