Thousands Of Fans Channel Mad Max As They Gather In Desert For Wasteland Weekend

Over the weekend, thousands of revelers gathered in the Mojave Desert for a gigantic post-apocalyptic party. The festival was launched in 2010; it received media attention for its homage to the Mad Max Franchise, a video greeting from director George Miller, and a sneak peeks of pre-production. 

Photos show creative costumes referencing the movie, with many opting to bare all as they partied under the sun. 

The festival holds wacky events, including fighting to the death under Thunderdome, drinking games, and burlesque shows. It’s a must for every attendee to wear a costume, including staff, volunteers, and journalists. There were also swimsuit contests, Jugger matches, and according to the website, the festival provides makeovers at its beauty salon. 

Other activities included car cruises, costume contests, a role-playing bounty hunter game, a post-apocalyptic swimsuit competition, and a film festival. 

As per DailyMail, James Howard, Jared Butler, and Karol Bartoszynski, founders of the event, wished to establish a fully immersive fan occasion that would feel like living inside a movie. And so far, the trio has succeeded as the festival has grown from hundreds of attendees to thousands and has been met with enthusiasm from people across the country.

Notably, the set includes the iconic Wasteland Gates that greet everyone who shows up for the five-day event.

Also, the fully themed Wasteland City that’s designed to look like the patchwork villages typical in Miller’s movie. For the wasteland-themed games like Jugger, revelers are often split into tribes that compete against each other. The Jugger game is described as a post-apocalyptic version of armed football/rugby, based on a cult 80s movie. 

Musicians and DJs from across the world flew in for the event to provide soundtracks for the festivities. 

While many of the props and set feature guns, no firearms were permitted, and each one shown was deactivated. 

Organizers also brought in Hollywood sets and propped designers to teach workshops. However, the release of Mad Max: Fury Road had further propelled Wasteland Weekend’s popularity as guests now had more inspiration, with most showing in makeup and costumes inspired by the film’s leading lady, Imperator Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron.

Mad Max, the movie that made Mel Gibson famous, was released in 1979. 

The film was so popular that it was considered the most profitable movie ever, as it grossed $100million worldwide. Mad Max 2 followed in 1981, and Mad Max Thunderdome concluded the series in 1985. The character was then rebooted in 2015 with Tom Hardy. FYI, these movies were set in a post-apocalyptic Australia where bands of criminals roam the countryside looking to steal fuel from unsuspecting victims.