Spend enough time in Burning Man’s Black Rock City, and inevitably, you will stumble on some “playa magic,” be it your own or someone else’s. Playa magic is a tough thing to define, but you’ll know you’re experiencing it when something inexplicable and amazing happens, leaving you with a sense that the fairy shrimp are not only real but swimming around and granting wishes. 

For example: You need a specific tool to repair your bike, and suddenly, a lost bike mechanic stumbles into your camp in his underwear, carrying only that tool. Or maybe you lose your fanny pack on day one with your cellphone inside, and after dropping a stone in a playa wishing well asking that it be returned, the bag shows up at the lost and found, with the phone still in it. In other instances, playa magic occurs as a special moment or series of moments between two people, sometimes playing out in Black Rock City over years. 

Because Burners tend to be open to new possibilities and connections, these sorts of serendipitous happenings are pervasive. So this year, we asked a bunch of longtime burners and some newbies for their best playa magic stories. And the playa, as they say, provided.

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Steph Solis, a Burning Man attendee. 

Real name: Steph Solis

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In 2025, I stepped off the Burner Express bus for the first time. Ten minutes later, a whiteout dust storm began that was so strong, I couldn’t see my own hands. Irresponsibly, I’d stepped away from my bags, so I was without goggles or a mask. The dust whipped my face, creating a crust that sealed my eyelids shut. I was temporarily blinded, using my T-shirt as a breathing filter.

I thought that it would surely end in a few minutes. But after an hour of being pummeled by dust, I started walking forward and backward, arms outstretched, blindly seeking shelter, until my fingertips bonked the empty, parked bus I had arrived in. But the doors were locked. Then, I heard someone yell, “Person!”

Unseen strong arms pulled me — into the luggage hull, on the underside of the bus! About 20 people were crammed inside together. An instant community. Water bottles, food and wet wipes helpfully emerged from everyone’s pockets. I wiped my face. I could see. I felt safe. I was safe.

One Burner then put his goggles on. He announced, “I’m going back out there for others,” and embarked on a search and rescue mission, quickly disappearing into the dust.

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Douglas Ross Francis Martin, a Burning Man attendee. 

Real name: Douglas Ross Francis Martin 

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In 2012, I came to Burning Man and picked up a volunteer shift at Black Rock Hot Springs. The Earth Guardians took me out there for an overnight, and I was by myself, making sure nobody from the event showed up because it’s outside the boundaries of Black Rock City. 

I took my food and everything, and I had a can of sardines for dinner and crackers. After eating dinner, I went to bed, and when I woke up in the morning, there was a f—king coyote right here. Really right here, in my face, looking me in the eyes, licking his........

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