There are actually several contingents of Burners heading to Ocean Beach Saturday to put on their own miniature versions of Burning Man, but one of them appears to be co-organized by former District 1 Supervisor Eric Mar.

It is of course well-known that the first Burning Man in 1986 was not held in the desert of Nevada, but instead at San Francisco’s Baker Beach. It did not move to Nevada’s Black Rock Desert until 1992. And there have for years been “mini-Burns” here in San Francisco at Ocean Beach for those who did not trek out to Nevada, including the notorious unsanctioned Burning Man party at the height of COVID-19 in 2020, which had Mayor London Breed so furious that she shut down the beach’s parking lots.

With that unpleasantness largely behind us, SFGate notes that there was an unofficial Burning Man at Ocean Beach last year. So it would be no surprise that people are putting together little unofficial Burning Man parties at Ocean Beach this year on Saturday night, which is the night of the Burn.

What is a surprise is that one of these appears to be organized by the SF Board of Supervisors’ former District 1 Supervisor Eric Mar, who served in that position from 2009 to 2017. The Facebook invite page for that mini-Burn identifies Mar as a co-host, linking to his profile describing him as “SF State Emeritus Prof, lawyer & former SF Supervisor.” We’ve reached out to Mar, and we’ll update this post with any response.

The invite sounds pretty modest: it says, “Please join us for a Burn on Burn Night on Ocean Beach! Bring your burnables, fire toys, Playa coats, and anything else you would like to celebrate this annual ritual. Invite Burner and non Burner friends and family!”

This little mini-Burn does not appear to be planning to build a wooden “Man” effigy. But a couple other Ocean Beach parties might.

SFist found two other groups planning Burn parties on  Ocean Beach Saturday night. One of them is called Burning a Man in SF 2024, the same group SFGate profiled last year, and that invite does indicate there will be a man effigy. There is also an invite for something called Mini-BURN Beach Bonfire @ Ocean Beach.

Between the three events, there are about 1,300 people who’ve “responded.” Obviously, though, there may be scant correlation between how many people say they’re going to an event on Facebook, and how many actually show up in real life.

This may all be perfectly legal. Fires are allowed on Ocean Beach this time of year, as they are every year between March 1 to November 1. Visitors are only allowed to light fires in the fire pits between Stairwells 15 and 20, though it is perfectly feasible that one could set up a Man effigy on one of those fire pits. Fires must be put out by 9:30. These Saturday night events can easily comply with those rules.

So why not head out to Ocean Beach and get your Burn on Saturday night? Just be conscious to not leave trash behind, remember that there is no glass or alcohol allowed on the beach, and be aware that the parking lots close at 10 pm.

Or you can sit home, stay comfy, and watch the Burning Man livestream of the Burn that happens around 9 pm Saturday night. But if none of these local options can satisfy your Burner urge, it appears that they are still selling Burning Man tickets just one day before the Burn itself, after this year’s relatively low ticket sales.

Related: Mayor Breed Lambasts 'Reckless' Burning Man Celebration at Ocean Beach, Closes Parking Lots [SFist]

Image: Burning a Man in SF 2024 via Facebook