If biking or swimming in the nude is your thing, apparently you are not alone with Nude Recreation Week this month celebrating its 32nd year -- but participants advise not to forget the sunscreen.
To celebrate Nude Recreation week, travel website TripAdvisor has come up with a list of the top five nude events enjoyed by naturists internationally.
World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) is an international clothing-optional bike ride in which participants plan, meet and ride together en masse on human-powered transport (the vast majority on bicycles, and fewer on skateboards, rollerblades, roller skates) to "protest oil dependency and celebrate the power and individuality of our bodies".
The dress code motto is "Bare As You Dare". Full and partial (especially topfree) nudity is encouraged, but not mandatory, on all rides. Requiring partial cover-up is strictly forbidden and is a distinguishing feature of WNBR versus other cycling events.
Creative expression is also encouraged to create a fun and immersive atmosphere during the ride, to capture the attention and imagination of passers-by and the media, and to make the experience more personalized and fulfilling for the riders. Body art (such as body painting) are common forms of creative expression, as well as costumes, art bikes, portable sound reinforcement systems (such as public address systems/bullhorns, boomboxes) and musical instruments, as well as other types of noisemakers.
Pre-ride parties for WNBR have become events unto themselves featuring musical bands, DJs, bodypainting, temporary structures/installation art, political tabling, and catering. In addition to simply being able to ride clothes-free on community streets, some rides have established precedent by having body-painting parties, often involving numbers of naked riders and artists, in high-visibility municipal parks.
This distinctive form of Critical Mass, occasionally called Critical Ass, is often described or categorized as a form of political protest, street theatre, party-on-wheels, streaking, public nudity and clothing-optional recreation and thus attracts a wide-range of participants.
The American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) is a nudist organization in the United States. Founded in 1931, the organization advocates nudity and nude recreation in appropriate settings. The AANR charters approximately 259 independent U.S. nudist resorts and parks. It, in turn, is a member of the International Naturist Federation which holds a World Congress every two years, and serves as a collective for similar organizations worldwide. While not always required for admitance to an AANR-chartered resort, an AANR membership provides a discount, and a basic bona fides.
Put more than 12,000 people shoulder deep in pools across North America without a stitch of clothing in sight, and what do you get? The "largest number of people skinny dipping at once," now a category in the Guinness Book of World Records due to the American Association for Nude Recreation.
Taking place on Australia's sunny Maslin Beach in South Australia, the games are a celebration of Maslin's status as first official nude beach in the country.
4. Running of the Nudes, Pamplona, Spain - July
The Running of the Nudes, like the well-known Running of the Bulls, takes place in Pamplona, Spain. The Running of the Nudes occurs two days before the Running of the Bulls, just before the start of the nine-day festival of San Fermín. In the Running of the Nudes, naked humans, many wearing only plastic horns and red scarves, follow the same route taken by the Running of the Bulls, from the Santo Domingo corrals through the town’s streets, ending at the Plaza de Toros. The length of the run is some 800 meters (about half a mile) and the event takes about one hour.
Unlike the traditional event featuring live animals, the Running of the Nudes features only humans. The event was created in 2002 and is supported by animal welfare groups, including PETA, who object to the Running of the Bulls, claiming that the event is cruel and glorifies bullfighting, which these groups oppose. History
The annual Burning Man project is a self-proclaimed haven of self-expression, creativity and community. Drawing 50,000 people to the Black Rock Desert in 2008, huge works of art are generated at the event, namely the "Man," which is burned on the final night as part of the process of restoring the area to its natural state, with no trace of the revelers. Participants often take advantage of the free-spirited attitude by getting nude.
Burning Man is an annual event held in the Black Rock Desert, in Northern Nevada. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening. The event is described by many participants as an experiment in community, radical self-expression, and radical self-reliance.
The event is open from the last Monday in August until Labor Day (the first Monday in September). The event is organized by Black Rock City, LLC. In 2008, 49,599 people participated in Burning Man.
