(A photo from 2009's fest - AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

Another sure apparent sign of economic recovery: Sales of Burning Man-related supplies at places like REI and Haight-based costume shop Piedmont Boutique are way up over last year, indicating both that more people are headed to the playa and that they're spending more on their "creative expression." As Bay City News reports (via SF Appeal), from the perspective of local merchants, attendance looks to be at about 2008 levels, when 50,000 people went to Burning Man.

"We ran out of anything that holds water this year," says REI store manager Doug Tracey.

Uti, the owner of Piedmont Boutique, says that she's sold tons of "glitzy pieces, goggles, hologram clothes, and costumes that light up... They can be very artistic."

Right... artistic.

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