Burning Man group donates $97,000

RENO (AP) - The organization that stages the annual Burning Man festival said Friday it donated $97,200 to various charitable, art and service organizations in Northern Nevada.

Black Rock City LLC said it donated the proceeds from ice sales at last year's festival in Black Rock Desert about 100 miles north of Reno.

"It's about being a good neighbor," said Larry Harvey, Burning Man founder and executive director. "Without the support of the communities, law enforcement teams, governments and businesses of Northern Nevada, we could not have had the success we experienced."

Among recipients were the Nevada Museum of Art, Nevada State Museum, Sierra Arts Foundation, Gerlach High School, Gerlach Volunteer Fire Department, Crisis Call Center, Friends of the Black Rock, Pershing County Senior Center and the Lovelock Lions Club.

Since 2003, Black Rock City LLC said, it has donated more than $566,500 to groups in Washoe and Pershing counties. The total donation amount has increased each year over that time.

"Donations from our ice sales at the event are one of the ways we can say thank you," said Burning Man spokeswoman Marian Goodell.

The offbeat art festival has been held the week leading to Labor Day for 20 years in the Nevada desert. The event, which began on a San Francisco beach in 1986, drew more than 50,000 people last year from all 50 states and 23 countries.