To celebrate Nude Recreation week, travel website TripAdvisor has come up with a list of the top five nude events enjoyed by naturists internationally.
1. World Naked Bike Ride, Worldwide - June and July
World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR) is an international clothing-optional bike ride in which participants plan, meet and ride together en masse on human-powered transport (the vast majority on bicycles, and fewer on skateboards, rollerblades, roller skates) to "protest oil dependency and celebrate the power and individuality of our bodies".
The dress code motto is "Bare As You Dare". Full and partial (especially topfree) nudity is encouraged, but not mandatory, on all rides. Requiring partial cover-up is strictly forbidden and is a distinguishing feature of WNBR versus other cycling events.
Creative expression is also encouraged to create a fun and immersive atmosphere during the ride, to capture the attention and imagination of passers-by and the media, and to make the experience more personalized and fulfilling for the riders. Body art (such as body painting) are common forms of creative expression, as well as costumes, art bikes, portable sound reinforcement systems (such as public address systems/bullhorns, boomboxes) and musical instruments, as well as other types of noisemakers.
Pre-ride parties for WNBR have become events unto themselves featuring musical bands, DJs, bodypainting, temporary structures/installation art, political tabling, and catering. In addition to simply being able to ride clothes-free on community streets, some rides have established precedent by having body-painting parties, often involving numbers of naked riders and artists, in high-visibility municipal parks.
This distinctive form of Critical Mass, occasionally called Critical Ass, is often described or categorized as a form of political protest, street theatre, party-on-wheels, streaking, public nudity and clothing-optional recreation and thus attracts a wide-range of participants.
2. AANR World Record Skinny Dip, Across North America - July
The American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) is a nudist organization in the United States. Founded in 1931, the organization advocates nudity and nude recreation in appropriate settings. The AANR charters approximately 259 independent U.S. nudist resorts and parks. It, in turn, is a member of the International Naturist Federation which holds a World Congress every two years, and serves as a collective for similar organizations worldwide. While not always required for admitance to an AANR-chartered resort, an AANR membership provides a discount, and a basic bona fides.
Put more than 12,000 people shoulder deep in pools across North America without a stitch of clothing in sight, and what do you get? The "largest number of people skinny dipping at once," now a category in the Guinness Book of World Records due to the American Association for Nude Recreation.
3. Nude Beach Olympics, Maslin Beach, Australia - January
Taking place on Australia's sunny Maslin Beach in South Australia, the games are a celebration of Maslin's status as first official nude beach in the country.
4. Running of the Nudes, Pamplona, Spain - July
The Running of the Nudes, like the well-known Running of the Bulls, takes place in Pamplona, Spain. The Running of the Nudes occurs two days before the Running of the Bulls, just before the start of the nine-day festival of San Fermín. In the Running of the Nudes, naked humans, many wearing only plastic horns and red scarves, follow the same route taken by the Running of the Bulls, from the Santo Domingo corrals through the town’s streets, ending at the Plaza de Toros. The length of the run is some 800 meters (about half a mile) and the event takes about one hour.
Unlike the traditional event featuring live animals, the Running of the Nudes features only humans. The event was created in 2002 and is supported by animal welfare groups, including PETA, who object to the Running of the Bulls, claiming that the event is cruel and glorifies bullfighting, which these groups oppose. History
5. Black Rock Desert, Nevada, August - September
The annual Burning Man project is a self-proclaimed haven of self-expression, creativity and community. Drawing 50,000 people to the Black Rock Desert in 2008, huge works of art are generated at the event, namely the "Man," which is burned on the final night as part of the process of restoring the area to its natural state, with no trace of the revelers. Participants often take advantage of the free-spirited attitude by getting nude.
Burning Man is an annual event held in the Black Rock Desert, in Northern Nevada. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening. The event is described by many participants as an experiment in community, radical self-expression, and radical self-reliance.
The event is open from the last Monday in August until Labor Day (the first Monday in September). The event is organized by Black Rock City, LLC. In 2008, 49,599 people participated in Burning Man.