The Brief

If driving on the 405 at rush hour isn’t "Mad Max" enough for you, then we’ve got a party at the end of the world that might catch your eye.

Thousands of people will descend on the Mojave Desert on Sept. 24 for the annual Wasteland Weekend, a five-day bash inspired by post-apocalyptic franchises like "Mad Max" and "Fallout."

What started 15 years ago as a group of "Mad Max" fans looking to hang out has grown into an intensely immersive destination for people from around the world. Like Burning Man, this festival takes place on a barren landscape. But Wasteland Weekenders go all-in on creating another world.

Think weathered metal shanties, tattered costumes with lots of spikes and tons of souped-up rust buckets.

“We create our own city for five days and then it goes back to empty desert. But while we’re there, there’s a daily newspaper that gets published. There’s a post office. There’s a radio station... All in the theme of this pretend apocalyptic compound,” Jared Butler, co-founder of Wasteland Weekend, told LAist.

Wasteland Weekend attracts thousands of "Mad Max" fans.

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Courtesy Wasteland Weekend

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There are no spectators, only participants at this party, Butler said. Many not only don intricate costumes but also take on nicknames. Butler is “The Boss” of course — the franchise's archvillain.

And proximity to Los Angeles is a good thing for creating a set piece in the desert every year. Butler has worked as a screenwriter and has a long list of voice acting credits.

“We get a lot of people who work in the film industry.... And they bring their expertise out just to have a good time and make costumes and props and sets,” he said.

The Atomic Cafe at Wasteland Weekend is among the highlights of the event.

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Courtesy Wasteland Weekend

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Those set pieces include the massive Wasteland gates that transport attendees to another world. And the Atomic Cafe, a bar that rises from with glowing light bulbs and exposed rivets from a car frame.

But Butler said attendees have come from all over the world, and some of the best cars and costumes come from people outside of the Hollywood bubble.

“Some of the greatest stuff we see are from people who are coming out for the first time from the mid-west or built a car in their garage in Alabama or something and all their neighbors look at them like they’re crazy,” Butler said. “But then they bring it all the way out here and everybody treats them like a celebrity because it’s really cool and they want to know all about it.”

An ‘ideal apocalypse’

Amanda Lawson — aka “Lady Fahrenheit” — has been a Wasteland Weekender for about a decade. Her intricate costume features bird feathers, draped chains and metal trinkets.

She agreed that some of the costumes can be scary, but said the people are decidedly not.

“We’re all just a bunch of nerds. And honestly some of the most gentle people are gonna be wearing spikes. You get to know people really well out there because we’re in such a harsh environment, we’re all kind of trauma bonding together,” Lawson said.

Amanda Lawson has been a Wasteland Weekender for a decade.

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Robert Garrova / LAist

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And among the revving V8 engines, dusty faces and decaying metal, there’s some catharsis happening too.

“I kind of like the idyllic, hopeful, community vibe of everything. Like everyone is working together to make something really beautiful, so I’d like to think that that would be my ideal apocalypse,” Lawson said.

What began as a mostly dystopia themed gathering has taken on a life of its own, with its own Wasteland Weekend style, Butler said. And for him some of the best moments are seeing people of all ages come out of their shells a couple of days in.

“It’s about creating a destination where once a year this creativity can have a place to be welcome and blossom," Butler said.

Tickets for Wasteland Weekend 2025 are sold out, but there’s always next year.

Or maybe immersive cyber-punk worlds are more your thing? Butler has an event for that, too. Netropolis is slated to return in spring 2026.