Freezer Burn - Temple Ethos

The Temple occupies a special place in the hearts of many Burners, and our community has built up some cultural expectations around it. These social norms may not be apparent to virgin Burners. As our community welcomes more participants and grows, we are all responsible for sharing that ethos and including the new people and checking in with the experienced Burners.

At Freezer Burn, just like at Burning Man, the Temple is a sacred place meant for reflection, release, and renewal. The Temple burn is a solemn event, with no fireworks and much quiet witnessing. You may hear the heartfelt sobs or whispered mantras of those watching. This culmination of emotion is only possible due to the lead up to Temple, where participants may place their small offerings and write their words on Temple surfaces. The Temple is not the place for anyone to roughhouse, not for unsupervised minors, and it is NOT OKAY to touch or move or play with the offerings that have been left in Temple. These personal offerings carry a great deal of meaning for those who have placed them there with such emotion.

We at Production fully support the safety calls FAST must make when it comes to the preservation of the structure until it can burn (no unattended candles) and the safe burning of the structure on Sunday night (safety perimeter while fuelling and burning). Some years the FAST Team (who are responsible for the safe burning of art) may have to place additional restrictions on large synthetic items, such as a human sized stuffed animal containing styrofoam during a small Temple burn. FAST acts with the utmost respect for the participants (as they themselves purchase tickets and are participants!). Once the safety perimeter is up on Sunday afternoon a volunteer is present at the perimeter to accept final offerings and safely place them in Temple before the burn. Please do not leave anything with a battery in it or other items that might explode and injure someone when the Temple burns. Please do not leave any body remains or any cremains in the Temple. Consider bringing ashes to absorb the Temple energy with you before you spread them in a more suitable manner elsewhere.

At Freezer Burn 2025 a CORRECTION: POSSIBLE MISCOMMUNION BETWEEN A COUPLE LEADS resulting in a sign instructing nothing to be left that was not basically unpainted wood. This sign was made with the best of intentions but was not cleared with FAST. Apparently this sign was THEN acted upon by a well intentioned participant(s) and some offerings that were not strictly unpainted wood were removed. This unfortunate chain of miscommunications and well intentioned actions was understandably emotionally devastating for those whose offerings were unexpectedly removed. We also noticed several unsupervised minors playing with the offerings left at Temple, and redirected them back to their guardians after explaining the significance of the items they were so carelessly handling. Minors must be supervised at all times, and cannot be left to run wild and get into areas they do not understand the significance of.

Please remember to share the ethos of our community with newer members, and to check in with more experienced members. As we grow we must learn and improve.

Do you wish to make a more concrete impact on the improvement of this area of Freezer Burn? Please join the recently formed Temple Guardian team for Freezer Burn 2026 when the call goes out. These Guardians will help provide a safe space for all participants, so that we all may have the expression, experience, and closure we seek at Temple, while respecting the emotional energy of Temple.