Don’t be afraid to clown around.

Why the Nose? is a year-round project dedicated to the act of wearing a clown nose every day in order to make people smile.

The project, which is documented on video and in photos online, makes a special effort to interact with participants at the annual Burning Man event in Nevada, which came to a climax this Memorial Day weekend.

With a culture of openness, playfulness and acceptance, it’s relatively easy to persuade people at Burning Man to embrace the idea of being clowns for a moment or two, but the hope is that they’ll take some of that spirit into their everyday lives when they get home from the desert.

Like elephant funny on Facebook.

Assistant Ed: Moira Madden / Ed: Catherine Monkman